Agrovista Continues To Champion Young Talent With Appointment Of New Trainee Agronomists
06 January 2026, UK: Three agronomists have joined Agrovista’s highly respected agronomy team, bringing new blood to three key areas of the country where the company is looking to expand.
All three gained their BASIS Certificate in Crop Protection this summer and are now starting to take on new customers as they continue to work closely with experienced colleagues to hone their skills.
Scotland – Late return to the classroom pays off for new Borders agronomist
Joining Agrovista’s well-respected Borders agronomy team has fully justified Naomi Ramsay’s decision to return to the classroom as a mature student five years ago.
Naomi started with Agrovista in September 2024 after sending in her CV on the off chance of obtaining a trainee position. Since then she has spent much of her time studying for the BASIS Certificate in Crop Protection, which she gained this summer.
She also spent a lot of the past year shadowing agronomists in the Borders and beyond and continues to do so. “My colleagues have been very supportive and I have learnt a lot over the past year,” said Naomi.
After leaving school, she had a series of non-agricultural jobs but none gave her the job satisfaction she desired. Covid lockdowns provided the catalyst for change.
“I’ve always lived in the countryside and had outdoor hobbies, but I’m not from a farming background,” said Naomi. “I had considered a career in agriculture during high school, but I’m dyslexic and I didn’t get the support I needed, so I lost faith in the education system.
“When Covid came along something had to change. I wanted to better myself and, although it was challenging as a mature student, I thought nothing ventured nothing gained, so I went to study agriculture at SRUC and graduated with a BSc degree in 2024.”
During that time she undertook an internship with SAC Consulting, which provided valuable experience, but she wanted to do something more practical. “At university, I became really interested in the biology and chemistry of plants and I really enjoyed my agronomy lectures,” she said.
“I quickly decided agronomy was what I wanted to do; being outside, observing and advising on crops and working closely with farmers.”
Naomi is ready to start building business in East Lothian, where she grew up, and across the Borders. “I’m based more in the east working with combinable crops but I have also spent time working with grass and forage. Having worked with livestock, I like the idea of improving grazing quality and the knock-on effects this has.
“I’m ready to get going – I’m up for the challenge,” she added. “Farmers are not just going to open their gates easily so you must work hard at this, but I’m willing.
“My team members are the inspiration; some have been in the job for 30+ years and are well-established, well-respected members of farm teams.
“That’s what I want to do, building a really worthwhile career around Agrovista’s ethos of trust and teamwork for the benefit of my farmer customers and the company.”
Regional manager Jan Vos said Naomi had already made a big impression with the team. “Naomi’s determination to absorb as much knowledge as she can from colleagues has stood out.
“Her enthusiasm for agronomy, coupled with her can-do, friendly attitude will undoubtedly be a huge asset for Agrovista’s Scotland business and its farmer customers.”
South East England – First new trainee for 30 years joins Agrovista’s south east team
After briefly sampling city life Lucy Marsh ditched the urban sprawl and returned to her Sussex roots, where she has been hard at work training as an agronomist with crop production specialist Agrovista.
“I studied for my biology degree at Southampton University, but I quickly found out I didn’t like living in a city,” said Lucy. “It was a bit of a shock to the system.”
During her course she undertook a year’s placement with a crop production and grain marketing business. “I gained work experience in seed, precision and environment, did a bit of grain trading and spent a lot of time in the sustainability team, so it gave me a good all-round introduction to the sector,” she said.
“I also shadowed seven other independent agronomy companies in the area, which convinced me this was the career I wanted to follow.”
Lucy, who was brought up on a family farm near Rusper, West Sussex, joined Agrovista in September 2024. She recently passed her BASIS exams and will advise customers in Kent and Surrey as well as her home county.
“I chose Agrovista because they have a strong local presence and I liked the sound of what they do. The company puts a lot of emphasis on doing what’s right for the farmer, and the trials support data is quite incredible and is extremely useful for making practical recommendations.”
As well as advising on crops in the area, including milling wheat and other combinable crops, maize and grass, Lucy wants to specialise in soil health.
“It was a fascinating part of my degree. I specialised in modules on soil fluxes and cycles and microbiomes, and wrote papers on interactions of microbes and the availability of nutrients.”
Lucy will also be working with Agrovista’s rural consultancy team, working on IPM and nutrient management plans and taking on SFI advice when the scheme returns.
“I really believe combining agronomy and rural consultancy helps add more value for the customer,” she said. “Anyone offering advice really needs to understand the farm to make best use of these schemes, tailoring various options to achieve the best results.”
Meanwhile, Lucy continues to shadow her team members to soak up as much knowledge as she can. “So many knowledgeable people in the business have been really helpful through my training. I’m the first trainee for 30 years to join the south east team so there’s a lot of experience to learn from.”
Linda Sheppard, area sales manager for the South East, said: “We were absolutely delighted that Lucy wanted to come and work with us at Agrovista. She is very keen to learn and is picking things up quickly.
“Given her hard work and enthusiasm for agronomy I’m sure she will be very successful in her career. She has made a very positive impression within the team and I’m certain she will do the same with her farmer customers in the future.”
West Midlands – New agronomist Will Griffiths joins Agrovista’s Shrewsbury team
Swapping his desk for the great outdoors is a move Will Griffiths will never regret. He gained a BSc Honours degree in Rural Enterprise and Land Management at Harper Adams University, but midway through the course he began to realise he wanted to pursue a career in agriculture.
“My degree gave me a very good foundation in the rural economy, which will always stand me in good stead,” said Will. “After completing it, I went back to the property consultants where I had done my placement year. They were great people to work with, but the move confirmed how much I missed the outdoors.
“I had always enjoyed crop production, so I switched to agronomy, joining Agrovista in October 2024. After two interviews and doing some crop walking with one of the Shrewsbury team, I’d made up my mind.”
Will was brought up on a mixed farm in Shropshire and has always been involved with the practical side of the business. “I’m still involved during evenings, weekends and days off,” he said.
“I love the idea of taking crops through from seed to harvest. I like that every season is different, bringing its own challenges with crop establishment and management.”
Will lists plant nutrition and soil health as particular interests. “I’m really trying to increase my knowledge in this area; if you look after soils, you look after plants.”
Both those interests are embedded in Agrovista’s DNA, he added. “Times are changing – we can’t rely on chemistry anymore to provide all the answers, so farmers and their consultants are having to do things differently to make a living.”
Since joining Agrovista Will has been shadowing experienced agronomists as part of his internal training and studying for BASIS registration. He passed his BASIS exams this summer and is now building on that success, absorbing all he can from colleagues.
“BASIS is the ticket but it doesn’t make you a good agronomist. I had working farm knowledge, but agronomy is a completely different thing. There’s still lots to learn, but Agrovista has been great, very supportive and everyone has gone out of their way to help. I’m getting together with people 2-3 days a week, and walking some crops on their behalf and doing the agronomy together – it’s a great way to learn.
“I’m looking forward to building new relationships to help growers navigate through the tough times, and repaying some of the time and faith that Agrovista has put into me.”
Ross Barton, Shrewsbury area sales manager, said: “I’ve really enjoyed working with Will over the past year and observing his impressive progress.
“His enthusiasm, practical experience and ever-expanding agronomy knowledge will stand him in good stead with current and future farmer customers and I have no doubt he will become a highly valued member of the Shrewsbury team.”
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