Meet two of the Ingleby Pioneers
Ingleby Pioneers is an annual program designed to inspire, cross-pollinate ideas and nurture best-practice sharing across our farms.
The program is led by our Chief Operational Officer, Rasmus Christoffersen. He created the program to bring our farms closer together, while creating a network amongst those who aspire to innovate and create change.
The program runs for 2 years, where each pioneer travels to 3-5 countries to see farming from a new perspective.
I am Emilia and I am a horticultural engineer at Campo D’oro blueberry farm in Romania. I work in the production. I heard about the program from the country manager, and was signed up by my direct manager.
I didn’t really know what to expect, I just hoped I would see and learn new things that we could apply to our farm.
I am Tomás and I am a finance and commercial analyst for Ingleby Farms based at the Buenos Aires office, with main focus on horticulture business. I was signed up to the program by the country manager of Argentina, who had also told me about the program.
My expectation for the program was to meet other colleagues from Ingleby and share experiences and ideas, not only in finance and commercial side, but also regarding production, sustainability and human resources. I was also eager to visit Ingleby farms in other countries and third parties’ projects.
One of my favorite photos is this one with part of the pioneers, taken at the Roskilde farming fair where we shared a great day (and enjoyed nice spring weather). It was really nice for those of us that come from finance and administration to join those that work in production and learn from them while visiting different stands with machinery, cattle and farming products.
Emilia: That we are part of a whole, that we are appreciated for what we do and that we can grow beautifully together by exchanging ideas and information.
Tomás: One of the most valuable learnings I took from this experience is that the formula to be a good farmer is not written in stone. There are a lot of producers all over the world looking for different ways to fulfill consumers’ demands while being sustainable and profitable.
There are many producers trying different ideas and perspectives and still learning from year to year. It is also clear for me, after visiting other projects and farms, that Ingleby as a company is being a real pioneer regarding sustainable production practices, including the use of beneficial insects, crop rotation, cover crops, biodiversity protection, etc.
Tomás: One of the best experiences for me was to be able to visit the Ingleby farms in Romania. It was my first time there and I was really surprised how they are combining a wide variety of products and business, like row crops, high value crops and livestock. It is really interesting to understand how all different projects can enhance each other and diversify risk at the same time.
Emilia: To get to know my colleagues from other countries and from the visits we made to the farms to understand how much Ingleby offers us and how much they invest in us.
What has surprised you during the program?
Emilia: I was pleasantly surprised by the connection that was formed between us, the pioneers, the exchange of ideas and information.
Tomás: I work on a daily basis with people from Ingleby countries in Latin America and in the global office in Denmark and I am familiar with the great working atmosphere at Ingleby. However, it still was really nice to see that this atmosphere is present in all Ingleby countries. It is really pleasant to meet so many people from almost 10 different countries and see that we are all sharing the same values and facing similar challenges.
Tomás: I will try to share what I experienced and learned during the program with my colleagues at the Buenos Aires office. I think that we can all benefit from having different perspectives and fresh ideas.
Emilia: I’ll tell stories and show pictures to my manager and to my colleagues with what I found interesting, and together, we will put them into practice.
How will you stay connected with the other Pioneers until the group meets again next year?
Emilia: We’ve exchanged phone numbers and we will definitely talk on digital apps as we have done throughout the event.
Tomás: From the finance and commercial point of view, I am looking forward to keep up the discussions and information sharing that we had during the program via team calls and emails. I am also looking forward to sharing the pictures and comments of our field trips and products when visiting our farms in Latin America.
Tomás: I would definitely recommend any of my colleagues to join the program. It’s a great opportunity to share ideas and experiences as well as to visit the farms and meet Ingleby colleagues.
I am really happy to have the opportunity to take part in the Ingleby pioneer program. It is a great way to remind ourselves that we are part of a global farming company that is constantly innovating and to create a network with our colleagues that face similar challenges in different countries. In addition, for those of us that work in finance and administration department it is really important to keep close contact with those that are into production and to visit the farms to truly understand the business and be able to make comprehensive analysis and recommendations.
Emilia: To push their limits, to learn as much as possible, walk with their hearts and minds open and to appreciate what Ingleby has to offer.
It was a pleasure and an honor to host part of the event at our farms in Romania. We have a very beautiful blueberry plantation, a test field with various varieties of raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, almonds, persimmons and walnuts, areas with an impressive biodiversity and I was pleased to show them something a little bit different from their field of activity.
