Mike Abram receiving the arable category award from Navaratnam Partheeban
The talents of some of the Guild’s top writers were recognised at the BGAJ annual Harvest Lunch in October when winners of the 2023 Agricultural Journalism Awards were announced.
The winner of the arable category was freelance journalist Mike Abram (pictured, collecting his award from Harvest Lunch guest speaker Navaratnam Partheeban), for his piece ‘What are the viable alternatives to N fertiliser?’.
The article, published in Farmers Weekly used the World AgriTech Innovation Summit as the background for the main feature, with biological, digital and breeding solutions to the fore.
Judges said praised the “obvious lengthy research the writer must have undertaken”, as well as its “clear, well thought-out style”.
Runner up for a story entitled ‘SFI2023: What’s On Offer for Arable Farmers’, also published in Farmers Weekly, was Louise Impey.
In the grassland and livestock category, the top prize was awarded to Farmers Guardian’s Ben Briggs for his piece written following an AHDB-led trip to a Texan cattle ranch.
Runner up, for a piece that investigated the similarities between the pig crisis of 2022 and the one that gripped the sector in the 1990s was Farmers Guardian’s head of news and business, Alex Black.
And in the environment and rural affairs category, the winner was Farmers Weekly deputy editor Abi Kay, for her story exposing major food fraud at a beef processor.
The exposé put the spotlight on the wider meat supply chain, sparking a Farmers Weekly campaign to change practices in the industry. It also gained massive national coverage and saw its Abi being interviewed on a number of news channels and platforms.
The runner up was Farmers Guardian’s Emily Ashworth, for her feature on a couple who are putting biodiversity first at their hill farm in Cumbria.
