Two new Regional Managers will join AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds this autumn, as part of the organisation’s aim to work more closely with its levy payers.

Judith Stafford and Paul Hill have recently been appointed to new positions in the North and South East, respectively.

In creating these new roles, AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds is also realigning its regions. In addition to Scotland, there will now be six regions in England and Wales. The full line-up is:

    •    Scotland – Gavin Dick
    •    North – Judith Stafford: Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire, County Durham, Northumberland, Yorkshire, Northern Ireland
    •    East Midlands – Harry Henderson: Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Rutland, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire
    •    East Anglia – Tim Isaac: Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire
    •    South East – Paul Hill: Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey, Kent
    •    South West – Philip Dolbear: Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire
    •    West and Wales – Richard Meredith: Wales, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire

Judith Stafford, previously an Extension Officer for AHDB Dairy in the north, will take up her new role in the region with AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds on 2 November.

“I am really looking forward to meeting and working with growers in the region and getting out to their farms, seeing what they are doing and how they run their businesses,” said Ms Stafford. “I am very keen to meet the arable business groups and monitor farmers, to find out about the current challenges they are facing and how I can help them. I am particularly looking forward to seeing the different innovations some growers are using and how their ideas can be shared more widely.”

Paul Hill joins the team with over 30 years’ experience in farming and land management across the south. He begins his role as Regional Manager for the South East on 7 December.

Mr Hill said, “A considerable part of my experience comes from either managing farms or developing new farming businesses and enterprise strategies. Both involve analysing the existing resources available and ensuring they are being used to their full potential. I’m committed to ensuring that arable businesses can thrive, thereby encouraging farmers to continue taking the industry forward.”    

Both of the new Regional Managers will work closely alongside the existing team, taking on responsibility for the Monitor Farm and Arable Business Group activities in their new areas.

Tim Isaac, Interim Head of Regional Development and Regional Manager for East Anglia, said: “Paul and Judith bring valuable new expertise to the team, from stewardship schemes to mixed farming systems and much more. With their experience we have even greater opportunities to learn from each other, to model knowledge exchange within our own team and offer more to levy payers.

“Expanding our team to seven managers across the UK allows us all to spend more time on farm, meeting our levy payers and working for the advancement of the industry.”

With the new staff and regions, expansion of the Monitor Farm and Arable Business Group programmes is also on the way. AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds will be looking for eight new Monitor Farm hosts later in the year.

“The new regions also align more closely with those of other farming organisations, making it easier to work with their regional teams,” added Mr Isaac.

“If any levy payers have questions or concerns about the new regional structure, then please do get in touch, either with me or with your own Regional Manager. However, this new development – together with all the changes happening centrally in AHDB – gives us much greater potential to deliver more value for levy payers.”

cereals.ahdb.org.uk