Plant Breeder Wins BASIS Barrie Orme Award
30 December 2008 John Miles, Field Operations Manager for KWS UK Limited, Thriplow, near Cambridge has become the first winner in its 8-year history of the Barrie Orme Award to come from the plant breeding sector, reports Stackyard News.
Presented annually to the best candidate in the BASIS Crop Protection Certificate exams, the Barrie Orme Award recognizes excellence in crop protection. The BASIS Crop Protection Certificate was originally developed as a qualification for crop protection advisers and is still a legal requirement for those who advise and supply farmers with crop protection products. The Certificate requires the equivalent of 16 days worth of lectures, plus review and the time to prepare the BASIS project report, which forms a key part of the assessment process. There is also a written exam and an oral exam.
At a ceremony in London, the trophy was presented by Andrew Orme, Head of Bayer CropScience UK and the son of Barrie, whose work in establishing the BASIS organization was recognized by the introduction of the Award. Orme, a BASIS Certificate holder himself, said: “Passing BASIS is a huge achievement; being the best is a magnificent one. It requires skill, determination, and a great deal of hard work. You should be truly proud of your achievement.”
Runners up were Sam Harvey a Farm Manager for Velcourt Limited in Wiltshire and Megan Hood from the Sports Turf Research Institute. The Awards are sponsored by the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), C & J Supplies, and Nufarm UK Ltd.
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