Tina is President of CUPGRA and Honorary Professor of Agricultural Botany at the University of Cambridge.  She retired as Director and CEO of NIAB in September 2021, after 15 years of service. Prior to that, for 18 years, she worked for the Limagrain Group.  Tina was awarded the OBE in the 2018 New Year’s Honours List for services to agricultural science and biotechnology. She was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science by Bangor University in August 2022.

Currently, she chairs the Agricultural Advisory Board of Future Biogas, and she is Scientific and Agricultural Advisor to G’s Growers. She also chairs the Farm Data Principles, and is committed to Fenland SOIL which exists to provide farmers with a mosaic approach to reducing GHG emissions.

Belinda is driven by the belief that innovation is a vital driver for agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability and economic growth. Starting her career in crop research, she developed experience at the interface between industry, innovation and government, and became determined to bring farmers, researchers and technology developers closer together to improve the effectiveness of communication and mutual understanding, and to accelerate the adoption of new innovations on farms. For the last decade she has led the creation and expansion of the award-winning membership network which is Agri-TechE. In 2021 she received the Timothy Colman Prize for “outstanding leadership in the agri-tech sector” and was awarded an OBE in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours List for services to agri-technologies and farming.

Matt is an agronomist and Area Manager with AgReserves, a global agricultural farming company committed to sustainable and innovative farming practices. With a lifelong connection to agriculture, Matt was raised on a farm in the Southwestern United States, where he developed a deep understanding of crop production and land stewardship from an early age.
After earning his degree from Arizona State University, he moved to the Pacific Northwest to begin his career with AgReserves. Over the years, he has played a key role in managing large-scale operations, optimizing crop yields, and implementing science based agronomic strategies.
In his current role, Matt was selected to support AgReserves' expansion in the United Kingdom, where he is helping to develop and strengthen the company’s potato program. His time in England is providing valuable insight into British farming practices, which upon his return home he will apply to operations in the United States—enhancing both innovation and sustainability across regional programs.

Communications Director G’s Group

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Anthony has worked in the fresh produce industry for nearly two decades both in the UK and internationally as a senior leader within the G’s Group. As communications director Anthony has worked closely with policy makers across numerous food industry issues on behalf of the sector. Anthony works with the G’s business leadership to drive the communication of business strategy both internally and externally, while ensuring the reputation of G’s is appropriately developed and protected.

Anthony started his career with G’s as the UK marketing director where he was responsible for the development of iconic fresh produce brands such as fresh & naked and was part of the team that laid the foundations that led to the global development of Love Beets.

Prior to working in fresh produce, Anthony worked as a buyer for Tesco, a category manager for Campbell’s Grocery products and as a marketing graduate with The John Rannoch Food Group. Anthony holds a BSc in Retail Business and an MSc in Marketing.

James Lee – Head of Agronomy (Greenvale - Produce Solutions)
James was brought up on the family potato and vegetable farm in the West Midlands, and gained an Hons. Degree in Crop Protection from Newcastle University. He spent 12 years as a broad-acre agronomist before joining Greenvale as a Senior Potato Agronomist in 2001.   James has subsequently had 23 years of potato supply chain experience across fresh retail and processing sectors – working in many technical and management roles. James is currently Head of Agronomy for Greenvale, managing the Produce Solutions team which provides potato agronomy consultancy and commercial trials solutions.  James is a director of CUPGRA and sits on the Red Tractor Fresh Produce Board.

Professor Mario Caccamo is CEO of Niab and also holds an honorary professorship at the University of East Anglia. Mario is also Director of the Oxford Farming Conference.
 
Mario has over 20 years’ experience in life science research, including specific projects genetics and bioinformatics methods to advance our understanding of crop performance. At Niab, Mario leads more than 350 crop scientists, agronomists and pathologists focused on addressing the challenges of food security, climate change and sustainable agriculture and horticulture. Mario actively engages with policymakers to create an enabling environment for science-based innovation. He serves on Defra’s Precision Breeding Working Group, helping to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act in England, and I am a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture, contributing to the 30:50:50 vision to strengthen UK food security while reducing environmental impact.

Dr. Ankush Prashar is a Reader in Digital Agriculture and leads the Agriculture and Animal Science Group at Newcastle University. He holds a PhD in Quantitative Genetics and Functional Genomics from the University of Birmingham. His research focuses on developing and applying advanced imaging and sensing technologies for precision agriculture, with a particular emphasis on crop development and the early detection of stresses in crops such as potatoes. He also works on high-throughput phenotyping pipelines for trait data collection to support breeding programs. By integrating these tools with genetic data, Dr. Prashar aims to enhance crop resilience and advance sustainable agricultural practices.

