Hollie Hunter has been awarded the Barrie Orme Shield for achieving excellence in the 2022 Basis Certificate in Crop Protection.
Miss Hunter grew up on a family farm and went on to study for a BSc in Agriculture with Crop Management at Harper Adams University. After graduating with a first-class honours, she joined Agrovista in September 2021 as a trainee agronomist.
The focus of her research for the qualification was on chemical control of Italian ryegrass in UK winter wheat. She said: “Because resistance issues are becoming a widespread problem it was a really useful opportunity to investigate new chemistry and its effectiveness.”
She credited her award win to being able to learn from peers and experts: “It was fantastic getting so much experience out in field with lots of the Agrovista team, it’s the only way to learn really so I am very grateful for their time and support. My BASIS approved trainer was James Christian-Ilett who has trained many previous winners of this award and was a fantastic help during my training.”
Mr Christian-Ilett said: “I am delighted that Hollie has been awarded the Barrie Orme shield. Hollie was an outstanding candidate in all aspects of the demanding assessments that make up the BASIS Certificate in Crop Protection exams. To be judged the best of the 251 entrants in the 2022 exams is a fantastic achievement.”
Miss Hunter, who is also FACTS qualified, was also nominated for the 2023 BASIS Brian Chambers trophy which recognises the highest-rated FACTS candidate each year. She is now planning on adding further qualifications to her FACTS and BASIS certificates in addition to building up business in the area.
Runners up
This year’s Barrie Orme shield runners-up were Elizabeth Crane and Chris Bond.
Ms Crane was a conventional barley specialist at Syngenta who now works for Oxford agricultural trials running pesticide trials work for a range of clients since achieving her BASIS qualification. She also works on a range of crops in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.
Mr Bond has a nutritional focus in his role as product manager for crop nutrition and plant health at FMC Agro and has been FACTS qualified for several years. He undertook the BASIS qualification to broaden his knowledge to help support his role and better understand the challenges that his customers are facing in the field.
For more information on BASIS training courses, visit: www.basis-reg.co.uk
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