Defra's New Standards For The 2023 SFI Scheme

Alex is a  BASIS, FACTS, Conservation Management and Soil and Water qualified agronomist. He is a member of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants and probationary member of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers. 

Alex studied at Harper Adams including a 14 month placement on a large arable farm in Warwickshire. The role included carrying out practical farm work alongside helping the family farm consultancy business. 

Alex started his career after university on a national agronomy programme, before progressing to farm consultancy work in Essex and Kent, where he has worked for the last three years. During this time he attended the Worshipful Company of Farmers Advanced Business Management Course.

Alex has a passion for the countryside and a desire to help farmers manage their farms better, achieving more profitable business results year on year. He thrives upon forensically analysing their revenues and costs and identifying methods of improvement.  He enjoys setting goals and objectives and then overseeing implementation to ensure successful delivery. 

Alex enjoys spending time with his family and girlfriend, who provide unwavering support and share many interests together.

Alice is a qualified farming consultant providing farm management advice with a keen focus on agronomy and crop management. Her client base covers Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire encompassing a great variety of farms in terms of size, enterprise type and soil characteristics.

Alice studied Biological Science as an undergraduate at the University of Leeds, focusing on plant breeding and crop genetics. She then completed a Master's degree in Sustainable Agriculture at Harper Adams University before starting work as an agronomist. Her interest in the sustainability of farming has developed into a real passion for regenerative agriculture, in particular its practical implementation on UK farms. She is increasingly involved with clients enhancing soil health in order to facilitate the reduction of artificial inputs in both arable and mixed systems.

When not at work, Alice still likes to be outside as much as possible. She enjoys long-distance running, horse riding and exploring the UK countryside with her agronomy assistant, (yellow labrador) Buddy.

Andrew is a farming consultant specialising in strategic farm advice, with a particular interest in regenerative farming systems, natural capital markets and supporting the transition away from farming subsidies. He has participated in ELMS, designing and managing an ambitious SFI pilot scheme and being involved in co-design of the new Local Nature Recovery.

Andrew is a qualified Chartered Surveyor, with a BSc in Geology from Durham University and an MSc in Real Estate Investment from Bayes Business School.

In his spare time Andrew can be found out in the garden attempting to grow some veg, or sailing on the Norfolk Broads.

Ben studied Economics at the University of York for his bachelor’s degree, before working within the pharmaceutical industry as a health economist at the start of his career. Having been brought up on the family farm in Cambridgeshire, agriculture has always been a passion of Ben’s and he quickly completed his BASIS foundation course in Agriculture and undertook a more active role on the farm.

Ben is a qualified agronomist having completed his BASIS qualification in Crop Protection and FACTS. Next on the list is the CAAV qualification! Ben majors in farm management, as well as Countryside Stewardship and grant schemes.

In his spare time, Ben is a keen sportsman who can often be found plying his trade at Shelford Rugby Club during the winter months, and at the village green playing cricket before harvest!

Beth grew up on her family sheep farm in North Wales and graduated in 2020 from Harper Adams University with an Honours degree in Agriculture with Animal Science. Her early career has included animal pharmaceuticals, grain sampling and working for a seed production company. 

Beth has a keen interest in agronomy and Countryside Stewardship and works with a number of clients across Essex, Hertfordshire, and Kent. Last year, she completed her BASIS foundation award in Agronomy and she is currently undertaking the BASIS Certificate in Crop Protection before progressing onto FACTS. Beth is also a probationer of the CAAV and member of the Mid Anglia Institute of Agricultural Management branch. 

Outside of work, Beth enjoys playing netball for Saffron Walden. She is also a keen member of Ashdon & Saffron Walden Young Farmers and holds committee roles. She often returns to the Welsh mountains for dog walks with her New Zealand Huntaway, Belle.

After gaining three years of experience working in Rural Surveying, specialising in Rural Estate Management, Beth joined Ceres Rural in 2021. Since joining, Beth has been involved in farm management and diversification, environmental stewardship, and agronomy. She has completed her BASIS Crop Protection qualification and is focusing on her interest in regenerative farming and enhancing biodiversity, with the passion fuelled in part by the environmental work taking place on her home farm.

