Nominations are now open for this year’s NPA Chris Brant Award, which each year goes to someone who serves the industry beyond the call of duty.
The award recognises individuals who have ‘gone the extra mile’ over the past 12 months, whether a well-known figure or one of the industry’s many unsung heroes, who have selflessly gone above and beyond in supporting others during an incredibly difficult year.
Won last year by NPA chief executive Zoe Davies, with other recent winners including Wayland’s Colin Stone in 2019 (main picture), Ladies in Pigs’ Rita Wells (2018) and former Pig World editor Sam Walton (2017), the 2021 winner will be announced at the National Pig Awards in London in November.
How to nominate
After many years of supporting the award, Richard Longthorp has passed the mantle onto the NPA.
To nominate, email [email protected], with your nomination and a few words explaining why you think they deserve the award by July 2, 2021.
“This award is different to the others as it is not looking at what the individual has achieved on their farm or business – but at what they have done for the wider industry, over and above the day job,” Zoe said.
“It is nominated and judged by industry peers, which is one reason why I was so honoured and privileged to win it last year. However, this is more about identifying those people who go above and beyond, many of whom aren’t well known and just quietly do what they do without realising the real impact they have on others’ lives.
“Let us know why you think your nominee is special, the impact they have had, whether at local or wider industry level – and why they deserve to join such an illustrious list of previous winners!”
Chris Brant
The award is named after Chris Brant, who died in July 2009. One of the leaders of the British Pig Industry Support Group, which ran from 1999-2001, regularly blockading retail distribution centres during those dark days and keeping a pig in Parliament Square, he was famously hard-working, noisy, loyal and as straight as a gun barrel.
And he never failed to step up to the mark when his industry needed him, a characteristic that has set subsequent winners apart.
