Sultan Khan joined NRM as its new Business Development Manager on Monday 12^th August 2024 to strengthen its environmental commercial team. He will be responsible for growing the business’ commercial expertise in environmental testing for the land-based industries, helping the team identify new opportunities, develop new services, and form and nurture relationships with customers.

‘The environmental side of the business has seen substantial growth in recent years,’ said Sophie Cath, Senior Business Development Manager at NRM. ‘This boom in requests for environmental testing has been driven by factors such as government targets to decarbonise the heat network in the UK, increasing legislation, and pressure from the agricultural industry to adopt and maintain sustainable farming practices. Sultan’s appointment will help bolster our relationships with customers, promoting the benefits of environmental testing and adding revenue to balance out other more seasonal services.’

Sultan has a BSc in Chemistry from Bradford University and a wealth of experience in business development across a variety of industries, including Eurofins UK Consumer Product Testing Services Ltd. Sultan’s chemistry background and passion for the technical side of environmental testing will provide customers with the technical and proactive support required to help them make informed decisions and meet their goals.

‘I am really looking forward to getting stuck in at NRM and sinking my teeth into a scientific commercial role,’ said Sultan. ‘Anaerobic digestion (AD) analysis is a big part of the environmental testing NRM provides, and as it’s such a technical service, taking the reins on improving the service and promoting its benefits to customers ticked every box for me. I am excited about being part of the team and helping farmers and other players in the land-based industries support sustainable practices, maximise revenue, and adhere to legislation.’

NRM recently held two drop-in sessions for colleagues on our innovative grain analysis service, GrainCheck, to consolidate expertise, improve customer service, and increase collaboration.

‘At Cawood, we are committed to improving customer service, and strengthening our expertise and the analytical advice we give to our clients to help them meet their goals,’ said Sophie Cath, Senior Business Development Manager at NRM. ‘Part of this means ensuring colleagues feel engaged with the work that they do and develop a deep awareness and understanding of the whole process. We have technicians and analysts that only get involved in some of the analytical processes, so by holding informative drop-in sessions on GrainCheck, we can consolidate expertise whilst connecting colleagues from various departments with all aspects of the service.’

The launch of our 3 new GrainCheck videos, featuring our experts Sophie Cath, Alli Arden (Agronomy Manager), Sajjad Awan (Soil & Nutrition Agronomist) and Lloyd Kadhani (Section Head – General Analytical), provided a fantastic opportunity to increase knowledge and understanding of grain analysis from the customer’s perspective.

‘Our goal with these videos is to help communicate the benefits of grain analysis and how customers can use their results more effectively,’ continued Sophie. ‘We want farmers to see the tangible benefits of using GrainCheck and how it can impact their bottom line, as well as how we can help them optimise crop nutrition and further streamline their practices next season.’

The sessions, held on Tuesday 30^th and Wednesday 31^st July, aimed to increase awareness of the whole process internally so that our colleagues can see the part they play in the bigger picture. Colleagues were taken on a brief tour of the relevant lab areas so that they could see what happens to the samples they prepare or where the extracts they receive come from, offering a firsthand look at the journey of grain samples from preparation to analysis.

Discussion points for the drop-in sessions included:

• Utilising GrainCheck results effectively
• The integration of GrainCheck with other seasonal testing services
• A case study highlighting the benefits of GrainCheck for a farmer’s business
• A detailed explanation of how testing is performed at the lab.

Over 30 colleagues from our Customer Services, Sample Receipt, Sample Prep and Analytical departments attended over the two days. Questions were raised around the significance of certain nutrients, the potential implications if certain nutrients are low or high, and what happens once the grain is harvested. Broader industry challenges, such as rising input costs and environmental impacts, were also explored.

‘Overall, our colleagues found the drop-in sessions informative and helpful,’ said Sarah Pitcher, Service Support Manager at NRM. ‘Many said they valued the chance to meet Sophie and Alli to learn more about the industry from the customer’s perspective. Those in Customer Services also said that they now feel even more confident taking queries and talking to customers about GrainCheck.’

Encouraged by the success of these sessions, NRM plans to conduct more such events throughout the year. ‘We aim to hold these sessions in line with the agricultural calendar,’ said Sophie. ‘This ensures our colleagues remain well-informed about our services and can provide the best support to our customers.’

GrainCheck is NRM’s innovative grain package for cereals. If farmers send in their grain samples at harvest for nutrient analysis, they can assess nutrient capture and offtake, allowing management plans to be refined for the following season. We also have a nutrient offtake calculator so that growers can compare results to the typical average and see if nutrient levels are smaller or larger than expected.

Watch our brand new GrainCheck videos and contact us to order your sample kit today.