On 13th February, the industry came together to celebrate the very best working in agriculture at the National Arable and Grassland Awards (NAGA).
The event was held at the Hilton London Bankside Hotel, where hundreds of guests enjoyed a three-course meal and entertainment from farmer and comedian Jim Smith. It was then time to celebrate the work of the farmers, contractors and agronomists who have excelled in their fields.
NAGA is organised by Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer and Agronomist & Arable Farmer, in association with the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) and BASIS. The awards are in their third year and are sponsored by key companies within the industry.
Kathryn Ann Styan, of Agrii, was named Agronomist of the Year. Kathryn describes agriculture as a “turbulent“ sector; much of her focus has been protecting her clients from volatility.
She makes good use of the technical advances in agriculture, with the most recent tool in her armoury being a drone. This is used to scout fields at varying levels, from checking stubble for spraying off to detecting early disease outbreaks in salad onion crops.
Salad crops are a speciality. Kathryn is a technical adviser to her colleagues, and she is also working with the R&D department further to develop the use of drones in vegetable crops. She actively develops new recruits, guiding six candidates through their BASIS exams on their first attempt last year.
Kathryn manages an area of 7,000ha, which also includes a broad range of arable and Host Jim Smith, with winner Kathryn Ann Styan and Richard Lawrence, editor of Agronomist and Arable Farmer forage crops, and that area is growing as more farmers hear positive reviews of her work.
Using ever-evolving agricultural technology allows her to direct inputs where needed, including variable seed rates, fertiliser applications, and remote weather station data to advise on optimal spray timings, especially in the vegetable and potato sector. Despite the weather volatility, most of Kathryn’s clients have seen upturns in their profitability in recent years.
Thank you to Agronomist and Arable Farmer magazine for
allowing us to use their story from the March edition
as the basis for our Journal report.
