Beanstalk Global

Prior to the 35th CUPGRA Annual Cambridge Potato Conference on 10th & 11th December 2024 at Robinson College, Cambridge, we went live with a number of key individuals from the CUPGRA Student Network who will present a taste of their work in a flash talk on Beanstalk.Global.

The aim was for them to give us all a quick taster of the cutting-edge potato research being carried out across the UK.

Ten members of the CUPGRA Student Network, who will be presenting at the CUPGRA conference in December, were eager to introduce their research and spark your curiosity about their potential findings!

They were: Fabian Villamil Bolanos, Francis Kawalya, Vongai Chekanai, Ronald Manjoro, M Garrido Davies, Anika Damm, Brandon Thompson, John Owen, Favour Olu-Olusegun, Edwin Tapiwa Toreveyi.

We know how important it is to be inspired by both big businesses and individuals, which is why we are excited to present Talking Leaders, a monthly initiative from the AHDB which will see a series of inspirational speakers share their life experiences and deliver impactful stories to the AgriLeader community.

In this months' AHDB Talking Leaders broadcast, we sit down with Kat Thorne, founder of The Morning Game Changer, to explore how cultivating positive habits can lead to sustained high performance without risking burnout. 

Kat is a positive habits international keynote speaker, teacher and consultant. Her life story of workaholism, breakdown and burnout inspires global audiences to make one small habit change. After losing everything in 2016, she had no choice but to start again. 

With ONE SMALL HABIT CHANGE.

Former Global Commercial Director & CEO, Kat now works with organisations, leaders and individuals around the world to create one small positive habit change that actually results in increased wellbeing & resilience.

Kat shares practical strategies for maintaining consistency, balancing productivity with recovery, and preventing burnout, all tailored to the unique challenges faced by farmers. Viewers will gain valuable insights into how simple, actionable changes in daily routines can improve both well-being and long-term success in farming

We know how important it is to be inspired by both big businesses and individuals, which is why we are excited to present Talking Leaders, a monthly initiative from the AHDB which will see a series of inspirational speakers share their life experiences and deliver impactful stories to the AgriLeader community.

In the October episode of Talking Leaders we are delighted to be joined by Anna Mosley - High Performance Coach & Founder of Eighty Growth Academy.

Anna is a multi-award winning speaker and high performance coach. With an extensive past career in corporate leadership and vast experience in the world of mental health, Anna – a master in neuro linguistic programming - bridges the gap between mental fitness and high performance.

Having overcome her own struggles of perfectionism and burnout, Anna specialises in growth mindset. She passionately upskills business owners and their teams to break through barriers to unlock their full potential, building resilience and agility and driving a culture for success. Anna is known for her highly engaging style, for making complicated topics simple to digest and implement, and for leaving her audience thinking BIGGER…every time.

We know how important it is to be inspired by both big businesses and individuals, which is why we are excited to present Talking Leaders, a monthly initiative from the AHDB which will see a series of inspirational speakers share their life experiences and deliver impactful stories to the AgriLeader community.

In the September episode of Talking Leaders we are delighted to be joined by Victor Campos, CEO of 3R Ribersolo Soil Lab. We will delve into Victor’s journey from agricultural engineering to spearheading soil health initiatives. He will share his passion, love of innovation, and commitment to building a more sustainable future for agriculture.

Victor, a native of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, is a multifaceted individual with a profound passion for agriculture and sustainable practices. Armed with a degree in Agricultural Engineering from UNESP Jaboticabal and an MBA in Agribusiness from PECEGE/ESALQ, Victor’s academic journey laid the foundation for his impactful career in the agricultural sector.

Specialising in soil management at ESALQ and further honing his expertise with a Master’s in Coffee Production from the University of Trieste, Italy, Victor’s commitment to continuous learning and innovation is evident. As the CEO of 3R Ribersolo Soil Lab and a farmer of specialty coffees, avocados, and hops at Fazenda Bella Terra, Victor combines practical experience with scientific rigor to drive sustainable agricultural practices.

In 2018, Victor’s dedication to advancing agricultural knowledge earned him the prestigious Nuffield International Scholarship, supported by Biotrigo, CHT, and Nuffield Scholars. With a focus on improving soil and agricultural analysis techniques, Victor’s research aims to empower producers with insights into more sustainable ways of managing agricultural production.

