New Zealand seed specialist joins Barenbrug UK farming team
New Zealand seed specialist Latham Gibbins joins Barenbrug UK as Regional Manager for the south and southwest of England.
Latham Gibbins, Barenbrug Regional Manager for the south and southwest of England
The agricultural arm of the Barenbrug UK grass seed business continues to grow with news of another appointment to the company’s forage grass team. New Zealand seed specialist Latham Gibbins joins Barenbrug UK as Regional Manager for the south and southwest of England.
Latham recently moved to the UK from New Zealand, where he was a sales agronomist for PGG Wrightson Seeds – Australasia’s largest seed company. During his three years at PGG, Latham was responsible for providing farmers with technical information about cropping, pasture renewal, animal nutrition and the effective on-farm use of the highest quality grass seed products.
Growing up on a dairy farm in Taranaki on New Zealand’s North Island, Latham’s passion for agriculture developed at an early age. After obtaining a degree in Agricultural Science from Massey University, he returned to the family business for a year. He then spent three summers working at various sheep, beef and dairy farms in the local area – before joining PGG. During his time at PGG, Latham also sat on the board of trustees of the Waimate West Demonstration Farm (WWDF) – a partner farm for DairyNZ, the industry body that represents all New Zealand dairy farmers.
Paul Johnson, Managing Director of Barenbrug UK, said: “Latham contacted us with an impressive CV and a raft of resounding references. Young, enthusiastic and with a track record for growing market share for his previous employer, we quickly snapped him up. His knowledge of New Zealand farming practices is an obvious bonus, which will prove beneficial to our customers. Over recent years the farming industry has invested vast amounts of time and money investigating New Zealand’s approach to grazing and grassland management to see what might work well in the UK. With first hand knowledge of both New Zealand farming practices and thecountry’s grass seed industry, Latham is an important new addition to our UK agricultural team.”
James Ingles, Head of Agriculture at Barenbrug UK, added: “I am really pleased to welcome Latham to the team. His expertise will further strengthen the skills of our industry leading grass experts, who are located in different parts of the UK. With an in-depth understanding of how to get the best out of all foragecrops, Latham’s experience will be something that our customers will undoubtedly want to draw upon over the coming months.”
Barenbrug is one of the largest grass seed producers in the UK and has forage seed specialists working across all regions, giving farmers specialist advice on the grass varieties that will work best in their area. In his new role, Latham will look after farmers across the south and southwest of England. His Barenbrug colleagues include:
- James Ingles, Head of Agriculture and lead contact for farmers in Wales, the Midlands and East Anglia
- Mhairi Dawson, R&D Manager with responsibility for Barenbrug customers in Scotland
- David Linton, Regional Sales Manager for Northern Ireland
- Roger Bacon, Regional Sales Manager for the North of England.
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