ICL Turf & Landscape is celebrating the success of four members of staff after two became FACTS Qualified Advisers and two were awarded their Full BASIS Amenity Advisor Awards.

BASIS is an independent standards-setting and auditing organisation for the pesticide, fertilizer and allied industries. It offers a range of recognised qualifications for people working in those sectors, including the BASIS and FACTS schemes, and manages the Professional Register for qualified advisers.

The BASIS Award is the national qualification for all those advising on the use, selling or supplying of plant protection products in the amenity industry. It is designed to enhance the understanding of turfgrass management, pest, weed and disease control, environmental issues and legislation. Those who gain the certificate become members of the BASIS Professional Register; and newly added to that list are Matt Nutter and Andrew Pledger, ICL Technical Area Sales Managers operating in South Central and South East England.

Barry Browne, ICL’s Landscape & Industrial National Sales Manager, and Craig Lalley, Technical Area Sales Manager for North/East successfully completed the Fertilizer Advisers Certification and Training Scheme (FACTS).

FACTS is available to those who have already qualified for the BASIS Professional Register and want to gain Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points. The course builds on an individual’s prior level of agronomic knowledge and candidates must have at least one year’s experience of fertilizer and nutrient management planning in the UK.

Successful FACTS participants demonstrate a full understanding of the role of fertilizers on the main crop groups in the UK and are able to make recommendations that are agronomically, economically and environmentally sound.

ICL strive to provide high quality products that perform, where all claims are based on extensive research and to be progressive and responsible with their advice and in order to achieve this, the company is committed to the ongoing education of its staff and distributors. By becoming BASIS and FACTS qualified and by joining the Professional Register, staff commit to a Code of Professional Ethics and a programme of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) which requires them to continue their training to keep up-to-date with the latest developments and to enhance and broaden their knowledge and skills. This ensures that turf managers receive the very best advice from ICL’s dedicated turf and amenity team.