Author: Sarah

The choice of turfgrass can significantly impact the success of a project especially in commercial landscaping. AusGAP certification is a mark of quality and consistency in turfgrass production, promoting the highest industry standards. When planning a commercial landscape value for money as well as being fit for purpose are usually at the forefront of decision making.

Long term cost efficiency

The upfront investment for AusGAP certified turf pays dividends in the long run. You avoid the possibility of turf substitution which unfortunately still happens within the industry. AusGAP certified turf varieties have been developed and researched for decades to be lower input, more environmentally adaptable and to perform better in high stress situations. Unlike lower- quality turfgrass varieties that may require more watering, fertilisation, and pest control treatments, AusGAP certified turf is proven to be more robust than other common turfgrass varieties, reducing the need for ongoing interventions and expenditures. By requiring less water, fertilisers, and pesticides, AusGAP certified turf not only saves businesses money on input costs but also minimises the environmental impact associated with excessive chemical usage. Additionally, the low maintenance requirements of AusGAP certified turf can translate into significant time savings for property owners and maintenance teams, allowing them to focus resources on other critical aspects of property management.

Enhanced aesthetic appeal and property values

High-quality turf enhances the visual impact of a landscape and can add significant value to real estate. Due to the better performance of new and improved turf than older turfgrass varieties, this also ensures turfgrass looks better for longer in high wear situations and is typically able to recover where other varieties are unable to. This has been found with TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda in sports grounds and goal mouths and even beach front community spaces where other turfgrass varieties has failed. Even in a domestic setting, high quality turf has been estimated to increase the value of a property by 20%.

A top stadium groundsperson has successfully pivoted his career in the in-demand greenkeeping industry, after studying at TAFE NSW.

The greenkeeping industry is set to grow by 1,400 jobs by 2026, and TAFE NSW is delivering a pipeline of workers to the sector through its sports turf management courses.

Adam McNeill grew up on the NSW south coast and studied horticulture at TAFE NSW about 20 years ago. As an apprentice, he worked at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium, before returning to the south coast to work for local councils.

“I then followed my mentor Bruce Fouracre up to Townsville to work at the city’s old 1300SMILES Stadium, before transitioning to the new Queensland Country Bank Stadium and have had amazing experiences preparing the venue for everything from Cowboys matches and the State of Origin game in 2021, to Pink’s concerts this year,” Mr McNeill said.

To ensure longevity in the industry, in recent years Mr McNeill looked to grow his skills.

“The further into my career I travelled, I recognised I needed a Diploma in Sports Turf Management qualification to transition to managerial roles and grow my career as I get older,” Mr McNeill said.

“I returned to study, originally in Victoria; but due to complications during the COVID-19 pandemic, I returned to TAFE NSW and completed my studies.

“I now have the practical and theoretical skills needed to pivot my career in this industry as a Senior Groundsperson at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.”

Mr McNeill said the diploma has helped boost his contribution to the success of the world-class stadium.

“I’m now taking on more responsibility, I’ve enhanced my time management skills, and now have deeper insights into the managerial duties that are required to effectively coordinate the care of the arena surface at a major stadium,” he said.

Head Teacher of Sports Turf Management at TAFE NSW, Ian Clarke, said the organisation is delivering skilled groundspeople to the industry.

“Through the Diploma of Sports Turf Management program, we ensure our students are equipped with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge they need to get the job they want – whether that be at a local golf course, or at top-level venues like Queensland Country Bank Stadium,” Mr Clarke said.

“It’s pleasing to see Adam continue to succeed in the industry, having returned to TAFE NSW to diversify his skills and pivot his career direction in sports turf management.”

Mr McNeill is an advocate for more people studying sports turf management to meet the industry’s demand for workers.

“It is a fascinating career and I find it rewarding and satisfying,” he said.

“Turf is a living organism, and we keep asking so much of it; but when you can walk away and look at the product we’ve produced for an event, whether that be an NRL game or a concert, that’s when you get that sense of achievement.

“I feel incredibly fortunate to work in a new, major stadium. There are only a handful of venues of this calibre in Australia, so I take very seriously the responsibility of creating a product that’ll be viewed by thousands of people.”

Back in 1974, Robert ‘Bob’ Agland made the unexpected decision to leave his career as a welder and become a turf farmer. He loved the outdoors and longed for a career that involved less travelling and shorter hours.

