The 2017 Institution of Agricultural Engineers Award for articles with an engineering theme was presented by IAgrE chief executive Alistair Taylor at the Cereals event on Wednesday, 14 June.
Winner of the 2017 IAgrE award was Andrew Blake, (pictured above left with Alistair), for his article Tackling tramline ‘river’ losses, published in Tillage magazine.
Judges said Andrew submitted a “well-written piece with good in-field shots of various systems that tackle an engineering problem many farmers prefer to forget”.
They added: “The clear explanation of some clever but simple engineering has real potential to impact on everyone’s water quality, or reduce the clean-up costs.
“The article is likely to encourage technology uptake and is an excellent piece on what is a significant issue for modern agriculture.”
Runner-up for the 2017 IAgrE award was Adam Clarke (pictured above with Alistair) for his article Closed transfer systems offer salvation for pesticide products, published in Farmers Weekly.
Judges said Adam “simplified a complicated issue and offered practical solutions in a piece of broad interest to anyone spraying crops today”.
They added: “This was a very comprehensive and balanced review of the technology currently available in this new area.
“Each system was clearly described and appraised on its merits.
“The use of the panel of experts to independently appraise the systems was helpful and added credibility to the article.”