Beth studied Rural Land Management (MSc) at the Royal Agricultural University. She also holds a level 5 diploma in Environmental Management and Ecology and a level 4 diploma in Farm Management. 

In her spare time, Beth is a keen member of Essex Young Farmers, having formerly stood as Vice County Chair, as well as holding several committee roles at county, club and F&GP level. When Beth’s not busy with Young Farmers, she enjoys spending time on the Suffolk Coast in Aldeburgh.

Carol has spent the bulk of her career at professional service firms looking after their teams and clients. All agree that she is extremely organised and personable, always looking to help.

Carol has lived in the rural North Essex / South Cambridgeshire area since 1985, where she brought up two children together with her husband. Having supported farming professionals since 2007, she now understands a lot more (too much!?) about the topography and soil quality of the area she looks out on when walking her daughter’s dog.

Charles is a farming consultant, with BASIS and FACTS qualifications, providing independent, practical and clear business advice to clients. Charles is also qualified in the field of Agricultural Land Classification, issued by the British Society of Soil Science. This enables him to carry out land quality assessments and grading for proposed development sites. 

After graduating from Newcastle University, and earning the NIAB TAG ASSET Award in his final years' studies, he spent a year working on broadacre farms in Australia, before starting his career in Chelmsford as a farming consultant in 2015. Today, Charles is based just south of Cambridge, where he services clients across the eastern region.

Charles has a range of experience, managing contract farming agreements, joint ventures and providing retained consultancy to clients. He has also been involved with agrochemical buying groups, benchmarking on arable farms and estates, together with a variety of grant funding projects for rural businesses. With an interest in sustainable agriculture and regenerative farming practises, he often combines bespoke environmental stewardship agreements to complement existing farming practises.

Outside of work, Charles enjoys a variety of outdoor and country pursuits. A keen cricketer and rugby player, he's often the first to be involved in any work-related sporting events and activities.

Charlie has 20 years of experience providing leading farm management and consultancy advice to clients across the West and South East of England. He specialises in farm management and strategic planning. Implementing the plans is the exciting part of the job, making a real difference to the future of a business.

Charlie is a registered agricultural valuer, qualified agronomist ICM & BETA and has been a local board member of the GWCT. Charlie advises a number of high profile and high net worth clients, including Jeremy Clarkson.

He loves spending time with his family and will soon struggle to come to terms with the fact his sons are faster, stronger and hit a cricket ball further than he can!

Charlotte has happily spent her whole career within the farming industry and is thoroughly enjoying the challenge of keeping the Ceres team in line!

She enjoys being the first point of contact for our clients, with a passion for farming and helping Ceres Rural to deliver a first class service.

She is a countryside and fresh air enthusiast and can be found at the beach in any weather with her two daughters.  However, when it comes to running, it’s a strictly fair-weather policy!

Chloe grew up in Buckinghamshire, where an interest in wildlife and rural life grew.

Chloe provides farm advice with a particular focus on environmental schemes, including helping to secure more novel sources of grant funding. Her client base predominantly covers Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Chloe studied Environmental Sciences at the University of Southampton and has spent her career to-date in self-employment and later, working for both the Environment Agency and Natural England, where she gained advisory experience. Chloe joined Ceres Rural as a Soil and Water Qualified advisor.

Chloe has also helped to set-up a new farmer cluster group centered around the River Ray in Oxfordshire, which she takes pleasure from facilitating.

Chloe enjoys exploring nature, new walks and places to eat in and around the Chiltern Hills at the weekends.

Christopher is an agricultural consultant providing discrete, independent business and strategic advice to farmers and landowners.

He has 40 years experience in eastern England. Initially managing farms in hand, then setting up contract farming arrangements and joint ventures. Recently he has been advising farmers and landowners on matters of compensation due from A14 and A428 infrastructure projects.

He is a qualified chartered surveyor, registered agricultural valuer, and has a degree in Agricultural Economics and a diploma in farm management from Seale Hayne college.

Christopher retains an interest in Devon with his smallholding in Dartmoor National Park and enjoys swimming and sailing in Cornwall.

