Dr Sam Hoste of Quantech Solutions and Clive Blacker of Precision Decisions, part of the Map of Ag Group, are two of our latest C4DI Northallerton members.
But the experience, expertise and passion they contributed via our Steering Group have been invaluable assets throughout the project’s development.
We caught up with both Sam and Clive to find out more about their backgrounds, businesses and thoughts on the C4DI Northallerton journey so far.
Sam’s background lies in genetics, specialising in pig production. As well as an MSc, MBA and PhD, he also has a wealth of experience working with agricultural businesses across the sector.
Dr Sam Hoste, Quantech Solutions
Combining his commercial and technical skills, Sam is the Director of Quantech Solutions: “We’re a consultancy working mostly in the livestock agritech space, helping companies come to market in the UK and overseas.”
Sam and his team offer professional services ranging from innovation management to strategy development and business support, all tailored to a client’s individual needs.
Quantech Solutions have collaborated with major international names, including Smithfield Foods, PIC, AB Agri, working on bioscience, food supply chains and genetics.
Sam is particularly focussed on improvements across whole sectors and supply chains – an approach which is key to success in agriculture projects, as he explains: “Sometimes I’m working with individual firms, but sometimes I’m working with a sector, because usually the changes that are useful need to be done across the supply chain.
“I’ve done quite a lot in terms of pulling the whole sector together in regional animal health improvement, involving vet surgeons, the breeding, feeding and processing companies, and also the retailers like ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
“I’m trying to make those changes happen on a bigger scale through working with the retailers and processers. They generally are also really keen on making these changes, say in terms of animal health, reducing carbon footprint, and improving sustainability in the sector. They can help make those things happen.”
Meanwhile, after training at Harper Adams University, Clive’s interest in agritech was sparked by first-hand experience on his family farm and contracting business.
In charge of spraying and fertiliser spreading, it was clear that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach wasn’t going to work: “In the Vale of York, our soil types are really variable. It didn’t make sense to me trying to do everything the same when you could see physically things were very different.
The opportunity to use technology to help us treat smaller areas and define those more accurately was really attractive, so we started using technology on the family farm.
It wasn’t commonplace at all at the time,” Clive adds, “and as such I got a bit of a reputation for making things work.”
This journey took Clive’s interest global: “A Nuffield farming scholarship allowed me to travel around the world to see how different farmers use technologies…understanding how they use them really gave me the confidence to think, ‘there’s actually going to be a big industry here.’”
Inspired, Clive established Precision Decisions in 2004, to “support farmers with decision-making processes, help them collect data to manage variability, and supply them with different solutions to allow them to do that.”
The business began an exciting new chapter after merging with Map of Ag in 2018 – a collaboration which, Clive says, has been a huge success: “Becoming part of a larger business has brought further skills and experience to our projects, helping us add value to those involved.”
Clive Blacker, Precision Decisions
Alongside leading these innovative businesses, Sam and Clive’s paths crossed through their work with the Department of International Trade.
“My role gave me the opportunity to make lots of links in the local enterprise partnerships across the UK and in other areas, and to support businesses trying to invest in the UK – very much as Sam’s gone to do, as he took over part of the role I was doing,” Clive explains.
Sam was also instrumental in establishing the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL), based in York.
These connections across agriculture and innovation perfectly align with C4DI’s goals for our Northallerton hub, while Clive and Sam’s local expertise has been vital in ensuring the new incubator is exactly what the region needs.
So, we were delighted when Sam and Clive joined our Steering Group. And when it came to growing a supportive community of inspiring people across the region, the team was almost spoilt for choice.
“In the area, there’s CIEL, there’s the Crop Health and Protection agritech centre which is based outside York, and there’s the local agricultural colleges,” Sam says, “and we also connected with Nigel Pulling, the CEO of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society. They have a farmer science network and a future farmers forum that includes older farmers, but is generally about young farmers who are looking to the future. Both Clive and I have helped to facilitate those connections.”
This incredible range of groups and individuals demonstrates the amazing opportunities offered by the local area – and the talent that will find a home at C4DI Northallerton.
As Clive says, the new incubator has the potential to “make Yorkshire the centre of agricultural innovation…we’re one of the biggest counties in the UK for food, science and agritech, so I think we have a lot to benefit from.”
Sam agrees: “It’s good to be bringing the technical people to somewhere like Northallerton, which is in the heart of a rural community, rather than the other way around.”
As well as the regional perspective, Sam also highlights that the agritech sector as a whole has never been more relevant: “There are great opportunities in agritech at the moment in terms of addressing some of the challenges that we’ve got: climate change, reducing carbon footprint, making things more sustainable. There’s some really innovative solutions that people are coming up with.”
Don’t just take their word for it – both Sam and Clive were so impressed with the project that they decided to become members of C4DI Northallerton themselves.
“The advantage that C4DI has, is that it doesn’t come with agricultural blinkers – it comes with the support to help small businesses be run efficiently,” Clive says, “and I’ve been really impressed by C4DI’s attitude, long term vision and the capability to deliver, it’s always very professional and very high standards.”
Sam adds: “There is an enormous amount of collaboration between companies – so everybody’s got their own unique bit that they’re trying to do, but it’s also about working with others, pulling data from other companies and using that. I’m hoping that we develop connections with other people who are based physically or virtually at C4DI Northallerton.”
Find out more about Quantech Solutions here: https://www.quantechsolutions.co.uk
Find out more about Precision Decisions here: https://www.precisiondecisions.co.uk