RAGT Seeds UK has announced that Camille Florin will take the role of commercial development agronomist, providing technical support for forage, cover crop and amenity seed portfolios.
She will be responsible for delivering key variety-specific information to merchant customers to help growers make more informed decisions when purchasing seeds. While perhaps best known for its cereal and oilseed varieties, RAGT states that it has strong positions in these other sectors, with dedicated breeding programmes in France and the Netherlands.
“It surprises many people when they realise we are involved with lots of partners, within and beyond the RAGT group,” Camille said.
“For example, Joordens Zaden, a wholly owned subsidiary of RAGT in the Netherlands, breeds and sells forage, soil health and cover crops into the UK via RAGT, and RAGT itself provides forage and amenity grasses to many other companies for use in their mixtures.
“We have much more knowledge of these sectors than many people might think. The aim now is to improve our offering by providing growers with the specific information they need to choose the right varieties for their businesses, based on internal and official trials as appropriate as well as in-field experience.
“Given our extensive plant breeding operations, we have the technical background to deliver this critical information. We can advise which species/varieties fit into various systems, including those that work with different options within the Sustainable Farming Incentive, and provide appropriate agronomy and tailored technical advice so that growers can get the best from them.”
Camille undertook a five-year course in agriculture, life sciences and the food chain at Ecole d’Ingenieurs de Purpan in Toulouse before undertaking various internships that confirmed her ambition to work in agriculture.
After six months of work experience at Joordens Zaden, she worked for two years in sales and technical support before moving across to RAGT in November 2023.
David Ramdhian, RAGT’s head of forage and soil health crops, Northern Europe, said: “I am delighted that Camille has decided to join us at a key time to help us build on the recent success of our multi-species portfolio.
“The creation of this new position clearly demonstrates the importance of these crop sectors to RAGT Seeds UK and underpins our ongoing plans for growth.
“Our forage grass and maize business has made real inroads into the UK market and we are now looking to expand our amenity grass business too.
“At the same time, we are continuing to develop our strong cover/soil health crop portfolio with a particular focus on more technically based demand.
“Camille will work with customers and partners from an early stage to further develop these sectors, while providing the necessary technical back-up to ensure our crops perform to their optimum wherever they are grown.”
For more information go to www.ragt.uk