At the time, he lived in Berkeley Vale on the Central Coast with his wife Annette and their 2 daughters, Margaret and Vicki. He travelled daily into inner Sydney for work, relying solely on train transport to get to and from work as well as moving from job to job during the day. He got tired of all the travelling and long hours and was busting to spend more time outdoors. He wanted to work closer to home, with less travelling and therefore shorter days. When the opportunity arose for him to purchase a turf farm, he just couldn’t say no.

In June 1974, Bob Agland purchased a turf farm in Wyong and started ‘Agland Turf’ as a business. The property was an established turf farm with common Kikuyu and a small amount of Couch already growing and Bob kept on all the previous owners’ staff when he took over to assist him with the running of his new business. The property purchase included a turf cutter; however, all turf deliveries were made using a trailer. Bob eventually acquired a delivery truck to make the whole delivery process more efficient.

In February 1981, Bob moved his family to Dumeresq Island near Taree on the mid North Coast. He purchased a former dairy farm and had to start from scratch to establish his turf business again. Due to the constant flooding of the Manning River across his property, Bob moved his family again in February 1984. This time they purchased a house in Nabiac on the Mid North Coast and leased local paddocks for the turf business. Bob and Annette lived in Nabiac for the next 18 years, expanding their business and watching their family grow.

In 1997, Bob’s son-in-law, Wayne Griffis, began working alongside Bob to gain valuable insight into the turf industry and to learn the process of producing and harvesting turf. Wayne grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Dyers Crossing just outside of Nabiac. After leaving school, he acquired his trade certificate in dairy management and went on to work on various local dairy farms over the years. He had experience in pasture production for cattle as well as fertiliser and chemical experience but knew very little in the way of turf production and management.

In 2000, Bob’s health deteriorated, and Margaret and Wayne purchased the ‘Agland Turf’ business where Wayne put his newfound skills and knowledge into action. Bob and Annette moved away from the area and headed out west to Gunnedah to relieve Bob’s health symptoms. They moved back to the area in 2009 to be closer to their family before Bob sadly passed away on the 25th of May 2012.

In 2002, Margaret and Wayne purchased their current property at 520 Dargavilles Road, just outside of Nabiac and began preparing the paddocks for planting. Later that year they planted their first buffalo turf variety, Palmetto Buffalo.

Agland Turf registered as a member of the Lawn Solutions Australia network in 2022 for their amazing grower support, not to mention their premium varieties of turf. Agland Turf soon gained AusGAP accreditation after planting their first turf variety from Lawn Solutions Australia, a paddock of TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda. In February 2023, they planted Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo followed by Zoysia Australis in April the same year.

Margaret and Wayne together have four boys with their eldest son Aaron starting work on the farm in 2015 after finishing school. He is now Agland Turf’s AUSGAP Certified Representative (ACR) and ensures all of the turf varieties adhere to a stringent set of quality standards. In 2019, their third-born son Matthew began working for the business. He mainly works behind the scenes on the farm ensuring all turf varieties are to the highest quality before harvesting. Their 2 other children, Joshua and Kye, both occasionally work for the business however wish to pursue different career paths.

Over the 31 years we have been producing turf for South East Queensland, I have learnt a lot about introducing new varieties to the market.

Knowing the product and having confidence in what you are selling to your customers is a must. As a result, my wife and I decided to remove an area of our front lawn and replace it with Zoysia Australis, or ZA as we “Turfies” call it.

I sprayed out the existing lawn which required three applications one week apart. I then waited for 6 weeks to be sure the old lawn had completely died.

As our neighbours and regular passers-by were used to seeing the lush green grass we pride ourselves on, this attracted some attention to the ‘dying lawn’ and what was going on at the turf farmer’s place, with many stopping out the front to ask about the project. We had one very enthusiastic visitor to the neighbourhood knock on our door on a Sunday morning asking why we had killed our lawn and what was our plan for it.

After chatting to him about the new Zoysia Australis, as a lawn-lover himself, he was eager to see the results and asked when ZA would be available to the public as he would like to try it out at his place. We welcomed him to come back and check out the new lawn as it was establishing.