James Young, Vice President, Agriculture, McCain Foods (GB&I)
James joined McCain Foods in September 2021 as Vice President, Agriculture for the GB & Ireland business. This involves the sourcing of 700,000t of potatoes annually from trusted growers across the UK, with many of those relationships stretching back to when the McCain family first opened a processing facility in the UK in 1969. The Agriculture function also includes our seed operations based in Montrose, and the initial stages of potato processing in our plants.
Since committing to sourcing 100% of its potatoes from farms practising regenerative agriculture by 2030, McCain Foods have been relentlessly trialling new ways of growing potatoes in conjunction with our growers and subject matter experts.
James is a graduate of the University of Newcastle with a degree in Agriculture, and lives near Beverley, East Yorkshire.

Rob is a research group leader and the deputy director of the Advanced Plant Growth Centre at the James Hutton Institute in Dundee. Following a BSc (University of Wales) and PhD (University of Edinburgh) in biochemistry, his first postdoctoral position examined the interaction between legumes and nitrogen fixing rhizobial bacteria. Returning to the UK he joined the James Hutton Institute where he has worked on potato productivity and quality for almost 30 years collaborating with key industry groups such as PepsiCo and Branston. His most recent work has focussed on the molecular regulation of potato tuber initiation providing insights into the environmental and agronomic factors that contribute to yield optimisation.

CUPGRA Chair of Directors

Graduating with a degree in French and Spanish. Sophie joined the MDS Graduate Trainee Scheme, working in the fresh produce industry. She then spent seven years working for Barfoots before returning to Norfolk to join B&C Farming. A steep learning curve (which continues) later, Sophie runs the side of the business focusing on potato production, storage and sales along with haulage.  

Leading potato and root crops commercial research at Niab; developing, delivering, and managing agronomy research projects and contract trials.

Knowledge exchange for potato and root crop agronomy in the context of sustainable cropping systems in partnership with CUPGRA and industry groups.

Member of the Niab Commercial Development team in developing new research areas and services in potatoes, root crops, and on-farm Net-Zero greenhouse gases (GHGs) tests for arable crops.

Participate in the development and delivery of knowledge exchange (KE) through publications or initiatives targeted at the wider industry at meetings, demonstrations & events.

Contribute to the delivery of industry training and technical consultancy services for CUPGRA and other Niab clients.

Part of the Niab facilitators for ADOPT, supporting collaborative farmer-led, on-farm trials and experiments to generate, test and demonstrate innovative solutions to farming challenges.

I hold a BSc in Plant Science and an MSc in Plant Biotechnology and Enterprise. Originally, I am a professional olive grower with expertise in tree pruning and care.

Debbie has a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture from the University of Wales, is a Governor of Harper Adams and a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society. Debbie was a commercial farm agronomist in the NW of England for 20 years before working on potato agronomy at Cambridge University Farm. Debbie has worked for Co-op Retail and Sainsbury’s in Technical Management for Fresh Produce and was the UK Agronomist for PepsiCo. She sits on the steering group of the Allerton project, a charity which champions biodiversity and PRIF, the UK Government’s Expert Committee for Pesticide Residues in Food, is a lead for Women in Food and Farming and is a Director of CUPGRA and Chair of the CUPGRA R and D sub-committee.

Sarah is a research associate focusing on crop development and physiology at Niab. She was awarded her PhD funded by CUPGRA from the University of Cambridge in 2020 on capturing variation in canopy development and understanding how agronomic practices affect canopy growth. Since then, Sarah has worked on a range of AHDB storage projects examining the effects of storage regimes on agronomy, optimising MH tuber residue levels, and comparing inherent dormancy between varieties. She now leads the long-term CUPGRA Reference Crop project, quantifying nitrogen use efficiency in determinate and indeterminate potato varieties under different nitrogen application regimes. This work aims to help growers understand how nitrogen inputs affect crop development and answer the perennial question of “how much nitrogen does this crop need this year?”. Overall, Sarah’s work aims to equip UK potato growers to reduce resource waste and improve crop quality through a better understanding of potato crop growth.

Andrew has been Farmers Weekly editor since January 2021 after first joining the publication in 2016.

He first served as arable reporter before moving on to become deputy business editor. He became the 91-year-old brand's youngest ever editor 12 months after the business was acquired by specialist publisher Mark Allen Group (MAG) in what was at the time MAG's biggest single acquisition.

As well as overseeing the editorial and production team to produce impartial and quality content across print, web, podcast and events, his key contribution each week is Farmers Weekly's editorial column, where he blends political analysis and reaction to the events of the week with as much humour as the situation permits.

Before joining the team, he studied agriculture at Aberystwyth University and then worked on his family’s upland beef and sheep farm in mid Wales, as well as at Welshpool Livestock Market as a drover. 

