“The winner of this year’s award graduated from Nottingham University with a degree in animal production in 1979. She joined ADAS and quickly worked her way up to become Principal Sheep Consultant. Then she became an independent sheep consultant, based in Teesdale, in 1997 developing a wide client base advising farmers, Defra the National Sheep Association and other organisations.”

She is the key figure in the SCOPS industry group, successfully uniting individuals and stakeholder organisations with different perspectives behind a common goal. She has devoted considerable passion to improving parasite control in sheep, in particular the fight against resistance. Effective communication at the right level for farmers, SQPs, vets and other advisors has been a key part of what she has brought our industry.

Of course, I am talking about Lesley Stubbings, who has both directly and through her major contributions to SCOPS, contributed to the AMTRA syllabus and to education of SQPs pre-qualification, and to their CPD post-qualification, and to the move for AMTRA farm SQPs to Higher Education Level 5. Therefore, many people here today have benefited from her knowledge and expertise as she has produced for AMTRA a range of CPD on resistance and parasite control which is now compulsory for AMTRA’s farm SQPs and is working with AMTRA to expand the range of that CPD, helping our sector continue to strive to bring best practice to the nation’s sheep farms.

So, I am sure everyone here today will acknowledge she is very deserving of this prestigious award and join in to congratulating and thank her.

Lesley cannot be here today, but to accept the award on her behalf, please welcome to the stage AMTRA chairman Philip Sketchley.