Claire started her career in the accountancy sector working for two of 'the big four' over a period of 10 years.  During this time she spent a two year secondment in Warsaw, Poland, along with her husband. She later took a career break to raise their three daughters.

Claire joined the farming sector seven years ago and hasn’t looked back since.  She thoroughly enjoys being immersed in the variety of work over the course of a harvest year. Having been taken ‘on farm’ several times she continues to enjoy learning about the different roles within the team.

At Ceres Rural, as well as keeping the team productively ticking, Claire is instrumental in helping facilitate and organise events. She ensures our clients are getting access to first class face-to-face additional education and added value activities.

In her spare time, Claire enjoys meeting with friends, cycling (as long as there is coffee and cake en route) and walking her dog in the Hertfordshire countryside.

Ed has a wealth of experience in providing financial and technical advice and management to farms, estates and educational institutions. His client base spans a broad area, from Kent around to Buckinghamshire.

Ed is a BASIS and FACTS qualified agronomist and has a Masters degree in Farm Business Management. Ed comes from a practical foundation, having started his career with three informative years as a farm manager for a national farming company, before moving into farm consultancy in 2014.

He is also a partner in his family farming and contracting business in Essex (J.E.Hutley & Son), where he provides strategic agronomy advice and people management support. 

Ed is an avid sports enthusiast who is sometimes mistaken for a certain Serbian tennis player... when not on the court.

Ed provides farm management advice with a keen focus on agronomy and crop management. His client base covers Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.

Ed’s early career started by studying Osteopathy, before realising a return to his farming roots was the right direction. Having spent six years on farm enjoying the practical aspects, he joined Ceres Rural as a BASIS, FACTS, Soil and Water Qualified advisor.

Ed has a passion for all aspects of the countryside and particularly enjoys spending time outdoors with his own family on their farm.

George is a farming consultant and agronomist who specialises in giving practical and management advice to farming businesses. 

From a farming background, George joined the industry in 2013, having achieved a first-class degree in Natural Sciences from Durham University.

George recently led the Defra Future Farming Resilience Fund project for Ceres Rural, helping 230 businesses access independent advice on the direction to take as agricultural subsidies are withdrawn. George has a strong interest in Greenhouse gas emissions calculations, financial benchmarking and environmental sustainability work. 

George is a member of the Farming & Business Committee for the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers. His work has recently expanded to include advising various film and television production companies on farming matters.

George enjoys running, tennis and spending time on the family farm with his wife and two daughters.

George grew up in rural Norfolk where farming, animal husbandry, wildlife and the countryside made up a considerable part of his fabric. 

At the age of 16, George left Norfolk to pursue a career in professional sport. George spent close to 10 years in Leicester playing with premiership side Leicester Tigers and England age-group sides, before injury curtailed his playing time in 2018. 

His wife and he swiftly moved back to her family farm in Essex, where George took up a position teaching English Literature and coaching rugby in the local boarding school. In this time, George received a PGCE in English from the University of Buckingham. Holidays and spare time were spent keenly assisting with duties on farm and reconnecting with rural life. 

George joined Ceres Rural as a Farming Consultant, looking forward to getting out on farm and undertaking his BASIS and FACTS qualifications. He is also hoping to draw upon his ecological and environmental knowledge and deploy it within his practice. 

George has a keen interest in wildlife and all country pursuits; he particularly enjoys going beating with his terrier, Tiggy. Sport remains a focal part of George’s life, though mainly as an enthusiastic spectator. 

George is a farmer's son from Lincolnshire who graduated from Writtle University in 2011 with a degree in Agricultural Business Management with Crop Production. 

George then spent six years working on a large arable farm in Essex, where he achieved FACTS and BASIS qualifications and an excellent grounding in all aspects of practical farming and the challenges that are faced.

He moved into farming consultancy in 2018, gaining advisory experience, to combine with his practical knowledge of farming, which makes him a great sounding board and trusted advisor for clients. George helps with a wide range of functions, from day-to-day task management, to implementing large-scale business change. 

George particularly enjoys the financial side of farming - he has been instrumental in rolling out the Farmbench programme in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, helping clients benchmark their performance, and ultimately improve their financial performance and efficiency.