Beyond his professional endeavours, Victor is driven by a deep-seated belief in the importance of understanding and nurturing the health of our soils and plants. He envisions a future where standardised analysis techniques contribute to the preservation of agricultural ecosystems while enhancing productivity and quality.

As Victor eloquently puts it, “While recognising the importance of developing new products, new technologies, and things that can be sold, I see a lack of people focused on how to systematically measure the quality and health of our soils and plants. There is a lot to learn about the life and health in our soils, and to work together to standardise some of the newer – and cheaper and faster – analysis techniques that are coming into the market.”

With his unwavering commitment to sustainability and innovation, Victor is a driving force in shaping the future of agriculture for generations to come.

We know how important it is to be inspired by both big businesses and individuals, which is why we are excited to present Talking Leaders, a monthly initiative from the AHDB which will see a series of inspirational speakers share their life experiences and deliver impactful stories to the AgriLeader community.

In our August broadcast we were delighted to be joined by Xander Beks, CEO at I4Nature Global Cooperative in the Netherlands to discuss “reshaping the future of food”.

Xander is driven by his passion for navigating complex issues within multi-stakeholder environments. He finds great satisfaction in advancing transition or transformation processes alongside these diverse players, particularly when collaborating with new generations. This is exemplified by his work with I4NATURE, a cooperative he co-founded to address climate-related challenges. Whether at a regional, international, or cross-sectoral level, Xander adeptly devises strategies to drive change collaboratively.

Xander is trained as an agricultural, military, and social institutional engineer. After graduating from Wageningen University, he accumulated extensive experience at the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality, leveraging his background in mixed farming. His expertise spans working with various organisational systems in agriculture, including education, labour markets, and government, from local to international levels.

Since 2012, Xander has led I4NATURE, focusing on meaningful consultancy, future leadership, capacity building, and strategic events. This initiative evolved from a youth program at the Ministry into a cooperative. He has developed numerous programs, fostered international collaborations, and established networks aimed at adapting to a rapidly changing world, particularly through initiatives like young boards and I4NATURE-stage, a network for young people.

In 2016, Xander joined the Dutch Armed Forces as a reservist, specialising in energy and sustainability challenges within military engineering. He also contributes to international forums, such as the Consultation Forum on Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector.

Recently, Xander has become rooted in the Alblasserwaard region, working on his wife’s family dairy farm. Here, he integrates his activities and knowledge to promote growth without increasing herd size, adhering to principles of generative agriculture and rural landscape values.

Currently, Xander is seeking deeper insights through the Nuffield program to guide the future direction of the farm and its organisation. He aims to develop learning networks for farmers focused on future-proof agriculture, furthering his commitment to sustainable practices and education.

We know how important it is to be inspired by both big businesses and individuals, which is why we are excited to present Talking Leaders, a monthly initiative from the AHDB which will see a series of inspirational speakers share their life experiences and deliver impactful stories to the AgriLeader community.

In our July broadcast we are delighted to be joined by Matt Phelan, Author & Co-Founder of The Happiness Index.

In his day-to-day role, he’s responsible for the strategic direction of the business. He is the founder of The Happiness and Humans Community, host of The Happiness and Humans Podcast and author of Freedom To Be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness.

Matt recently completed a TEDx talk where he presented 12 million data points in happiness from 1 million human beings in 100+ countries in less than 15 minutes!

In our June broadcast we were delighted to be joined by Amie Burke, Inclusivity Programme Manager at IGD. With a vast experience in the agriculture and food sector Amie will share with us why diversity is so important and provide some insights and learnings she is seeing through the IGD membership which demonstrates best practice and enhances the bottom line.

Amie has spent 15 years working in the agriculture sector, from banking to business improvement across the whole supply chain. After 4 years travelling internationally helping clients with their sustainability goals, auditing and providing solutions for supplying farmers in places like Brazil, Guatemala, China, Madagascar and Vietnam, Amie took a role with AHDB to focus on people sustainability in UK farming. Supporting the development of new apprenticeships, hands on workshops developing leadership skills and delivering accredited training for upcoming managers provided insight and experience for Amie’s current role with IGD as Inclusivity Programme Manager.

