BCPC Awards – Two Worthy Winners

Two Worthy Winners for 2025

BCPC Awards are made to acknowledge outstanding contributions to crop production in one or more areas of scientific advance, technology innovation, advisory and extension, education and training, and regulatory affairs.

Nominations are selected by the BCPC Advisory Board and this year they have selected two such individuals, with the presentation taking placeon the eve of this Years BCPC Congress, held in Harrogate, 4-5 November.

Pamela Chambers

Pamela Chambers receiving her BCPC Award from Jim Orson

Pam received the award for being an enlightened, very knowledgeable, determined and dedicated agronomist throughout her career after obtaining a degree in Agricultural Chemistry (Wye College), a Post Graduate Diploma in Crop Protection (HAUC) and an MSc in Enterprise and the Environment (Open Uni).

She always ensures that the farmer and the wider industry receive the most appropriate advice based on her considerable knowledge and experience. During her early years as one of the country’s first female arable advisers she spent 13 years working for ADAS in Lincolnshire. She became a joint author for work on the effects of husbandry practices limiting nitrate loss and a weekly contributor to the BBC Lincolnshire farming programme. This was in addition to providing agronomic advice to growers on arable and vegetable crops.

On moving to New Zealand for 3 years, Pam revolutionised the approach to agronomic advice in New Zealand with one of her growers, Chris Dennison, achieving the world wheat yield record, bringing it for the first time to New Zealand with a 15.048t/ha crop.

On returning to the UK she joined Farmacy as their Technical Manager and with agronomist Richard Hartley and was the first to identify verticillium wilt in the UK OSR crop and start agronomic trials looking at this disease.

On joining Broom’s Barn Research Centre she worked closely with the Rothamsted Research Association (RRA) helping to translate science into practice and was a key instigator of the then Rothamsted Post Graduate Diploma Award. She also led the BBRO Knowledge Transfer and Weed Research work.

In 2019 Pam joined manufacturer UPL as their first UK Technical Manager and became a member of the company’s European beet team and provided advice on beet products at a global level.

Currently working for British Sugar she leads weed control strategies for the UK sugar beet crop and represents the industry as a member of the IIRB (International Institute of Sugar Beet Research) Weed Group and is also a member of the BCPC Weeds Group.

As a previous member of the BASIS Education committee and having obtained the BASIS Diploma in Agronomy she continues to work with agronomists helping with training and career development. Pam is also a founder member of the Ladies in Beet group which now has over 60 members, its main objective being the sharing of information and learning about the beet industry.

Keith Norman

Keith Norman receives his BCPC Award from Julian Westaway

Keith Norman is one of the most experienced, well-qualified and respected independent Agricultural Technology and Crop Production consultants to receive a BCPC Award.

His successful career spanning 45 years followed his graduation from the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1981 with an Honours Degree in Agriculture, specialising in crop production. Then followed six years in practical farm management with Booker Farming before joining leading farm management company Velcourt in 1989 as its Technical Director. His role included supporting its team of farm managers in crop production technology and managing its research portfolio and knowledge transfer activities.

Focussing on all aspects of crop production covering seed, establishment, nutrition, agrochemicals and precision farming, that activity (which also participated in publicly-funded research through Innovate UK, DEFRA and AHDB) heralded a refreshing new era in professional, integrated crop management aimed at maximising profitability, by increasing yield and more efficient use of inputs, to reduce unit costs of production.

Farmers and other professionals involved in crop production soon recognised the potential value of that work and there’s no better testimony to that than in the early ‘90s when the Velcourt plots area at the annual RASE Cereals Event became a must-go-to-first location. At that time they represented a perfect example of technology transfer which could rapidly be put into practice to help increase profitability. And there’s no doubt that many farmers, their suppliers and agronomists benefited greatly from walking round those plots and discussing them with Keith Norman and his Velcourt colleagues. And that was not missed by Farmers Weekly when recognising his achievements in its annual National Awards in 2013 when Keith was presented with its Farm Adviser of the Year Award.

After more than 29 years at Velcourt, in 2018 Keith decided to set up his own independent technical crop consultancy business. It makes full use of his expertise covering project management; field trial design and data interpretation; precision farming, crop nutrition, weed, disease and pest control strategies.

Given Keith’s background of experience and dedication to the UK’s agritech and crop production sectors, it will come as no surprise that he has worked on various overseas technical projects in Spain, France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine. He has also holds, or has held, numerous key positions in the UK – from Steering Group member of DEFRA’s Food Innovation Network and AHDB’s Recommended List Committee to Chairman of BBSRC’s Crop Improvement Research Club and Governor of the John Innes Institute.