Barenbrug grass seed is passing with flying colours all the demands of quality, consistency and value for money at Loughborough University, where a variety of mixtures are being used on sports pitches and landscaped areas. This is the second year that the internationally renowned sports university has selected a special BAR 7 mix for football renovation, BAR 6 for cricket pitches, and BAR 10 and BAR 12 for general landscaping.
Head groundsman Mark Freeman, who is responsible for looking after the 400-acre site in Leicestershire, says: "As the top sporting college in the country, we are committed to excellence and we only use products which enable us to provide our students with the best facilities. Barenbrug seed passes all the tests for us - it's high performance, high quality, plus it germinates and establishes quickly. In addition we find it very hard-wearing and tough, with excellent re-growth and disease resistance. Its performance is outstanding in all areas.
"It's very drought tolerant, too. We had a pretty tough, dry summer, and although we are in the process of installing automated irrigation systems on our turf pitches, there are still some rugby and football pitches which have no irrigation as yet. I am delighted to say that these pitches recovered well throughout a season of drought and heavy use, which proves without a doubt that Barenbrug seed was the right choice."
With such a huge area of grass to maintain, Mark and his grounds team are always stretched during peak times, especially the summer months, so products that make turf maintenance easier are a must.
Mark's process of grass seed selection involves researching the STRI lists, which tell him which grasses are the best performers in certain conditions. Value for money is also a major consideration. "We are spending public money here, so we have to be very selective and look at a long list of parameters, such as which seed will suit our requirements, response to nitrogen and fertiliser input, recovery levels, disease resistance, and of course price. Overall, Barenbrug results are consistently excellent and for us they offer the best value for money.
"We obviously have to go through the same selection process every year, but as long as Barenbrug continues to perform and offers good value, we'll be using their products for the foreseeable future."
Barenbrug UK is based at Rougham Industrial Estate, Rougham, St Edmunds, Suffolk IP30 9ND. Telephone: 01359 272000, fax: 01359 272001, email: info@baruk.co.uk website: www.barenbrug.co.uk
Photo caption: Mark Freeman, second left, with some of his grounds team at Loughborough.
