The board of Scottish Agronomy is delighted to announce the appointment of its new managing director, Adam Christie.
Mr Christie is the long-standing Trials Manager for the 260-strong farmer cooperative, which offers independent agronomy advice to growers across Scotland and runs 20,000+ world-class trials plots.
Having grown substantially since its inception 37 years ago, this is the first time Scottish Agronomy will have a dedicated full-time Managing Director to focus on the positive growth and development of the cooperative. Mr Christie, who was selected from 52 applicants, will assume the position on 1st June 2022.
Chair of the board, Jim Mason of Denbrae Farm, said: “Since he joined in 1989, Adam has been an integral part of Scottish Agronomy and has proved a strong and respected team leader, consistently growing the talent, income and reputation of the trials team year on year. As Trials Manager, he is at the sharp end of innovation and technical evolution, but he is also inherently aware of the challenges that arable farmers face and the solutions needed to overcome them. Starting with a deep and secure knowledge of the business, he is ideally suited to take Scottish Agronomy into its exciting next chapter. We look forward to seeing him, with the staff, growing Scottish Agronomy’s standing as a dynamic, proactive organisation offering an independent voice in agronomy and leading on cutting-edge trials.”
Strong connections
With strong connections across the wider sector, Mr Christie plans to forge new business opportunities for Scottish Agronomy as well as links with fellow research institutes, innovation projects and key decision makers in government. He said of his appointment:
“I am standing on the shoulders of giants in the industry and it’s both a privilege and exciting to lead Scottish Agronomy through these most interesting of times. There will be many challenges and much change ahead, but this will bring opportunity for both the membership and the co-operative itself. At Scottish Agronomy, we will continue to adapt and advance to do what we do best, offering robust, independent agronomic advice to our members based on market-leading evidence so they can maintain their commercial advantage.
“On behalf of us all, I would also like to thank George Lawrie for his diligence, vision and dedication in the interim role of Managing Director and I look forward to continuing to work with him as we move forward.”
Mr Lawrie will continue to assist Scottish Agronomy in the role of Company Secretary. The board is also pleased to announce that Douglas Drysdale has been promoted to Trials Manager. Mr Drysdale has been Assistant Trials Manager since 2020, having originally joined Scottish Agronomy in 2015:
“I am looking forward to stepping up into the role and leading an exceptional team,” he said. “This also gives rise to a vacancy in the trials team, and we look forward to receiving applications to join the team. It’s a fantastic role that blends field and laboratory work and in which every day is different
