Helen Holman – events co-ordinator
As a miscanthus grower herself, and an expert in biomass business development, Helen brings with her plenty of hands-on experience.
Having worked with Terravesta in a marketing role since July 2014, she’s now heading up all the events.
Helen manages the farm walks, shows, and grower forums, and is passionate about making sure farmers are armed with the right know-how to make informed decisions about growing the crop.
Helen lives on the family farm, in Kynnersley, Shropshire, and knows all too well the challenges faced by growers. “We grow 162 hectares of miscanthus, and have changed from being a full crop rotation farm, to one that’s solely growing a biofuel.
“I understand the difficult decisions that need to be made on the farm – that are ongoing, and miscanthus has been an ideal solution for us,” says Helen.
Equipped with an HND in marketing and business administration from Harper Adams University, Helen’s first job was a senior product manager for veterinary company, Dechra pharmaceuticals, where she worked for eight years bringing innovative new products to the market.
From there she went on to work for electrical and mechanical companies in marketing roles, one of which was Hagar, where she began constructing smart programmes for energy savings.
When Helen’s children started going to school, she went freelance, and accrued a number of clients in biomass and agriculture sectors, including Terravesta.
“I come from a farming background, and I live on a farm that’s 100 % dedicated to growing miscanthus, so I understand the questions farmers need answers to about the crop, and that’s why it’s important that we run farm walks, so that they can see the crop for themselves and speak to farmers already growing it.
“For any growers interested in coming to a farm walk, or in seeing the crop, I can always try to sort something out, even if it’s a meeting with our farms advisory manager, Andy Lee, on farm,” adds Helen.
Contact Helen about coming to a farm walk, or for information on events on 07779 246 397 or helenh@terravesta.com.
Rhys Jones – agronomy and research and development technician
Rhys works with Michal Mos, on miscanthus research and development, which means he is often to be found with the crop, taking samples, analysing them, and capturing the data.
Also working towards his second year of an agriculture degree, his practical knowledge is valuable in examining annual crop performance, but also in future miscanthus breeding development.
Rhys has been working with Terravesta on and off, since harvest and planting season last year, where he joined us for work experience. He made such an impression, that we’ve asked him to stay on.
“I started at Terravesta during March last year, during harvest and planting. At that time I sat with the forager and baler operator, taking notes as I went, to capture information on the trials.
“I work closely with Michal on trialling the existing crops, but also new miscanthus genotypes, and other types of analysis like looking at the variety of environmental interactions between different sites. The role is a great mix of technical and practical, and I’m very hands on, so I like to see how the technical plays out in the field for growers,” says Rhys.
If you would like to get in touch with Rhys, email: rhysj@terravetsa.com.