Marc was awarded his first degree in Agricultural Chemistry from Wye College, University of London, in 1983.  Subsequently, he completed a PhD at the University of Aberdeen in 1987 with a thesis titled ‘Optimal Decomposition of Cereal Straw by Nitrogen Priming of the Soil Microbial Biomass’.  Between 1987 and 1997, Marc then worked as a Higher Scientific Officer at the Institute of Arable Crops Research, Broom’s Barn, working on sugarbeet agronomy and nutrition.  In 1997 Marc joined Cambridge University Farm (CUF) as a Senior Research Associate, specialising in potato crop agronomy, nutrition and physiology but also developing systems to integrate remote sensing technology into decision support and yield forecasting systems.  In 2013, Marc was transferred to NIAB TAG where he worked until 2022.  In April 2022, Marc became a self-employed consultant using his expertise to support a range of clients.

With over 40 years’ experience in crop protection, including 25 years as an independent agronomist, Martyn has worked in a range of crops in the UK, specialising in potatoes. He co-authored the 2022 CUPGRA review of wireworm with Dr Marc Allison and with VCS Potatoes has since contributed to further CUPGRA and projects on wireworm risk assessment and varietal susceptibility. His work also includes involvement in Fera’s Enigma 1 (Wireworm) project and helping to establish the European Wireworm Research Network in 2023. Recent research with VCS Potatoes has focused on leafhoppers, and ongoing studies with SAC have identified wireworm species of concern in Scotland. He is currently collaborating again with Dr Allison on a cover-crop study to improve nitrogen management in potato production.

Bill Watts – Trials Manager (Greenvale – Produce Solutions)  

Bill was brought up on a small beef and sheep farm in South Shropshire. He read and researched in crop sciences at Harper Adams University for 10 years. He is known for his PhD research on factors affecting biofumigation success against PCN, and more recently for his role in refining PCN trap crop agronomy. Bill worked at AHDB Potatoes for two years as Knowledge Exchange Manager for the West and Wales and has now been Trials Manager at Produce Solutions for nearly five years. He primarily focusses on development of new varieties, crop protection products and cropping techniques for the potatoes sector. He is a member of CUPGRA’s Research and Development Committee.

Mark Stalham started his own consulting company, Mark Stalham Potato Consultancy Ltd, in November 2020.  He was formerly Head of the NIAB CUF Potato Research Group and guided the overall scientific direction, development and management of NIAB CUF’s activities, including the communication of science into practice.  With a PhD in crisping potatoes supervised by Eric Allen from the University of Cambridge in 1989, Mark has over 35 years of extensive experience at Cambridge University Farm and NIAB CUF and success in the areas of potato research and knowledge exchange, particularly with the various guises of AHDB.  He now has a mixed portfolio, working on strategic research for large multi-nationals through to training courses for farm operators.  He is currently an expert consultant on five Innovate UK projects.

Niab Head of Farming Systems - CUPGRA Head of Agronomy Research Group - Admin Lead

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Elizabeth has over 25 years applied soil and nutrient management research experience and has engaged with a wide range of research projects connected with the study of nutrient cycling in soils and with the environmental impact of farming systems. At the smallest scale she has applied isotope dilution techniques to investigate mineralisation, immobilisation and nitrification processes. Most recently she has been very active in developing farmer-focussed approaches to measurement of soil health and developing on-farm toolkits for improved soil management. She joined  NIAB in 2017 as Head of the integrative interdisciplinary farming systems research team, including the potato department.

Gracie is an Agronomy Manager at Produce Solutions.
Gracie was raised on a mixed farm in rural Pembrokeshire, with potato production forming the core of the family enterprise. Her Grandfather was a founding member of the Puffin Produce cooperative, where Gracie first gained experience in agronomy during her early work placements.
She went on to study BSc Agriculture with Crop Management at Harper Adams University, graduating in 2020 with First Class Honours. Shortly after, she joined Produce Solutions as a Trainee Agronomist. Within two years she achieved both FACTS and BASIS qualifications and has since worked to establish herself as a trusted advisor to growers.
In her current role, Gracie works closely with teams across the Greenvale business to deliver on internal projects, provides best practice advice to growers, and drives business development for Produce Solutions. Her work spans diverse potato crops, growing systems, and trials. Gracie is also actively expanding her agronomy consultancy following her recent relocation to North Yorkshire.

Having graduated from Newcastle University in 2010 after studying Agriculture with agronomy I joined The Co-operative Farms as a graduate trainee. I then climbed the farm management ladder on cereal and root crop farms around the country before becoming Farms Director at AG Wright & Son (Farms) Ltd in 2019. In 2025 I joined Waldersey Farms Ltd as Farms Technical Director overseeing the farming operations on a wide range of Fenland soil types including c.450ha of potatoes. We are constantly looking to learn and evolve as a business to provide our customers with the product they need, to minimise our impact on the environment we grow in and to optimise our long term financial margins. 

With more than 20 years experience in the fresh food sector, and an impressive track record of implementing award winning marketing campaigns, Max MacGillivray is the inspiration and the leader behind Beanstalk Global. Max brings sound knowledge and understanding of the fresh food sector, its challenges and strengths.
A highly experienced event host Max is especially skilled in story telling, and helping bring a voice to others to tell their unique stories. His mission is to inspire and educate.

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