Leading cereals specialist, Kirsty Richards, has joined Frontier Agriculture in the position of National Technical Manager for seed.

Kirsty joins the business after a 20-year career with the UK’s leading cereal breeder, KWS, most recently in the position of cereals product manager.

Speaking of Kirsty’s appointment, Frontier Seed Director, Samantha Brooke says: “Kirsty brings a wealth of experience to Frontier from the plant breeding sector and has significant expertise in bringing new varieties to the market.”

Kirsty’s time at KWS saw her working extensively across the grain supply chain to link plant breeders with other partners, merchants and suppliers to foster more open, transparent and connected working relationships.

Samantha continues: “This experience combined with Kirsty’s brilliant understanding of where new varieties fit agronomically, as well as how they can add value for the feed, food and drink manufacturers we work with, will really enhance Frontier’s seed business and the solutions we provide to our customers. We’re really excited to welcome Kirsty to the team.”
“Kirsty brings a wealth of experience to Frontier from the plant breeding sector and has significant expertise in bringing new varieties to the market.”
Today, Kirsty’s career in the UK agricultural industry spans 25 years, during which she has held a number of positions contributing to advancements in crop production. Starting her journey at Bath University, Kirsty gained a degree in Applied Biology and undertook an industrial placement year at Cyanamid Agriculture. From there she moved to Bristol University where she gained a PhD – sponsored by AgrEvo UK – from investigating the role of oil-based adjuvants in pesticide formulation.

After this, Kirsty decided to make the transition from technical to commercial, becoming a spray consultant for the clients of Crop Management Information Ltd, followed by a product manager position at spray nozzle manufacturer HyPro EU Ltd.

Speaking of joining Frontier, Kirsty says: “I’m excited to join the UK’s leading crop production and grain marketing business and look forward to working cross-functionally with Frontier’s experts to continue our journey in advancing more productive and resilient crop production solutions for our customers.”

Kirsty's arrival to Frontier comes as the business continues to grow and invest in leading expertise to further develop its customer-first solutions and industry advancements, aligned to its commitments within its sustainability strategy, The Responsible Choice  <https://www.frontierag.co.uk/about/trc>.