The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Winner promotes benefits of award
The winner of last year’s inaugural Agriscot arable farmer of the year award has urged colleagues across the country to enter this year’s competition.
Aberdeenshire farmer Peter Chapman, from South Redbog near Strichen, said taking part forced him to step back and take a close look at his business and assess its strengths and weaknesses.
Mr Chapman added: “And of course it is nice to get a wee bit of recognition from your peers.”
He will help judge this year’s entries with past AgriScot chairman Andrew Moir who farms at Laurencekirk.
The award aims to demonstrate best practice in sustainable crop production and farm business management and the winner receives a bespoke precision farming package from Soil Essentials.
Mr Chapman said: “Since our win they have been working with us at South Redbog on a few different areas including historical yield maps, soil biology and drone imagery all of which is enhancing our efforts in precision farming.”
According to Gavin Dick of AHDB cereals and oilseeds, one of the competition’s sponsors, the award not only aims to showcase some of the industry’s best farms but supports the drive towards a more resilient arable sector.
“We want to encourage businesses to future proof themselves in an increasingly volatile environment, to make full use of technical and business management tools such as precision farming techniques and benchmarking to get a more in-depth understanding of their business, and make informed decisions which will ensure they are sustainable long term,” he said.
To enter the award, farmers need to complete an application form. Those interested in nominating their farm should contact gavin.dick@ahdb.org. uk. for more information.