Origin Fertilisers has appointed a new member of its nutrition agronomy team for the Midlands region.
Tom Wells has been added to the fertiliser manufacturer’s team of in-house agronomists and will cover East and West Midlands.
He will provide nutrition advice on the benefits of tailored fertilisers to both livestock and arable farmers.
Wells comes from a farming background and grew up on a mixed family farm near Brigg in Lincolnshire.
Origin Fertilisers said: “He quickly developed an understanding and interest of how nutrition directly affects both animals and crops and the importance of getting it correct greatly influences the final product.”
Tom Wells
Wells said growing up on a mixed farm showed him “the value of an integrated farming system”, the benefits of having livestock as part of the arable rotation and the importance of nutrition to a productive system.
“The building blocks for production come from the right nutrition and understanding how to achieve this is essential,” he said.
Wells worked on his family’s farm for six years after leaving Harper Adams with an agriculture degree that featured many agronomy modules.
During that time, he started the farm’s sheep flock and implemented computer recording through Gatekeeper, along with producing the nutrient management plans alongside the agronomist.
Following this, he took a role in the animal nutrition sector, which he says further developed his wider appreciation of the correct nutrition.
“These roles demonstrated how increasing certain nutrients can have direct improvements to the crops we grow or animals we are rearing,” he said.
“Using soil indices, work records and industry guidelines, I produced the farm’s nutrient plans, and this practical experience means I’m well placed to help other farmers tailor their fertiliser to crop or animal requirements.”