George enjoys running, skiing, and spending time with his family - especially when that coincides with visiting his home farm.

Holly’s roots are firmly in the countryside; a farmer’s daughter and alumnus of The Royal Agricultural College back in the 90s.

Since graduating she has been organising and managing high profile equestrian events – from London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics to Badminton Horse Trials, Royal Windsor Horse Show and The Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park. Now she looks after the Ceres Rural Oxford office. Organising and managing is where she is happiest.

Out of hours she can be found either riding her horse, on a ski slope, providing a taxi service to her two boys, or walking the dogs.

Jason specialises in the management of farms, the formation of contract farming and joint venture agreements. He further provides strategic advice to a range of farming businesses and advises on compulsory purchase schemes and landlord and tenant matters.

Jason is a qualified Chartered Surveyor, RICS Registered Valuer and agricultural valuer. He graduated from Harper Adams University with a degree in Rural Enterprise and Land Management.

Jason sits on the steering committee of the Norfolk Federation of Young Farmers Club.

Jason is a keen follower of national hunt racing and enjoys spending time driving his classic Ford 7810 tractor, particularly during harvest helping friends.

Jock is a specialist in crop management, agronomic technical direction, arable benchmarking and machinery restructuring. With extensive experience of growing arable crops across East Anglia, Jock’s passion is achieving high yielding crops for his clients.

Jock graduated from Harper Adams with an honors degree in Land and Farm Management. He is BASIS & FACTS qualified and a member of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants.

In 2022, Jock was named Arable Advisor of the Year at the Farmers Weekly Awards, a prestigious accolade that recognises his position as a leader in our rural industry and a talented agronomist and farming consultant.

Having graduated from the University of Reading with a degree in Agricultural Business Management with a placement year, Joe spent almost two years in Hampshire with a national firm assisting with the agricultural management of large, retained clients. This gave exposure to a range of arable and livestock production systems and allowed Joe to further his understanding of financial accounts, government grants, stewardship, landlord-tenant matters and strategic planning.

In 2023 Joe made the decision to move to Ceres to develop his agronomy knowledge and is currently working towards his BASIS qualification. The move also allows Joe to have more of an input on the Essex based family farm, something he very much enjoys.

In his spare time Joe is a keen cyclist both on and off road and enjoys racing all over the UK. He passionately believes that one can never have too many bikes, much to the disappointment of his ever-patient girlfriend and family. Joe also enjoys getting stuck in with practical jobs on the home farm, and in colder months is partial to sports of the alpine variety.

Katie is a BASIS and FACTS qualified farming consultant with a keen interest in stewardship and grant schemes. She is currently undertaking a variety of work for clients across Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Suffolk. 

Katie started her career in rural consultancy after graduating from the University of Reading with honours in Agricultural Business Management.

Katie’s family farm in North Lincolnshire, and she regularly returns home to help, particularly at harvest. She also enjoys travelling and all things outdoors, from walking to skiing.

Katie recently joined the Norwich team, working with a range of clients across Norfolk and Suffolk. She has a keen interest in the natural environment and enjoys combining her interests in regenerative farming systems with her advisory role.

Katie graduated from the University of York in 2020 with an Honours degree in Environmental Science. Since then Katie has specialised in Environmental Stewardship, including the preparation and management of applications and agreements.  She has recently obtained her BASIS foundation award in Agronomy and her BETA Conservation Management Environmental Specialism certificate, and looks forward to completing her BASIS and FACTS qualifications.

Outside of work Katie enjoys being outdoors as much as possible, often following her father round the family farm. Most weekends she can be found on a hockey pitch over winter, or on a beach in the summer.

Lexi grew up in Lincolnshire with her three older sisters, where she gained practical experience in farming through harvest work. She furthered her practical knowledge with harvest roles in Wiltshire and on the Holkham Estate in Norfolk, as well as spending six months in New Zealand working for a squash growing and exporting business.

Lexi graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Agriculture and Crop Science, and is now working towards completing her BASIS and FACTS qualifications with Ceres Rural.

