A RIPON farmer fought off competition from across the county to win a coveted Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year finalist Award.

The Awards recognise farmers who continually strive to improve their work performance and the competition’s finalists were rewarded at the International Sprays and Sprayers event, held in Lincolnshire last week.

Andrew Chapman, who is responsible for spraying over 400 hectares of arable cropping for the Ripon farming business Chester & Dale, was praised by the judges for his forward-thinking approach to the industry.

The Awards’ judges were impressed by the way Mr Chapman strives to enhance both the operation of his sprayer to deliver greater productivity per day, along with the accuracy of every treatment. He has also recently moved to an entirely digital record keeping system.