John Deere Press Room 2009

Journalism student Janine Heath, aged 22, is the 2009 winner of the annual Guild of Agricultural Journalists Training Award, sponsored by John Deere Limited. This year's runner-up is Joanne Gourlay, who has ambitions to become a full-time horticultural journalist.

Janine Heath has recently completed an MA in Broadcast Journalism at Staffordshire University, and is planning to pass her NCTJ exams before the end of the year. Janine spent her work experience placement with Northants-based video company Breeze & Freeze Ltd, and has just been appointed to a new position as a video journalist at Harper Adams University College.

Joanne Gourlay is a probationary member of the Garden Media Guild, and she spent her work experience placement with The Garden, the magazine of the Royal Horticultural Society.

Janine received her winner’s cheque for £250, a framed certificate and the John Deere trophy from the Guild’s president Margaret, Countess of Mar at the Royal Show awards presentation evening on Thursday July 7. Joanne received a runner's-up framed certificate and a cheque for £50.

The course took place as usual at John Deere Limited's UK headquarters, in April. This year’s award entrants were set the task of writing a news story on the subject of their choice, preferably based on work done during their work experience placement. The judges were specialist training consultant and main course lecturer David Mascord, and the Press & Journal’s agriculture editor (and the Guild’s immediate past chairman) Joe Watson.

Janine’s winning article was on Staffordshire farmer & Limousin breeder Eddie Sims, and was the unanimous choice of the judges. A copy of the article can be found on the Guild of Agricultural Journalists website at www.gaj.org.uk

This was the 17th John Deere Training Award, which started in 1991 (one year having been missed in 2001 due to the foot & mouth disease outbreak, and one in 2003 due to a shortage of candidates). Over this time there have been well over 500 applications for places on the course, which is based on two days of lectures on the basics of writing news and features and interviewing techniques, followed by three or more days of practical work experience with a range of farming and horticultural journals and communications businesses.

This year's work experience hosts to the eight course members were Breeze & Freeze, Farm Contractor/AME, Farmers Guardian, Farmers Weekly Group, The Garden, Horticulture Week, Mistral Group and Pitchcare.

The award is designed to support the Guild in one of its principal aims - that of promoting schemes for the provision of suitable entrants into agricultural and horticultural journalism. Since it began, 17 course members have found employment as journalists on national farming and horticultural magazines (not including those already employed when they attended the course).

Comments from this year’s course members included:

“Many thanks to everyone who helped organise the course. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt so much, making some good friends along the way! My work experience placement was really interesting and gave me a good insight, including pointers for different writing techniques.”

“I have just returned from a fantastic week away on work experience. It was amazing, they were brilliant to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it, eye-opening to say the least with stories breaking left, right and centre. I have enjoyed both Nottingham and the work placement immensely.”

“I'm writing to say thank you for such an interesting and engaging course and for your and John Deere's hospitality. The tuition was excellent.”

July 2009