In her spare time Lexi enjoys riding racehorses out on the heath in Newmarket and Leicestershire. At the weekends she can often be found at the nearest Point to Point course with a meeting on. She also likes to spend time in Aldeburgh seeing the rest of her family.

Louise is a BASIS, FACTS, Soil and Water and Conservation Management qualified agronomist with a portfolio of clients in the Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire area. She is particularly interested in regenerative agriculture and soil health, and believes we have a big opportunity to be more sustainable in our farming practices and still maintain high levels of profitability and productivity. She is involved on her mixed family farm where sheep and grass leys have been integrated into the arable rotation allowing the transition from a plough to a direct drill-based system and improvements in soil health. Providing her technical and practical knowledge across both enterprises.

Louise graduated from Newcastle University with a First Class Honours in Agriculture with Farm Management and then travelled to Western Australia to travel and do a harvest driving a chaser bin on a 10,000 Ha farm. Her career started on a national agronomy programme before joining Ceres Rural, where she has a farm consultancy role offering farm and crop management advice to her clients.

Outside of work she enjoys working on her family farm, particularly at harvest and lambing time. She enjoys keeping active and has her own ‘Rural Gym’ which she built during lockdown. She recently climbed Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise money for the Farming Community Network.

Millie provides top-notch support and assistance to the team based at Saffron Walden. New to the industry, she is continuously learning and expanding on her agricultural knowledge, all in aid of ensuring the office runs smoothly.

A countryside fan, Millie and her dog, Dollie, love to go exploring. In her free time, she also enjoys going out with her friends.

Louise has a unique role. She is responsible for ensuring that our Ceres Rural consultants are able to efficiently provide farmers and landowners with free business advice, via Defra's Future Farming Resilience Fund (FFRF).

Louise is an expert project manager who started her career as a graduate at John Lewis managing the pre-opening support for new branches. Via a secondment in venue management at London 2012 Olympic Games, she joined UK Anti Doping’s testing team for three years, restructuring their logistics and allocations. Following this Louise moved to the AHDB where she took her learnings from other industries to the agricultural sector. At the AHDB she was responsible for keeping the arable knowledge exchange programme to time and budget for six years.

Outside of work Louise spends most of her time chasing after a very active toddler and finding new places to enjoy delicious food with her family and friends.

Lydia has re-joined her farming colleagues after a break to have a baby and is excited to be back in the saddle!

Lydia works hard with the team to ensure the smooth day-to-day administration of farm management affairs, and enjoys gleaning information about current trends in farming, and hot topics in the farming world.

In her free time, Lydia enjoys spending time on horseback, reading the Classics, and exploring nature with her family.

Philip provides tailored advice to farms and estates, with a particular focus on contract farming management and grant advice. His client base covers Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

Philip is a qualified farming consultant and is a Fellow of the Association of Agricultural Valuers (FAAV). He has a wealth of experience in the industry having previously had a successful career with a National Property Firm. He is also from a farming background, and is actively involved in the management of his family farm in Suffolk.

Outside of work, Philip enjoys spending time with his young family and travelling. He is also a keen sportsman, although this tends to be watching rather than playing now.

With farming in his blood, Phillip graduated from Harper Adams University in 2013 with a degree in Agriculture with Crop Management.

He has a breadth of expertise, drawing on his practical farming experience and knowledge from his previous farm consultancy role in East Anglia. Phillip has previously specialised in a variety of grant funding schemes for rural businesses across England, alongside BPS, Environmental Stewardships, and providing retained consultancy for a range of farming businesses.

Outside of work, Phillip enjoys outdoor activities and being out in the countryside as much as possible. He can often be found helping out at his home farm in Cambridgeshire.

Richard specialises in farm management and strategic farm advice to improve productivity, sustainability and resilience. He also carries out the agronomy on his own 3,000 acre farm business in West Norfolk, where he has pioneered farm trials of various concepts and technologies. He is always willing to learn and does so through participation in the ADAS YEN project and as part of the Kelloggs Origins Group.

He has undertaken several due diligence projects on large scale purchases and refinancing deals, in particular those relating to anaerobic digestion.

