New senior manager appointed to oversee Cefetra farm grain buying team

11 October 2024

Cefetra Grain, a leading player in the agricultural market, is pleased to announce that it has appointed a new senior manager to lead its farm grain buying team.

Samantha Holdstock has joined the company as National Origination Manager, taking the reins from Simon Wilcox who will be stepping back from this part of his role as he heads towards retirement in early 2025. Samantha will assume responsibility for the management of the farm grain buying team, having joined from agricultural feed and country retailer Mole Valley Farmers where she was an experienced Head of Sales, managing the UK sales teams. She was a Regional Sales Manager for Countrywide Farmers, bringing with her a wealth of agricultural knowledge and management experience. Earlier on in her career she worked in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and luxury goods sectors.

Samantha said: “I am pleased to take up this exciting opportunity where I can build upon my passion for managing teams who operate in local markets and build strong relationships with farmers and producers across the UK. Having worked in agriculture for the last 15 years or so I am looking forward to breadthening my knowledge by leading the sales team in the grain sector.”

“Cefetra has a strong heritage, with the confidence of having a national footprint coupled with investment in supporting local farming, which meant the role had a great appeal. I have been impressed by the strong local understanding within the team and look forward to developing the partnerships with farmers, colleagues and our customers.”

Simon Wilcox, Manager of UK Farm Grain Origination, added: “We are delighted to welcome Samantha to the business and look forward to working with her to achieve our goals as we continue to grow our farm grain buying capabilities. Samantha brings a tremendous amount of experience which I am sure she will utilise to bring further success for Cefetra in the future.”