Guild member Mike Abram has joined Bayer CropScience as its PR & Communications Manager, having spent the previous nine and a half years working for the Farmers Weekly Group’s arable desk.
Starting as a technical writer on Crops magazine and quickly building a reputation for incisive and accurate technical arable journalism, Mike was later promoted to deputy arable editor.
“In that role I became responsible for many of the innovative ideas introduced across the arable sections of Farmers Weekly, Crops and the FWi website, including the popular Harvest Highlights gallery, direct talk on direct drilling and the use of video content on the Farmers Weekly Academy learning tool,” says Mike.
His expertise was recognised in the Guild’s 2011 Yara Journalism Awards when an article on the economic aspects of cultural control of blackgrass won the arable category. Also, he has been nominated for this year’s Business Writer of the Year in the Periodical Publishers Association Awards, and will be representing the Guild in the IFAJ Star journalism prize competition, sponsored by John Deere, for his article on New Zealand agriculture post-subsidy.
Mike’s role at Bayer CropScience represents a new challenge and a first foray into the world of PR.
“I’m very excited by the challenge of helping Bayer develop promotion of its excellent portfolio of products, services and, in the future, seed,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity to further my career with another excellent company.”
Mike is keen to thank his former colleagues on Farmers Weekly for their help in his career to date: “I was a very green journalist when I started, and was fortunate to have been helped by some great people, particularly fellow Guild members Charles Abel, Robert Harris, Andrew Blake and Julian Gairdner, who all gave me some great advice and support.
“Working at Farmers Weekly was brilliant, and is something I know I will look back on with tremendous pride in future years,” he adds. “I hope my career at Bayer is just as challenging and enjoyable.”
