Business Updates

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 Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire 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 becoming increasingly involved with clients on 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, cycling (once making it all the way to Paris), and exploring the UK countryside with her agronomy assistant, (yellow labrador) Buddy.

Ben provides Farm Management advice with a keen focus on BPS and environmental stewardship applications. His client base covers Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex encompassing a great variety of farms in terms of size and enterprise type.

Ben studied Agriculture & Livestock Science BSc Hons at the University of Nottingham, graduating with a 2:1. He is currently studying towards becoming a fully qualified agronomist having already achieved the FACTS qualification. He is involved in providing management support, financial budgeting and contract farming advice.

Ben is a proud Yorkshireman, born and bred and started his agricultural career on a dairy farm. Outside of work, Ben enjoys a wide variety of activities such as playing rugby, watching rugby, and more rugby. When not obsessing with rugby Ben enjoys shooting, beating, and socialising over a cold pint and a game of pool at his local pub.

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 last year he completed his BASIS foundation course in Agriculture and undertook a more active role on the farm.

Ben is progressing towards his BASIS qualification in agronomy and then onto the FACTS and CAAV qualifications. Ben majors in benchmarking, as well as 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 studied Rural Land Management (MSc) at the Royal Agricultural University, following completion of a first-class BA Hons degree in English and Publishing Media. Beth also has a level 5 diploma in Environmental Management and Ecology and a level 4 diploma in Farm Management; and is now working towards her BASIS qualification in agronomy.

Beth’s former work as a Trainee Rural Surveyor and her time spent helping on her family farm has created a keen interest in farm business diversification and regenerative farming, particularly through estate management, Countryside Stewardship, and BPS applications.

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 through his time at Strutt & Parker. 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. 

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 cut her teeth in farming 20 years ago with Strutt & Parker’s Farming Department and has now taken on the challenge of keeping the Ceres team in line!

Her most enjoyable part of her role is being the first point of contact for our clients.

She is a countryside and fresh air enthusiast and can be found at the beach at any time of the year.  However, when it comes to running, it’s a strictly fair-weather policy!

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

He has 40 years experience with Strutt & Parker 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 2 of the big 4 over a period of 10 years.  During this time she spent a 2 year secondment in Warsaw, Poland along with her husband.  She later took a career break to raise their 3 daughters.

Claire joined the farming sector 7 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 enjoys learning about the different roles within the team.

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.  

Ed is a BASIS and FACTS qualified agronomist and has a Masters degree in Farm Business Management. He is also a partner in his family farming and contracting business (J.E.Hutley & Son) where he provides strategic agronomy advice and people management support. 

Ed joined from six successful years at Strutt & Parker and three informative and practical years as a farm manager for a national farming company.

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

George is a qualified farming consultant and agronomist who specialises in financial analysis and benchmarking of farming businesses.

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

George recently led a national benchmarking project with the AHDB, analysing performance of over 350 arable farms.

George enjoys playing tennis with his wife and keeping up with her in half-marathon races.

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.

Jason specialises in the management of farms, the formation of contract farming and joint venture agreements. He further 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 with a degree in Rural Enterprise and Land Management.

Jason is a Parish Councillor, Trustee and sits on the steering committee of the Norfolk Young Farmers association.

Jason is a keen follower of national hunt racing and enjoys spending time driving his 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.

Katie is an Associate who has a keen interest in stewardship and grant schemes. Katie started her career near Chelmsford and currently undertakes work for clients in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Suffolk. 

Katie’s family farm in North Lincolnshire, and regularly returns home to help particularly at harvest. After school, Katie studied Agricultural Business Management at the University of Reading and has recently passed her BASIS qualification.

Away from work she enjoys travelling and all things outdoors from walking to skiing.

Richard specialises in farm management and strategic farm advice to improve productivity, sustainability and resilience. Previously a Director at Strutt & Parker, he also carries out the agronomy on his own 2,500 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 a board 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, 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 member of IOSH.

He is a National Council Member and Trustee of the Institute of Agricultural Management and previous 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.

Seb is a FACTS and BASIS qualified farming consultant that provides farm management and agronomy advice. His client base covers a range of farms in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.  

Seb studied Agriculture (BSc) Hons at the Royal Agricultural University, achieving a first-class degree with a focus on crop production and soil management in his final year. During this time, he worked on farms gaining practical experience in the UK, New Zealand and Kenya. Driven by a keen interest in business management and strategy, Seb went on to complete an MBA with distinction before embarking on a career in farm consultancy. His interest in building business resilience and adopting new technologies has led him to advise on a number of grant opportunities and successfully achieve funding for a range of new projects.   

In his spare time, Seb can usually be found on the water. The North Norfolk Coast being the destination of choice for kitesurfing when the wind permits or paddle boarding when the weather is less cooperative.  

Seb recently joined the Norwich team, working with a range of clients across Norfolk and Suffolk. He has a keen eye on Countryside Stewardship and hopes to combine his interests in regenerative farming systems with his new 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 months’ secondment in New Zealand with a leading vegetable grower on the North Island. Seb intends to obtain 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.

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.

Will grew up in Cambridgeshire and had a passion for agriculture from a young age. He worked on local farms from the age of 16 before studying for a degree in Agriculture with Mechanisation at Harper Adams. He is a BASIS and FACTS qualified agronomist and a member of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants. 

Will has worked as a farm consultant and agronomist providing financial and technical advice to a wide range of farms and estates for the last two years. Prior to that he worked as a foreman for a large arable and contracting business and combines his hands-on experience and technical knowledge to offer his clients the most up to date practical and impartial advice. 

In his spare time, he enjoys outdoor pursuits including skiing, hiking, and running, having taken part in several half marathons and recently completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks. During harvest, he can often be found helping out on the farm. 

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.

Zoe is a FACTS and BASIS qualified advisor and farm consultant who graduated from the Royal Agricultural University in 2016 with a degree in Agriculture and Farm Management.

Zoe moved to Norfolk in 2017 to work on a large estate growing cereals and vegetables, having worked on a range of farms in East Anglia during her studies. This practical experience gave her a fantastic grounding for her move into consultancy - so much so that  Zoe felt a huge benefit in maintaining practical qualifications and skills throughout the last three years in her current advisory role.

Zoe combines her practice experience and qualifications to provide clients with a personal detailed and high-quality advice.

In her own time, Zoe enjoys countryside walks and gardening with her fiancé Stephen and their puppy Lucy. She is a probationary member of the Norfolk Association of Agricultural Valuers and intends to sit her exams to become a Fellow in the near future.