Northumberland farmer scoops national prize

Northumberland farmer Tony Rutherford is the lucky winner of a brand new Honda Foreman AT 2/4wd Quad Bike.

Mr Rutherford, who farms a total of 1,600 hectares of mainly arable crops from Burnt House Farm, Bedlington near Morpeth, received the prize at a recent trials evening in the area, after scooping it in a top, national competition run by Syngenta Crop Protection, held at the Cereals and Sprays and Sprayers Event in Cambridgeshire last month.

The competition was organised in celebration of the next generation fungicide IZM which Syngenta is developing for wheat crops, following the successful launch of Bontima, the first barley fungicide containing IZM, earlier this year.

Commenting on the prize, which came branded up in IZM colours, Mr Rutherford said: It is fantastic and totally unexpected. You fill in these competitions and dont expect to win. We could do with a new quad bike anyway. We use it for getting around the fields.

Weve not used Bontima this year, but no doubt will next year. It seems to have worked very well with good disease control. Sometimes you leave it a year to see how these new products perform.

Pictured (right) Mr Rutherford receives his prize from local Syngenta area manager Graeme Wilkinson (left), who added: Its great to present Tony with this fantastic prize. Modern technology, whether its a high-specification quad bike or the latest next generation fungicide, is all part of running an efficient farming business.

The prize quad bike for the competition was supplied by Fieldens of Stowmarket in Suffolk.

Syngenta is one of the world’s leading companies with more than 25,000 employees in over 90 countries 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.