Pests & Beneficials

The BCPC Pests and Beneficials Working Group was established in March 2015. The purpose of the group is to provide a forum for discussion of relevant research results and new legislation and new legislation, and impact on integrated pest management,

The group meets three times a year and delivers an Annual Review to an invited audience, including researchers, advisers, growers and industry. The first review was held on Tuesday 16 February 2016 at NIAB Park Farm, Cambridge and comprised presentations from invited speakers on topics of current interest including: pests in oilseed rape, bees and the impact of neonicotinoid withdrawal, with particular emphasis on practical utility in agriculture and horticulture.

The 6th Annual Review was held Virtually on Wednesday 27 January 2021 – for more details and to see the speaker’s presentations click here.

The 7th Annual Review took place virtually on Wednesday 26 January 2022 – for details and to see the speaker’s presentations click here

"Research faces challenges to improve the evidence base. Potential conflicts of interest must be overcome in addition to bias and incentives that drive research pursuits." Charles Godfray - University of Oxford

Current membership of the group is

Name	Company	Email address	Additional information
Larissa Collins	Fera	Fera	Entomology R&D Team Leader IRAG member Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society Member of the Royal Entomological Society Outreach & Development Committee
Anna Morgan	Defra	Defra	Environmental Quality Directorate
Tom Pope	Harper Adams University	Harper Adams	Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society IRAG member
Jon Knight (Chair)		Independent	Independent consultant Chair BBRO Stakeholder Committee Trustee East Malling Trust Director at Crover Ltd
Nicky Tideswell	CRD	CRD
Julian Hasler	NFU	NFU	Farmer
Sam Cook	Rothamsted Research	Rothamsted Research	Senior Research Scientist. Society & Entomology Convenor of the IOBC Working Group on Integrated Control in Oilseeds.
Alan Dewar	Dewar Crop Protection	Dewar Crop Protection
Chris Parsons	Bayer Crop Protection	Bayer Crop Protection	Agronomic solutions manager for arable herbicides and insecticides for the UK and Netherlands.
Andy Evans	CHAP	Crop Health and Protection - CHAP	Sector Team Lead
Chris Hartfield	NFU	NFU	Senior Regulatory Affairs Adviser NFU Plant Health Unit
Becky Hilton	Corteva	Dow	Field Scientist
Duncan Coston	ADAS	ADAS	Crop Protection Consultant
James Cheesman	Certis Belchim	Certis Belchim	Technical Manager
Michael Thornton	Procam	Procam	Head of Crop Production
Rachel Wells	James Hutton Institute	James Hutton Institute	Senior Scientist, Crop Genetics. Honorary lecturer at UEA
Max Newbert	Syngenta	Syngenta	Technical Manager Insecticides and Sustainability
Tom Pope	Harper Adams University	Harper Adams	Fellow of the Royal Entomology Society IRAG memnber
Michelle Fountain	NIAB EMR	NIAB EMR	Head of Pest and Pathogen Ecology
Siobhan Hillman	AHDB	AHDB	Crop Protection Scientist (Cereals and Oilseeds)

Contact the Group

Supported by

"Integrated pest management includes the use of insecticides but only when necessary, prolonging their active life, safeguarding the environment, maximising profit and contributing towards the sustainable intensification of OSR crops"
Sam Cook - Rothamsted Research