Keep an eye on your email for the Zoom link.
3.05pm Dr Keith Dawson
3.30pm Andrew Osmond
3.50pm Q&A
Finish 4pm
Dr Keith Dawson (pictured) is a widely experienced farmer, agricultural and soil technologist and the co-founder of eight successful businesses. After serving with leading research and development companies in the UK, as well as working for the Scottish and UK governments, Keith turned his energy to developing a major farming operation in Eastern Europe.
In the last two decades, he has established significant consultancy and several farming business start-ups in the EU and Eastern Europe from £10-£200m. This includes co-founding Europe’s largest farming business – 200,000ha in three countries – Ukraine, Poland and Scotland, using modern technology to bring land back into mainstream production by improving soil quality and reducing reliance on chemicals in controlling pests and diseases.
Dr Dawson, who also has land interest in South America and a stake in a renewable energy company, has published widely in international scientific journals. He co-wrote Scottish Natural Heritage’s TIBRE manual aimed at environmental protection and new technology in agriculture, including the role of new crop genomics and soil management.
Current Chairman of Scottish Society of Crop Research (SSCR), Dr Dawson has held directorships at the Scottish Crop Research Institute and with Shell Agriculture subsidiaries and BASIS, together with senior positions at SAC, BASF, and LEAF and through his work with a variety of UK and Scottish Governmental Panels and Forums. He was a member of the Government’s Pesticide Forum for twelve years.
See the recent article in Scottish Farmer: Feeding the world and keeping the peace.
Andrew was brought up on family tenanted farm in Dorset with dairy, arable, beef and a pedigree Dorset flock of sheep. His farming operations are now principally arable, a mix of home farms and contract farming across Hampshire and Dorset. He brings on 3000 store lambs in September each year to graze grass seeds, cover crops and turnips over the winter.
The owned land is used to grow seed crops of Winter Wheat, Winter and Spring Barley and grass. WOSR and protein peas are grown in the rotation as a clean break.
On the contracted land, Andrew grows milling and biscuit quality wheat, Winter and Spring Barley for feed and malting and WOSR.
As well as farming, he has be involved with AHDB in both the cereals and oilseed main board and cereals export committee, past chairman of the Commercial Farmers Group and on the steering group of the Beewax Dyson GCI. He is a current member and chair of Wessex NIAB TAG.
