A new Friend of the Guild, agronomist Seth Pascoe, has farmed overseas and is promoting a little-known native berry as a ‘superfruit’.
“My interest in agricultural journalism originated when I became a contributor to the Farmers Weekly ‘arable farmer focus’ column, writing a monthly article for four years while managing a potato farm in Alberta, Canada,” he says. “Writing was an experience I thoroughly enjoyed and one that I now miss as I enjoy writing in general. I wanted to become a Friend of the Guild to re-involve myself with this industry, to network and to stay abreast of goings on in our exciting industry.”
Since his time in Canada, Seth has returned to his home county of Cornwall and now works as an agronomist for Procam SW.
“The West Country is still a true mixed farming area and there is a large diversity in farms, crop and seasons, of course,” he points out. “They all combine to make my role an interesting one, as no two seasons are the same.”
Seth is also in the process of establishing his own microbusiness – the Cornish Seaberry Company – associated with the production, processing and marketing of seabuckthorn, which is chronicled on his blog and on Twitter.
“This novel superfruit is packed full of goodness and has many health-beneficial aspects,” says Seth, who last year had the good fortune to be awarded a prestigious Nuffield Farming Scholarship to study ‘advancing British seabuckthorn’.
Beyond his commercial interests, Seth enjoys hiking and scrambling, and is an active member of Charlestown Rowing Club.
“We row and race Cornish Pilot Gigs; an old fashioned wooden boat crewed by six rowers and a coxswain,” he explains. “I also try to get away once a year or so to climb in various mountain ranges across the world.”
Closer to home, Seth enjoys taking his dog for walks around Cornwall, in particular along the South West Coast Path.
Note: Contact details for all new Members and Friends of the Guild are published in the eAlerts archived under Member Communications on this website. They can also be contacted through the Guild’s Farming Media Centre.
