Keith-based agronomist shortlisted for national award

A Keith-based Farm Trader for McCreath Simpson & Prentice (MSP), the agricultural merchanting division of Simpsons Malt Limited, has been shortlisted for a national agronomy award.

Brodie Bain, 22, has been nominated for the Barrie Orme Shield – a prestigious award that recognises the most outstanding candidate passing the BASIS Certificate in Crop Protection IPM exam over a 12-month period.

Brodie joined McCreath Simpson & Prentice straight from school in May 2021, working as Trading & Logistics Administrator before progressing into a Farm Trader role in 2024.

In passing the BASIS exam, it means Brodie is now fully qualified to give advice and recommendations on crop protection to McCreath Simpson & Prentice's contracted growers, joining fellow BASIS-qualified colleagues out of the company's Keith office Gordon Booth and Fraser Harper.

Robb Milne, Regional Sales Director at McCreath Simpson & Prentice, said: "As a business, Simpsons Malt Limited has always invested significantly in its people and supporting our agronomy team through qualifications such as BASIS helps us to bolster the technical offering we can provide to our contracted growers.

"By successfully passing the BASIS exam and, in doing so, being shortlisted for the Barrier Orme Shield, Brodie has shown a level of knowledge and dedication that will enable her to become a key member of our agronomy team across the north of Scotland in the years ahead."

BASIS is the foremost independent authority in training, certification, auditing and standard setting across a range of industries. Over the past 40 years, BASIS has expanded its remit from specialising in the pesticide, fertiliser and allied industries to encompass the amenity, industrial, public health, food production and plant nutrition sectors.