¡¡¡¡LONDON, October 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The achievements of the global crop production and protection industry were celebrated at the inaugural Agrow Awards ceremony held on October 16 in Glasgow. The awards are intended to bring wider recognition to an industry whose contribution to our lives is often overlooked.

    "I have learnt more about this remarkable industry this evening than I did when I was Minister for the Environment," claimed Gyles Brandreth, the celebrity, author and former politician hosting the first Agrow Awards.

    DuPont''s Crop Protection and Pioneer Hi-Bred businesses received three prestigious Agrow Awards in recognition of its innovative and industry-leading agricultural product pipeline and technologies. When presenting DuPont with the award for best R&D pipeline, Paul French from sponsor SynTech Research noted how its pipeline included potential blockbuster agrochemical products and agricultural biotechnology traits, and diversity in early- stage research.

    There was spirited applause for Dr Bob Holm who received the lifetime achievement award. His career in the crop protection industry spans nearly 40 years and he is most well-known for his time with the US minor-use IR-4 programme. Pete Blezard from sponsor Plant Impact spoke of one of Bob''s greatest accomplishments being his ability to develop win-win IR-4 partnerships with registrants, commodity groups and regulatory agencies including the US EPA, California Department of Pesticide Regulation and Canada''s Pest Management Regulatory Agency. These partnerships have resulted in thousands of food- use clearances on reduced risk, safer traditional chemicals and biopesticides. Collecting his award, Dr Holm said: "The Agrow lifetime achievement award is one of the highest tributes I have received in my career and holds a special significance because it also encompasses my 30 years in the crop protection industry and is an award on a global basis. Considering the excellent other finalists, I consider the award quite an honour."

    Dow AgroSciences received the award for the best formulation innovation for EcoZome, although it lost out to DuPont''s insecticide, Rynaxypyr, in the contest for most innovative chemistry.

    The best new crop protection product was Monsanto''s genetically modified insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant YieldGard VT Triple. When announcing the winner, Lucy Croucher from sponsor JSC, commented on the product''s sell-out performance in its launch year.

    CropLife Canada received the accolade of best stewardship programme for stewardshipfirst, recognising how it has actively developed a comprehensive approach to product stewardship focusing on the responsible and ethical management of its products for over 20 years.

    Phil Jarvis, publisher of Agrow, presented United Phosphorus with the award for best company from an emerging region. United Phosphorus only entered Agrow''s ranking of the top 20 agrochemical companies two years ago and is now knocking at the door of the top 10. A company that has been, and continues to be, ambitiously acquisitive. One to watch!

    The award for best supporting role was contested by a variety of companies. The winner, however, was a company that provides a true one-stop-shop to its customers, and that aims to be a world leader in both science and customer service - Huntingdon Life Sciences.

    Customer service continued to be a wining trait of the recipient of the award for best supplier Saltigo, noted for its dedicated key accounts team and ability to support the whole lifecycle of customers'' products from route selection to pilot scale and commercial production.

    The German Crop Protection Pest Control and Fertilizer Association won the award for the best public outreach programme with its "Food for Life!" scheme promoting the benefits of crop protection.

    The stage is now set for the second Agrow Awards. More details of the inaugural event, together with pictures and winners'' responses, will be published in a special Agrow Magazine supplement, "The Agrow Awards 2007". Images are also available on request.

    Agrow World Crop Protection News is a worldwide business-to-business news service for the crop protect and production industries, published by Informa Healthcare, part of the Informa Group. The newsletter has been running for more than 22years and has over 10,000 readers in agrochemical companies and related businesses around the world. For more information, see:

    http://www.agrownews.com and http://www.agrowawards.com The Winners and Sponsors Best Formulations Innovation 2007 EcoZome - Dow AgroSciences Best R&D Pipeline 2007 DuPont Ag and Nutrition Platform Sponsored by Syntech Research Best New Crop Protection Product 2007 YieldGard VT Triple, Monsanto Sponsored by JSC International Limited Best Stewardship Programme 2007 stewardshipfirst, CropLife Canada Most Innovative Chemistry 2007 Rynaxypyr, DuPont Crop Protection Best Novel Agricultural Biotechnology 2007 Optimum GAT Herbicide Tolerance Trait, Pioneer Hi-Bred International & DuPont Crop Protection Best Company from an Emerging Region 2007 United Phosphorus Ltd Best Supporting Role 2007 Huntingdon Life Sciences Best Supplier 2007 Saltigo GmbH Best Public Outreach Programme 2007 Food for Life! - The Benefits of Crop Protection, German Crop Protection Pest Control and Fertilizer Association Lifetime Achievement Dr Bob Holm Sponsored by Plant Impact Barclay Chemicals supported the event as a networking partner Contact: Philip Jarvis, publisher Direct Line: +44-(0)20-70176853 Email: Philip.jarvis@informa.com Babita Bahal, events director Direct Line: +44-(0)20-7017-4804 Mobile/Cellphone: +44-791-758-5454 Email: Babita.bahal@informa.com

    Source: Agrow Awards
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