VCA Members

Skills:
Spinach, leaf lettuce, leafy brassica, speciality and baby leaves, salad onions and leeks
Baby Leaf Growers Association - Secretary & current Chairman
Sedum blanket for green roofs and shear stress turf producer.

Skills:
Consultancy, trials and development for onion and Brassica crops. Store design and construction including all aspects of heating, cooling, ventilation and control.

Skills:
Use of fertilisers and growing media in the horticultural, agricultural and amenity sectors, including development of new products.

Trials and development. Training and Marketing

Skills:
Brassica Crops and Disease in Vegetables,particulary soil borne pathogens.
Business and organisation management. Conservation, biotechnology & molecular modification, nutrition. Expert witness. Overseas expertise in Asia, Europe, N. America, N. Africa (especially Egypt)

Languages: French

Skills:
Brassicas, curcubits, antichokes
Brassica chain issues. Pesticide magement for retail, NPD techniques, BRC Audits, Value chain management. Brassica production issues. New product development.

Languages: Basic German, Spanish & Italian

Skills:
Strategic technical consultancy to global food business. Leafy salads, tomatoes, sweet pepper, roots, Alliums, Brassicas, mango, pineapple, legumes. Project management, Pesticide stewardship and management, BRC, HACCP, Traceability systems, Auditing food businesses, Quality management systems, Environmental stewardship. Integrated crop management.

Languages: Bi-lingual Spanish

Skills:
Potatoes, carrots, parsnips Decision support systems. Experience UK, Portugal and Spain

Languages: Basic Spanish and French

Skills:
Agrochemicals, Post harvest esp.potatoes, Business management, Hygiene.

Languages: Spanish, Basic Italian and French

Skills:
Integrated Pest Management in all horticultural crops but specialising in protected edibles and ornamentals.  Includes consultancy (trouble shooting & strategic planning), R & D, staff training and lecturing.  Experience throughout Europe and North America

Skills:
Lettuce, Asparagus, herbs, spinach, spring onion & radish.

Business Management, team development

Skills:
Leafy salads, herbs, field veg, cut flowers, wild flower field margins & seed production. Experienced in crop production in the UK, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Kenya, Peru & Ireland

Languages: Basic French

Skills:
Crop Agronomy - all aspects of Alliums & Salads. Lettuce, celery, onions, leeks, speciality salads.
Precision Agronomy - GPS soil sampling and mapping, variable rate technology, all field crops.
Irrigation Scheduling - Schedulting services for all field crops.
Research - Pesticide and nutrition field trials
Training - FACTS, BASIS

Skills:
All aspects of onion and brassica crops.
Store design and construction
BASIS tutor.

Languages: Basic French

Skills:
Bulb onions, parsnips, carrots (standard and baby), leeks, leaf / root brassicas (standard and baby).
Minor interests: beetroot, sweetcorn, dwarf beans.
Operates in UK, Spain and Middle East

Languages: Basic French, Swahili, Spanish

Skills:
Professional Profile:
• Agronomist and Technical Manager, a member of the BASIS professional register for 31 years.
• Until recently worked for a global brand as the technical lead in UK commercial procurement division.
• A role as a DEFRA appointed independent member of PRiF (Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues in Food).
• Previously worked for major retailers in product technology, working on improving customer experience from fresh produce.
• Prior to this, spent 20 years providing agronomic advice on vegetables and potatoes.
• Respected track record for mentoring MDS post-graduate students and team leadership.
• A serving BASIS examiner (for the last 13 years).

Skills:
• Asparagus - technical management and agronomy
• Container grown herbs - management and technical advice
• Stone fruit - agronomy co-ordination & technical management
• Composting/growing media
• HACCP
• Trial design
• Auditing
• UK, USA and Northern Europe

Skills:
• Vegetable and salad crop walking and agronomy.
• Protected and outdoor vegetable and salads including baby leaf varieties.
• Soil sampling
• Product and water sampling
• Audits and compliance procedures

Skills:
Provides a range of technical and agronomy consultancy services.
• Over 15 years experience growing field vegetables and in the supply of multiple retailers.
• Good all round Horticultural / Agricultural knowledge covering protected cropping, cut flowers and fruit.
• Experienced in both UK and overseas production and in solving problems on the ground to deliver the crop to the customer specification.
• Holds the Diploma in Agronomy, Basis and Facts scheme member.
• Excellent industry contacts which allow commercial opportunities to be developed.
• Understand and experienced in current retailer commercial and technical requirements.
• Technically qualified but also very commercially experienced.
• Represents Industry on several grower boards.

Skills:
• Vegetable and salad crop walking and agronomy.
• Protected and outdoor vegetable and salads including baby leaf varieties.
• Soil sampling
• Product and water sampling
• Audits and compliance procedures

Skills:
• Legumes, Asparagus, Spring onion agronomy
• Hygiene
• Auditing - BRC / RTFA / Business Management
• Budgeting
• Overseas expertise in Egypt, Mexico, Central America, Africa and China

Skills:
Minimising potential waste by adding value to surplus primary foods. Enhancing Food S & other technical competences within the Supply Chain - BRC, SALSA, Organic Certification & HACCP. Creating & developing alternative & innovative Supply Chains. Engaging with Public Sector Food Procurement agencies & Producers to exploit opportunities to supply. Evaluation of post-harvest operations for business improvement. Group facilitation to foster collaboration & co-operation.

Languages: French and Spanish

Skills:
All outdoor vegetables - brassicas, salad onions, Iceberg and specialty lettuce, spinach, radish and leeks.

Weed, pest and disease identification.

Skills:
Glasshouse crops specialist. Protected cucumber, tomato and aubergine.

Skills:
NFT & rockwool production of specialty tomatoes in UK, Italy & Sicily. Herbs, salads & vegetable crops under protection.
Processing salads outdoor.
Pesticide use and monitoring including residue testing.

Languages: Welsh