ABOUT

Dr Paul Challinor is the Founder and Director of May Barn Consultancy and a qualified consultant, with wide-ranging agronomic and technical experience in the UK conventional and organic food crop production industry.

Dr Challinor holds broad experience around intensive vegetable, fruit, flower and pharmaceutical crop production systems, with specialist knowledge of vertical farming, controlled environments, hydroponics and substrate culture.

Other areas of expertise include the development of standard operating procedures, technical system protocols and the preparation of sites for associated audit readiness. In addition, a comprehensive understanding of analytical techniques and the ability to interpret laboratory results into practical solutions to crop problems.

Dr. Challinor holds further specific expertise in the management of glasshouse building and replacement projects, including due diligence services, nutrient recirculation and solution treatment systems in UK and Europe. Additional experience lies in the management of NPD and R&D plans, including the supervision of staff employed to directly organise the work.

About

“It was during the early 1990's that I first met Paul Challinor. As an experimental officer at HRI Efford, I was invited to visit Jersey and speak to the local tomato growers about my research programme. Based on my knowledge of Paul's trials programme, and the work he was doing towards his PhD, I recommended Paul to HazlewoodVHB's then managing director, Mr Arnold Lewis, as VHB were looking to strengthen their management team, with the new expansion of their Runcton site in mind. Paul joined the VHB team in 1997, and was instrumental in the successful completion of the sites expansion of an additional 23 acres. Under Paul's management, the site was to achieve the highest yields of any VHB site and other cultural innovations such as nutrient solution recirculation. As the technical Director of HumberVHB, I was very fortunate to work closely with Paul in a technical capacity, during which he became very close to the retail sector. Paul's departure from HumberVHB in 2004 was a great loss of an excellent grower and technician.”