February 26, 2021 - Turf Matters

Announcing Slug Week: Does your town – or even your garden – have the most slugs in the country? Is it a slime hot spot? And maybe, hiding under one of your garden pots, you’ll find the country’s BIGGEST slug, lurking in the shadows.

During Slug Week (5-11 April 2021), families everywhere will be challenged to take part in a nationwide search for slugs in their gardens.

Announcing Slug Week

To take part in the slug survey, visit www.slugweek.com any time during Slug Week and follow the simple instructions. You’ll be asked to put aside 20 minutes one evening during the week and to count all the slugs you can find in various areas of your garden. You’ll also need to measure the biggest slug you can find. The information gathered should be submitted on a simple online form.

Other things to do during Slug Week:

Go slug spotting: On the Slug Week website, you’ll find a printable field guide to slugs you may see in your garden or whilst out on walks.
Get creative: We’d love to see drawings and paintings of slugs on garden plants. Send us your works of art and we’ll publish the best on Facebook.

This Great Slug Count is the brainchild of the people at Nemaslug, who make an organic form of slug control. Whilst many slugs are harmless – just a bit yucky to look at – there are some slugs which want to eat our gorgeous garden plants. If you water Nemaslug around the base of your favourite fruit and veg, you’ll be able to save them from the slimy jaws and, because Nemaslug is organic, you can relax when children and pets are in the garden.

To register your interest in the survey, email Hello@Paskett.co.uk and you’ll receive an email reminder just before Slug Week begins. Happy slug hunting.

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Bayer to strengthen leadership team: Bayer today announced a series of decisions to accelerate the strategy implementation of its Crop Science division. In order to focus on its core agricultural business, this includes the intent to divest the company’s Environmental Science Professional business.

It is a global leader offering environmental solutions to control pests, disease and weeds in non-agricultural areas such as vector control, professional pest management, industrial vegetation management, forestry, and turf and ornamentals. The Environmental Science Professional business had sales of approx. 600 million Euros in 2019.

Bayer to strengthen leadership team

To further drive performance and growth in the division’s most important commercial region, Bayer has named Dr. Jacqueline M. Applegate to lead the Crop Science North America region effective March 1, 2021. She currently heads the division’s Environmental Science and Vegetable Seeds businesses and has a strong track record of commercial execution and of driving transformation. In addition to her appointment, the company named Dr. Jeremy Williams, currently Global Head of Plant Biotechnology at Crop Science, as new head of the Climate Corporation and Digital Farming, and Tom Armitage from Mondelez as head of Global Communications for Crop Science. Both are effective March 15, 2021. All three leaders will join the Crop Science Executive Leadership Team and will play key roles in accelerating the division’s transformation.

In addition, Bayer appointed Gilles Galliou, currently head of commercial operations for Bayer Vegetable Seeds Americas, to lead the Environmental Science business and the planned divestment. The global Environmental Science business will be headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, effective June 1, 2021. Inci Dannenberg, currently head of global strategic marketing for Vegetable Seeds, was also appointed to run the Crop Science global Vegetable Seeds business, which is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Both appointments are effective from March 1, 2021.

“With the announced portfolio and leadership changes, and important new product approvals for soybeans, corn and cotton in the Americas, we are now shifting gears from integration to growth acceleration. We are laser-focused on commercial execution and on transforming agriculture through innovation that benefits farmers, consumers and our planet,” said Liam Condon, Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and President of the Crop Science division. “Like farmers everywhere, we have faced challenges in the past few years; however, I am very excited about the outlook for our Crop Science business. The global coronavirus pandemic has made it clear how important agriculture and a sustainable food system are, and the crucial role science can play in solving difficult problems. Driving innovation, accelerating the digital transformation of agriculture and helping decarbonize the food system are at the core of our vision to feed a growing population without starving the planet.”