I removed the old lawn using a turf cutter, then added organics, lime, gypsum, and trace elements to the soil blending it into 30mm of the top layer. Five millimetres of top-bedding sand was added to create a cap on top. This allows for levels to be precise, with the added benefit of better drainage for the profile as Zoysia doesn’t like ‘wet feet’ – growing in soil that is too wet.

The next day we harvested the ZA. We applied a slow-release fertiliser to the area to provide food for the new turf for 12 weeks, then we installed the ZA. It was rolled twice and watered in well to bed into the soil profile.

Often customers believe the organics that were added to the top layer of soil in preparation for new turf is enough, and that fertilising before installation is not needed. However, a starter fertiliser application should always be carried out, preferably with a slow-release product to ensure the necessary nutrients for optimal establishment are provided.

The new lawn was lightly irrigated morning and night for the first 7 days, once daily for the following 7 days, then every other day for a further 2 weeks.

The new lawn had its first mow after 18 days. I always water new turf immediately after the first mow, which seems to help reduce the stress of the new plant having its leaves cut off.

Since installation, I have only used liquid feed, Lawn Solutions Australia Exceed and Lawn Kelper on the lawn every 4-6 weeks as the colour reduces. This is to control the thatch and the clipping count. Applying small amounts often has had the best results. To date, I have not applied a granular fertiliser, and it doesn’t look like it will be needed. Nor have I applied any herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides despite having had the worst lawn grub season in years.

I have seen the presence of mealy bug in one small area where it’s damp from the shade of a hedge, however, I have not treated the pest and it has not been a problem for the lawn.

The lawn-lover who was interested in what we were doing with the lawn and eager to see how the ZA performed, called by again within days of installation and was excited to see how it looked and loved the blue-green colour like QLD Blue Couch. He placed the first order of ZA for his own lawn right there on the spot, and his second order about 6 weeks later.

We had more interested neighbours stop by over the following weeks, and after answering their questions, they too wanted to have their lawn replaced with ZA. The orders then rolled in.

Zoysia Australis has proven itself, not only to my wife and I, but also to the local community as a great variety of turf for a beautiful lawn. It has shown how little input is needed to achieve excellent results. The lawn has grown successfully in the entire area of installation, and even in the shade of the hedge despite having one of the wettest and most humid summers in years.

In 2020, the Sunshine Coast Council (SCC) commenced major re-development of the Mooloolaba foreshore.

The Mooloolaba Esplanade Holiday Park was permanently closed to allow for Stage 1, Northern Parkland to take place. This incorporated a raised boardwalk to link Alexandra Headland to Mooloolaba with new community facilities including picnic areas, undercover barbeque areas, a state-of-the-art playground with sails and hard-covered areas and landscaping.

This stage was completed in June 2022 and was opened to the public. By September 2023, the SCC could see that the turf areas were in major disrepair, and they contacted Daleys Turf located in Bells Creek seeking a solution.

After several onsite meetings, it was decided to replace the old turf with an improved variety that would suit all the needs the council required for such an area. TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda was the chosen turf variety based on its wear tolerance and that it would handle the punishment of sporting events such as the Mooloolaba Triathlon, the Sunshine Coast Marathon and other fun runs whereby the grassed area can be covered for up to 10 days at a time with temporary infrastructure that is used for these events.

The first challenge was working out how to conduct the work safely and efficiently without completely closing the area off to the public. Access for pedestrians on the Mooloolaba foreshore is via a footpath shared by over 1,000 people daily.

With the assistance of SCC management and their employees, Daleys Turf devised a plan.

The project was to begin once the Queensland school holidays were over, but it needed to be completed 6 weeks before a large event that was booked in November to give the turf time for establishment. It would then be ready to re-open to the public. This only gave the team a 4-day window to complete the job.

Metal safety fencing was erected, then the existing turf and soil were removed, the drainage system was installed, irrigation was upgraded with more stations and sprinklers added to increase coverage, and then the new sand-based soil was added.

All materials had to be delivered to an off-site location and then re-loaded onto smaller vehicles that could access the shared walkway. Each vehicle was escorted into and out of the site with spotters in front and at the back.

Fifty-five cubic metres had to be removed and the total area of turf to be replaced was 890m2. There were 65 cubic metres of SFB8000 (a special sports blend to handle foot traffic) to be added. This was blended in with the existing profile using a Harley Rake, and then the prep area for the turf was laser-levelled to maximise the drainage.