Scottish Agronomy launches new website to celebrate 35 years in business

Celebrating 35 years of the cooperative, and in the International Year of Plant Health, Scottish Agronomy is launching a new website and free membership trial which will also raise money for RHET.

Scottish Agronomy, which is farmer-owned and offers independent agronomic advice alongside its state-of-the-art field trials, has created a website that will offer its members access to the latest technical advice, trials results and industry information as well as back catalogues for reference. A free 30-day trial is available for combinable crop and potato growers, and associated trade bodies, who would like to try out the service. For every new sign up, money will be donated to farming charity RHET.

Andrew Gilchrist, Managing Director of Scottish Agronomy, which provides group, individual and ‘information only’ support to growers and industry bodies, said:

“We know how important good agronomy is to the bottom line for farmers and for the last 35 years we are proud to have been offering impartial advice based on scientific evidence and the extensive experience of our team. We realise in the world we live in information needs to be instantly accessible at any time of day, easy to digest and of value, so we have invested in a website that offers our members 24-hour access to the latest agronomic advice and developments. With this they can make informed evidence-based decisions to improve the management and profitability of their crops. It seems appropriate to do this as we hit a major milestone and in the International Year of Plant Health, as plant health and innovation is at the very core of what we do.”

Scottish Agronomy represents over 250 farmer and trade associate members in Scotland and northern England, including some of the most forward-thinking and innovative growers in these regions. It runs the largest field trials programme across Scotland’s main arable areas for cereals and oilseeds, potatoes and the energy crops sector, led by Adam Christie. Through this, it is the largest supplier of data to AHDB for the Recommended List Variety Trials in Scotland. The cooperative’s directors – Andrew Gilchrist, Greg Dawson, Eric Anderson and Adam Christie – are involved in a number of boards and projects exploring new technologies and approaches from satellite-guided drills to biocontrols.

To celebrate 35 years in business and the launch of the new website, Scottish Agronomy is offering non-members the opportunity to trial the service for 30 days before committing to membership. This will give exclusive access to the Knowledge Hub with the latest technical advice and a back catalogue. For every sign up to the 30-day trial in 2020, Scottish Agronomy will donate £5 to RHET. For every new paying membership, Scottish Agronomy will donate a further £10 to the charity.

Mr Gilchrist said “We believe strongly in this initiative and this is a great way for us to give back to the industry and support a worthy cause.”