In nature, nothing happens in isolation. It's the same with producing quality forage.
Agronomy is much more than just growing pasture and crops - it’s all about understanding the farm system, the environment, and the return on investment that you are aiming for in your farm business. It comes down to a combination of fertile soil, quality seed, weed and insect pest management, grazing management, attention to detail, passion and hard work.
Our team
Ravensdown's agronomy team are here to provide expertise around the best options to suit your farming system.
Ravensdown has a team of 6 dedicated agronomists across New Zealand. Our team is backed by the expertise of our seed and agrochemical teams, so you can be confident our advice is right for you.
George Kerse
Product Manager Agrochemical
George joined Ravensdown in 2010. He has more than 35 years’ experience in the agrochemical and rural supply industry in New Zealand. Previous roles include product development, category management and sales management with an agrochemical manufacturer and rural retail companies.
Hannah McCoard
Agronomist Upper South Island
021 900 967
Hannah grew up on her family sheep, beef and deer farm in Taihape where she cultivated her passion for farming. She developed her farm systems and pastoral agronomy knowledge through education at Massey and Lincoln University, on-farm experience and work as a technical field representative. She enjoys building relationships with farmers and working alongside them to support their farming business.
Julian Nicholson
Agronomist Western North Island
021 900 167
Julian brings a lifetime of practical farming experience to the role. After running a successful share milking business, he then moved on to work as an agri manager, and then took on roles in agronomy.
These roles have given him exposure to a variety of different farm systems. Julian thrives on building relationships, and working with our shareholders to add value to their business and farm systems.
Arnold Van Straalen
Agronomist North Island - Te Awamutu
021 900 436
Having grown up on his family’s Dairy, Dry Stock and Orchards, Arnold has a wide range of both Agriculture & Horticulture knowledge and experience. After leaving High School he gained a Diploma in Horticulture Management at Massey University. From there he worked within the family business. In 2003 both Arnold & his wife Kim owned and operated a 500 seat hospitality business. In 2014 after selling their business Arnold worked 9 years as a Technical Field Rep in Agriculture, then as a Horticulture Technical Rep.
He enjoys the satisfaction of getting the best possible yields from good planning and execution.
Debbie Thomson
South Island - Christchurch
021 225 9989
Gemma Dorotich
North Island - Napier
021 226 3110
Our expertise
You may have been using the same seed for years, but is it still the best available?
Your regional agronomy technical manager has seed, fertiliser and agrochemical knowledge to offer while our innovative seed suppliers are constantly making breakthroughs in high-performance.
Take a look at what Ravensdown has to offer in the agronomy space.
