SPRAY Awards enters its 2nd year in 2010 and the search is underway for our next national champion.

Darren Schreurs, a vegetable grower from Devon Meadows was crowned champion in 2009. The competition highlighted the importance and prevalence of growers and spray contractors who are trying to improve their spraying practices. Darren was thrilled to be named the national winner and said 23 years of hard work have definitely paid off.

SPRAY Awards is run by Syngenta, in partnership with Rural Press, with the aim of promoting best practice in spray application. The competition seeks to identify Australia’s leading spray applicator.

The SPRAY Awards is a national competition open to ground and aerial applicators, including both growers and spray contractors.

The Awards represent a great opportunity to recognise the many thousands of Australian growers who are making sustainable and responsible use of crop protection products to enhance the productivity of their farms.

The Awards will run over the next few months, with State Winners being announced in July and Australia’s “SPRAY”, the national champion, being announced at the AgQuip Field Days in Gunnedah NSW in August.

Australia’s SPRAY will receive a $15,000 study tour to the UK to help further their knowledge and to share experiences with global experts.

As an added benefit, all SPRAY Awards entrants will receive a free 12 month subscription to Syngenta’s Agricast Online Weather and Spray Window Forecasting Tool.

Your first step on the road to becoming Australia's national champion is to simply complete an entry form from one of these Rural Press publications:

• The Land
• Queensland Country Life
• Farm Weekly
• Stock Journal
• Stock and Land
• North Queensland Register
• Australian Farm Journal
• Good Fruit and Vegetables
• National Grape Grower
• Australian Dairyfarmer

All correct entries will progress to the second judging stage in May and June. The State judging will be held in May and June and will include on-farm assessments. The national winner will be selected from the five State finalists - NSW-ACT, Victoria-Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland-Northern Territory.

Ben Miles, Syngenta Australasia's marketing head, said the competition showcases best practice in the application of chemicals across the whole range of crops. It recognises the top operators and we hope will inspire others to adopt more efficient methods of applying sprays.

He said farm chemicals are a vital tool for modern agriculture but they need to be applied as carefully and efficiently as possible to reduce waste (and money) and ensure their use doesn't impact on neighbouring crops and the environment.

“Employing best practice application strategies will really help growers and spray contractors to get the most out of their investment – we want to reward this behaviour,” he said.

First round entries close Thursday, 15th April 2010

Comments from the Judges in 2009

For the competition’s judging panel, comparing entrants from such varied backgrounds was challenging but rewarding.

According to one of the judges, Syngenta’s Technical Services Lead, Garth Wickson, individual procedures varied greatly between the entrants, but there were a number of key characteristics demonstrated by the top operators.

“All of our state winners demonstrated a high degree of technical knowledge, good record keeping, excellent chemical storage facilities and a deep understanding of the principles of safe and responsible chemical use,” he said.

“Growers and applicators who adopt best practice strategies, such as the SPRAY Awards state winners, can not only optimise product performance and save money, but also greatly reduce the risk of products moving off target in either spray drift or runoff.

“Correct spray timing, equipment setup and nozzle selection are all about getting more of the product to the spray target,” Garth said.

“While recently there has been a greater focus on equipment setup and nozzle selection on Australian farms, real opportunities for most spray applicators to optimise results by adopting best practice still remain.

“The SPRAY Awards really highlighted this, and I hope more spray applicators across Australia will learn some important tips from our winners.”