As a passionate LGBTQ+ member, Amie takes her knowledge and emotional intelligence to deliver insight, best practice and a reverse mentoring programme for FMCG industry; helping to inspire change and support businesses to create inclusive workplaces where everyone can thrive. She was recently named in The Grocer’s Power List as a top 10 activist making grocery a better industry for the LGBTQ+ community.

We went live with the South of England Agricultural Society (SEAS) from the South of England Show on Saturday 8th of June from the Young Farmer Building at the very impressive Showground. We Broadcast on the very important subject of how we collectively create more trust between the farming community and the general public. Our expert panel included:

Kendra Hall – Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust Scholar

Andrew Flake – Sheep & Arable Farmer, West Sussex who opens his farm to the public

Leighton Snelgrove – Chairman of SYFC & Farm Manager for Elizabeth Buchanan

Peter Appleton – Dairy Farmer, Arlington and involved from the conception of the Blubell Walk, Arlington

Aimee Snowden - Nuffield Scholar

With Max MacGillivray from Beanstalk.Global hosting and Mark Campbell from AHDB.

We know how important it is to be inspired by both big businesses and individuals, which is why we are excited to present Talking Leaders, a monthly initiative from the AHDB which will see a series of inspirational speakers share their life experiences and deliver impactful stories to the AgriLeader community.

In our May broadcast we are delighted to be joined by Graham Wilkinson, CEO of the AHDB to discuss his reflections from the first 90 days as CEO and how that is impacting how he rolls out his vision to inspire and promote British farmers and growers.

Graham is an experienced agriculturalist with a deep understanding of best-practice production methods – particularly across the dairy, beef, lamb, pork and poultry sectors. He has gained considerable practical knowledge from his time working on his family farm as well as for Tesco PLC, Arla Foods and now the AHDB. 

Prior to joining AHDB in March this year, Graham led the Global Agriculture team at Arla Foods, supporting over 8,500 cooperative farmer owners across seven markets and managing the delivery of innovative commercial milk concepts on farm. During his extensive career at Arla, he worked in both UK and global roles, helping to steer and develop a data-driven, on-farm sustainability agenda, both for specific commercial customers and the wider cooperative.  

He has also spent time in the retail sector at Tesco, joining the company in 2011 as Agriculture Manager. During this time, Graham was integral to the implementation of Tesco’s Sustainable Farming Groups within its MFPE category before moving across to the dairy category. Working alongside Tesco’s Sustainable Dairy Group members, he helped develop the company’s agriculture policy and strategy for the dairy category while collaborating with the Commercial and Technical Teams. Graham also developed the Tesco Future Farmer Foundation’, which was established to support new entrants and young farmers to launch their careers in agriculture. 

In his role as CEO of the AHDB, Graham is looking forward to promoting and unleashing the full potential of British farmers and growers for the future and is absolute in the view that British agriculture is among the best in the world.

We know how important it is to be inspired by both big businesses and individuals, which is why we are excited to present Talking Leaders, a monthly initiative from the AHDB which will see a series of inspirational speakers share their life experiences and deliver impactful stories to the AgriLeader community.

In our March broadcast we are delighted to be joined by Dr Awal Fuseini, Halal Sector Senior Manager for the AHDB.

Awal works closely with levy payers and key stakeholders in the Halal sector to create a better understanding of the requirements of Halal meat production. His role involves introducing various initiatives aimed at promoting English beef and lamb as versatile and convenient products to Halal consumers. Awal also collaborates with Halal certification bodies to understand the requirements of the major export markets with a view to facilitating the export of English beef and lamb to the global Halal market, with particular focus on the Middle Eastern and Sub-Saharan African markets.

Awal previously worked as an auditor and certification manager for one of the largest Halal certifiers in the UK, he is a trained British Retail Consortium (BRC) and ISO 9001 third party auditor. He has also made a significant contribution to academic literature through the publication of a book on Halal meat production, and numerous peer-reviewed papers in reputable scientific journals such as Meat Science, Veterinary Record, Animal Welfare, CAB Reviews, Food Ethics and others. Awal holds a PhD in animal welfare and meat science from Bristol University, his research interests centre around improving animal welfare at slaughter and evaluating consumer behaviour.