Richard is BASIS, FACTS, BETA and FAAV qualified and a Member of the Institute of Agricultural Management. He sits on committees for the local branches of the CAAV, IAgrM and GWCT and is the Chairman and store member at Fengrain.

His spare time is spent relaxing with his wife and three daughters, especially if that includes holidays in both the sun and snow, and is always keen to take part in or watch all sports.

Rob specialises in managing and advising rural farms and estates in Health & Safety, the Basic Payment Scheme, Countryside Stewardship, the Sustainable Farming Incentive, and contract farming, having begun his career in the industry in 2009.

Rob holds an MSc with Distinction in Rural Estate Management from the Royal Agricultural College and a First Class Geography degree from Durham University. He is a BASIS and FACTS registered agronomist, NEBOSH qualified and a Technical Member of IOSH.

He was previously a National Council Member and Trustee of the Institute of Agricultural Management and Chair of the Mid Anglia branch of that organisation.

Rob enjoys rugby union (from the comfort of his armchair) and spending time in the Lake District, but is less of a fan of the slog north and south on the M6.

Shaun specialises in financial management, operational systems and their digital transformation. He has held a variety of senior posts across finance, IT, project management, and in accountancy practices. His projects include the complete re-engineering of a client accounting department, and moving a business entirely to the cloud.

Shaun is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA from Cranfield University School of Management. He was a previous Chair of the Property IT Directors’ Forum.

He enjoys history, politics and economics.

Seb works with a range of clients across Norfolk and Suffolk. He has a keen interest in Countryside Stewardship and looks to combine his interests in regenerative farming systems with his advisory role.

Seb graduated from the University of Reading with an honours degree in agriculture in 2018 and has since worked on several farms and estates across the East of England. He also widened his knowledge and experience by undertaking a four month secondment in New Zealand with a leading vegetable grower on the North Island. Seb is working towards obtaining his BASIS, FACTS and CAAV qualifications, as his consultancy career develops.

Away from work, Sebs’ two main passions are photography and Formula 1, which he combines on his yearly visit to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Tim achieved a first-class degree in Agricultural Business Management at Wye College before starting his career as a farm consultant. He subsequently gained a Diploma in Rural Surveying and qualified as an Agricultural Valuer.

He went on to become the East Region Surveyor for the CLA, advising and representing members on all aspects of land and farm business management, before joining the AHDB as their Regional Manager. Tim pioneered the Monitor Farm programme in East Anglia and took on responsibility for managing the national arable team.

He was then appointed Director of Knowledge Exchange with responsibility for the network of Strategic Farms, Monitor Farms, discussion groups and technical events in all sectors across the UK and was awarded Fellowship of the Institute of Agricultural Management.

Tim has chaired a number of farming organisations and events, sits on various industry committees and was previously the President of Essex Agricultural Valuers’ Association. He leads on the free business advice Ceres Rural offers through the Future Farming Resilience Fund and specialises in strategic business reviews and sustainability, having completed the BASIS course in Principles of Sustainable Land Management.

He lives on a small farm with a large family and keeps fit by setting himself physical challenges and trying to keep up with his children’s various sporting activities.

Will specialises in farm management and agronomy, advising clients across the Midlands and Home Counties. As a qualified BASIS and FACTS advisor since 2013, he provides clear and practical advice on crop production that compliments the objectives of the wider farm business. He is a full member of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants (AICC) and has a particular interest in achieving consistency in crop performance on farms.

Will has a range of farm consultancy experience including contract farm management, financial benchmarking and cross compliance advice, to environmental stewardship applications and implementation, which are increasingly valuable as part of a resilient farming system. 

Outside of work, Will enjoys spending time with his young family, hacking his way around a golf course and reading.

Will specialises in strategic farm management and is on the board of several progressive farming businesses. Will was previously the National Head of Farming for Strutt & Parker, Chair of its Regional Executive, and a Management Board member. He built up a successful farming team of over 40 specialists, responsible for the management and agronomic advice for over 250,000 acres.

Will is a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society, a qualified agronomist, agricultural valuer and past Chair and Fellow of the Institute of Agricultural Management.

He enjoys cycling in the UK and abroad, and is Vice President at the Saffron Walden Rugby Club, where he previously played.