Three directors with over 70 years of combined industry experience have just been elected to join the Guild board.
Training director, Danusia Osiowy
Danusia Osiowy, who will be taking on the role of training director, is an award-winning wordsmith and campaign director who played a key role in launching and developing the British Farming Awards and driving #Farm24 to record levels of engagement and growth.
Tying in perfectly with her new role, Danusia believes that upskilling and continued professional development are essential to strengthening credibility and resilience in a challenging, fast-moving media landscape.
“The way content is produced, distributed and judged is constantly shifting, now more than ever. It’s important we stay fluent in new tools, data and content strategies to ensure our work lands with credibility, trust and delivers results.”
Her non-farming background also allows her to view agriculture through the eyes of a wider audience, says Danusia. “This, I believe, is increasingly important as the Guild works to attract new members while strengthening and supporting its existing community.”
Council member, Craig Stephen
Well-known Scottish lensman Craig Stephen has been chronicling farming north of the border since the age of 14, when he took pictures of summer shows for a monthly Scottish agricultural newspaper.
After leaving school, he worked full-time as a photographer for several years before moving into newspaper production and then commercial printing. In 2004, he returned to photography with The Scotsman newspaper and has been freelancing since 2008.
Top of Craig’s agenda as a member of the board will be to help the Guild and its members develop a clear understanding of both the current and future capabilities of AI so “we can mitigate potential negative impacts while also embracing the benefits it may bring to the sector”.
Communications director, Andrew Shirley
The final member of the new trio is Andrew Shirley, who assumes the role of communications director, following Caroline Stock’s elevation to board chairman.
Appropriately, Andrew’s career in agricultural journalism started over three decades ago when he took part in one of the early rounds of the Guild’s John Deere training course.
Since then, he has worked as an agronomist in Africa, headed up the Business desk at Farmers Weekly, and written and edited research publications for Knight Frank as head of the firm’s Rural Research team.
“Having attended the recent IFAJ congress in Kenya, it became clear to me that the Guild’s influence extends far beyond the UK and being a director will allow me to give something back to an industry I have been involved with for so long,” he says.
Harvest Lunch 2026
Our annual harvest celebration is the perfect opportunity to catch up with friends, colleagues and network with other agricultural communicators.
