“
...almost every corner you turned you met a Consultant Agronomist who was between jobs”
The Register of Independent Professional Turfgrass Agronomists (RIPTA)
About six years ago a number of seriously minded professional and independent Turfgrass Agronomists got together to form RIPTA. There were several reasons at that time to form the register but primarily this was done for two reasons.
1.To offer and identify a source of professional, independent Turfgrass Agronomists. At that time there seemed to be a plethora of people in the industry who were inappropriately qualified and experienced to be a professional Turfgrass Agronomist - almost every corner you turned you met a Consultant Agronomist who was a ‘between jobs’ groundsperson or greenkeeper or a commercial salesman. Of course there is no reason why a groundsperson or greenkeeper cannot be a Consultant Greenkeeper, but a Consultant Agronomist is invariably a stage too far
2. Many of the Sport Controlling Bodies (SCB) were often contacted by affiliated clubs and asked to provide names of reputable agronomists. Invariably such SCB’s found themselves in a predicament, as they did not want to promote any particular individual or organisation. The availability of a register proved invaluable as they were then able to offer a source of Turfgrass Agronomists that met certain important criteria.
To join the Register of Independent Professional Turfgrass Agronomists there are a number of entry criteria to satisfy, for example
• Applicants should have a first degree in a plant or soil related science.
• An applicant must have a minimum of four years full time experience of turfgrass consultancy.
• The applicant must be totally independent with no commercial links or obligations.
• The applicant must carry professional indemnity insurance cover.
At the moment there are
21 Turfgrass Agronomists on the register, this probably represents the majority of full-time professional Turfgrass Agronomists in the UK. For more information about RIPTA and those on the register, contact
www.ripta.co.uk However, if clubs and
organisations are not using Turfgrass Agronomists on the register this doesn’t mean to say that they are not using good, suitable and appropriate people. There are a number of individuals and small organisations in the industry who are not on the Register but who still nevertheless offer a very good turfgrass agronomy service.
Final Thoughts
Never say never, and keep an open mind - these are two phrases that I hope turfcare professionals and committee personnel would consider if the question was posed to them - “do you need a Turfgrass Agronomist”. In a
continually changing world, where expectations and standards are so important, there are very few professions where some help or assistance is not useful, or indeed, warranted from time to time. To conclude, perhaps it is appropriate to quote an old proverb, “many receive advice, and only the wise profit by it”.
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