Scottish Agronomy has appointed a new Company Secretary. Following the retirement of George Lawrie, Robin Barron, formerly the General Manager of East of Scotland Farmers, starts his role this month with the independent agronomy cooperative.
Managing Director of Scottish Agronomy, Adam Christie, said:
“Robin has been involved in the arable sector and Scottish agriculture throughout his career and brings valuable and varied experience in both co-operatives and business. Not only has he worked in co-ops, including 21 years at EOSF and seven years as Project Manager at SAOS, but he has been on the board of SQC, SAOS and Chairman of AIC Scotland. His expertise and ability will be a huge asset and we are very much looking forward to progressing Scottish Agronomy with him.”
Robin’s role is to support the board and the management of the business, ensuring professional governance. He will work two days a week from the Scottish Agronomy office at Arlary, near Kinross:
“I am excited about the new challenge,” he said. “Scottish Agronomy is a very successful cooperative and business, and I am looking forward to getting further involved and helping to take it forward.”
Adam thanked George as he retires for the positive impact he has made on Scottish Agronomy:
“George has been a stalwart of Scottish Agronomy and we are very grateful for the legacy he leaves. He has worn many hats over the years, but his role in the development of our cooperative has been pivotal. George’s enthusiasm for cooperation and membership organisations is legendary, and he will always be remembered for his sage advice and the energy he brought to Scottish Agronomy, seeing and seizing opportunities, working collaboratively for the greater good and bringing the best out in the team. We wish him all the very best in his retirement.”
Scottish Agronomy is a cooperative owned by its farming members and offering independent agronomy advice. There are five agronomists and a team of 17 running the 30,000+ trials plots across Scotland.
Scottish Agronomy was set up in 1985 to give growers independent advice on crop varieties and inputs, so they could make their own crop management decisions without commercial bias.
The agronomists use the findings from the variety trials with their own practical in-field experience to advise their members. The main aim is to give growers the information they need to make their own crop management decisions, based on the crops, varieties and management techniques which best suit their own farm business.