Joel Johnson has been appointed Agricultural Solutions Business Director for the UK and Ireland.
The role was formally managed by Neil Kay, who was promoted to Vice President for Agricultural Solutions for EMEA West earlier this year.
Joel joined BASF in 2006 as an Agronomy Manager and went on to be National Retail Sales Manager for Canada. Prior to moving to the UK in 2020, to take on the role of Agricultural Solutions Head of Marketing, he worked for BASF’s Global Marketing Business in Raleigh, USA.
Having grown up on his family farm in Canada, where their main crop is winter wheat Joel is deeply passionate about global agriculture, which has served him well adapting to the UK market. His extensive experience working with growers, agronomists and distribution customers across the world, and latterly in the UK, means he is keen to ensure the company continues to focus on a strategy that delivers sustainable solutions for the agricultural industry
Commenting on his appointment Joel said,
“The biggest transformations we’ve witnessed throughout the agricultural sector over the past decade have been driven by innovations in crop protection, seed genetics and hybridisation, alongside the uptake of digital technologies and data to support farmers with their decision making.
“With an increasing population and the ever-growing need to build climate resilience, it is more important than ever that we provide solutions so agricultural businesses can have long-term viability, both in terms of their financial return and their impact on the environment and society, supporting the sectors next transformations.
Joel has been instrumental in the UK’s relaunch of the “Farming, the Biggest Job on Earth” campaign.
“I am extremely proud of our partnerships and the work we do to ensure we engage at all levels from farmers and advisors, through to scientific researchers, politicians, and more recently schools and families.
“Having grown up on a farm in rural Canada “Farming, the Biggest Job on Earth” resonates with me on a deeply personal level. I will continue to support the team to celebrate and share the positive messages, whilst providing tools and support so the industry can advocate for farming.”
Understanding the challenges facing the sector, and collaborating to build solutions, will continue to be a key focus for Joel.
“Farmers are continually looking for solutions to protect themselves against the impacts of climate change by adopting more sustainable farming practices like improving soil health, increasing biodiversity and adopting diverse cropping systems, but they need an extensive toolbox to support them in doing this. At BASF we will continue to invest in our strong research and development pipeline, which includes our trials network and the Real Results Circle, so that we can support them through this journey.”