BCPC Awards 2023

This year’s BCPC Congress, Harrogate, was the chosen venue for presenting the BCPC Award to two individuals for their outstanding contribution to the crop production sector.

L-R: Jim Orson, Hazel Doonan, Sarah Cowlrick, Julian Westaway

The BCPC Advisory Board had no hesitation in agreeing to present this year’s award to Sarah Cowlrick of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants and Hazel Doonan of the Agriculture Industries Confederation.

In presenting the awards, BCPC Advisory Board Member Jim Orson commented “both recipients, in different organisations, are at the very centre of training and support for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) within the sector, carefully and brilliantly ensuring that farmers receive informed advice on managing their crops. Not only do they do that, but they also give of their time to support other industry initiatives.”

Sarah Cowlrick, Association of Independent Crop Consultants (AICC) CEO

Sarah has been active throughout her career in promoting the role of independent agronomy in successful and sustainable crop production. Its annual AICC Conference is a regular in many agronomists’ calendar and is just one of the many initiatives to share valuable knowledge and expertise. Furthermore, Sarah has been active in bringing new recruits into the sector though the establishment of the AICC Academy.

Helen Doonan, Head of Crop Protection and Agronomy, Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC)

Helen is responsible for the management and coordination of the Crop Protection and Agronomy Sector for the AIC, an industry body she has been with for almost two decades.
Previous to her AIC role, she worked in the crop protection industry for 18 years as a BASIS-qualified agronomist and was also responsible for managing a regional agrochemical department with a national distributor.

BCPC Awards are presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in one or more of the areas of scientific advance, technology innovation, advisory and extension, education and training and regulatory affairs.