I lived on a mixed fruit, hops, arable, and grassland farm in Kent for the first 20 or so years of my life but was more interested in becoming a scientist than in farm work. I became a Graduate of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the UK’s Learned and Professional Society for the Chemical Sciences and was subsequently awarded the status of Chartered Chemist (CChem) through the RSC and of Chartered Scientist (CSci) through the Science Council. My career started in the food industry where I worked in research, as an Analytical Chemist in a confectionary factory, and in new product development before I moved to a large multi-national Agri-business stability testing new agrochemical formulations. I joined FAST as their Laboratory Manager in 1999. My current role is to carry out soil and mineral nutrient analysis of plant material such as leaves and fruit, and give fertiliser advice to growers based on the results of these tests. As such, since joining FAST I have become accredited as a FACTS Qualified Advisor.