Dr. Alex Doering has been appointed managing director of plant breeder DSV UK following 11 years working as international product manager for oilseed rape at the company's base at Lippstadt in Germany.
His role will be to build on the UK company' success to date in both oilseed rape and wheat breeding and develop new opportunities for the company including the introduction of wider range of products from the DSV group.
"DSV has a strong reputation in the UK as a pioneer of hybrid oilseed rape breeding and is further making a name for itself in the area of wheat breeding," says Alex, whose has a degree in agricultural science and a PHD in phytopathology."
"Our OSR varieties have been RL-leaders for many years, DSV Matrix CL is currently the highest yielding Clearfield variety in the UK, for example, and the new world record for wheat production is held by DSV Champion."
The plan is very much to focus on developing the company's existing areas of interest whilst looking at new market opportunities, he points out.
"We will increasingly be making the full range of DSV products, including protein crops, maize, grassland and cover crops, available to UK producers but are keen to explore new possibilities, too."
"These are challenging times for growers and breeders alike and we are determined to continue the development of genetics and varieties to help the industry deliver the best quality produce in the most sustainable manner possible in the future."
Alex will be based at the DSV UK headquarters in Wardington, Oxfordshire, from where the company's wheat and forage grass breeding programmes are run.
The DSV group is celebrating its 100th birthday in 2023 and currently employs 750 people working in 8 subsidiaries around the world selling approx. 72,500 tonnes of seed every year.