Hort business honoured with international Environmental Award

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A commitment to assist growers to operate more sustainably has led to an international environmental award for agricultural distributor, E. E. Muir & Sons.

The Environmental Respect Award is bestowed on companies that have displayed outstanding initiative and are leading examples of what it takes to make the world a safer, cleaner place in which to live and work.

The competition has been running since 1990 and is sponsored by Corteva Agriscience (formerly sponsored by DuPont Crop Protection) to honour retailers and distributors worldwide for their demonstrated environmental stewardship.

E. E. Muir & Sons Regional Manager, Danny Thornton, said the company was thrilled to receive the award as recognition for the work they do with their grower network.

Mr Thornton is based in Mildura, in the Sunraysia region of Victoria, and said the importance of being environmentally sustainable was critical for the future of agriculture.

“My father was employed by the Victorian Department of Agriculture for 21 years as a grower advisor in pest management,” he said. “It was entrenched, at an early age, in me that we need to grow healthy produce to survive and, and we need to look after our resources.”

This included managing water and soil health and reducing chances of off-target damage with the wide range of products used in the agricultural industry.

“Education of growers is enormously important,” Mr Thornton said. “Most growers are dealing with a range of issues on-farm and our business seeks to assist them in providing the most targeted solutions that assist in both sustainable farming practices and environmental protection.”

To help guide grower customers on a path of environmental stewardship, E. E. Muir & Sons work closely with Matt Strmiska, of Adaptiv, from Fresno in the United States.

Mr Strmiska visits Australia regularly to provide spray application training workshops.

“The workshops assist growers across a number of areas,” Mr Thornton said. “It includes advice and demonstrations to maximise on-target application of products. These techniques help prevent wastage and potential off-target damage or MRL issues in other crops or pastures.”

“The education also stresses efficient application to limit fuel and machinery use, which means less compaction on soil, less dust and less soil drift.”

The workshops are also now run in conjunction with key R&D companies, including Corteva Agriscience.

Mr Thornton said while the number of producers in Australia diminishes each year, those enterprises that are left are becoming larger.

“The impact on each farm to get things right or wrong can be enormous. As a company E. E. Muir & Sons are committed to helping our growers be environmentally sustainable and profitable in the long-term.”

“It is a step-by-step process to help them along that way. It is something our business is committed to and looks forward to every day.”

Edward Eric Muir established this business in 1927 at the Victoria Market in Melbourne and E. E. Muir & Sons now have stores throughout Australia.

A strong commitment helping their customers achieve environmental sustainability has been a cornerstone of the business.

Danny Thornton of E. E. Muir & Sons and Matt Strmiska of Adaptiv, working towards a more environmentally sustainable future with Australian growers.

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