A runner-up in previous years FSOOTY Awards, Mr Lake, has nearly 30-years experience as a sprayer operator. He is now responsible for spraying more than 6,500 hectares a year for Burgate Farm, as well as an extensive contracting operation for neighbouring farms and landowners in the Godalming area,. The unit grows a range of arable crops, including wheat and oilseed rape, along with peas, beans and herbs.

To achieve high levels of accuracy and consistent results, Mr Lake uses a Bateman RB35, equipped with 24m Contour booms and an integrated GPS guidance and recording system. A BASIS qualified sprayer operator, Mr Lake has fixed encapsulated lists of essential information onto the side of the sprayer for readily accessible reference. To ensure the optimum accuracy of his operations, he regularly checks the calibration of the tank sight gauge by weighing the sprayer over the farms weighbridge.

Skilled operator

Syngenta Application Specialist, Tom Robinson, said: Steve has consistently shown outstanding skills as a sprayer operator. He has proved a worthy winner by paying meticulous attention to detail on all aspects of his spraying operation and instigated a number of innovative measures to make his job safer, simpler, cleaner and to avoid potential problems. He has demonstrated that best practice can deliver efficient, cost effective and, above all, safe crop spraying.

Mr Robinson highlighted that all seven of the FSOOTY Award finalists have embraced modern technology. “Todays sprayers are capable of delivering incredible accuracy, with a wealth of new technology available. But it’s down to the skills of the operators working to very high standardstoachieve the best possible results.

The FSOOTY Awards, now in its 28th year, havegiven due recognition tomany of the UK’s top operators,and also continually promoted the sharing of experience and best practice with all operators to raise the standard of spraying on farms. Syngenta recognises that the skills of the sprayer operator are paramount in achieving the best results from all our crop protection products, he added.

Syngenta is one of the world’s leading companies with more than 26,000 employees in over 90countries dedicated to our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. Through world-class science, global reach and commitment to our customers we help to increase crop productivity, protect the environment and improve health and quality of life. For more information about us please go to www.syngenta.com

For UK specific agronomy and product information go to www.syngenta-crop.co.uk