Speakers 2022 - Archive
Sponsor of the Speakers Tent
Dr Jude McCann
CEO for the FCN
Farming Community Network - ‘Securing farmers’ resilience in a 
changing world’
Having grown up on a small family farm in mid-Ulster, Northern Ireland, Jude has significant experience within agriculture and, in particular, the farm support sector. He spent seven years as Chief Executive of Rural Support – a charity which provides support to farmers and their families in Northern Ireland, before taking up the post of CEO with the Farming Community Network (FCN) in January 2020.
His educational experience has provided him with a global perspective of agriculture and expertise, particularly related to welfare and social issues in farming communities. This includes his PhD examining the social impacts of subsidy reforms in New Zealand and his recent Nuffield Farming scholarship, in which he examined how farm support organisations can help secure farmers’ resilience in a changing world.
His experience in establishing and managing support programs has increased his passion for sustainable farming communities.
Dr. Sajjad Awan
CF Company Agronomist
Increasing Nitrogen fertiliser use efficiency will improve farm efficiency ratings, profit margins and environment 
Current rise in input prices has put significant strain on the British farming industry. It’s paramount to improve resource use efficiency, especially fertilisers. CF Fertilisers has conducted a large number of on-farm trials across the country. The results from these trials will be shared along with the strategies to improve business resilience in these unprecedented times.
Sajjad gained his PhD in Plant Physiology from the University of Warwick during 2012 and then worked at the same University as a Research Scientist from 2012-15.
Following this, Sajjad moved to join AHDB and was responsible for managing the crop nutrition Research and Development programme and during this time also took responsibility for the revision and update of RB209.
Since February 2021, Sajjad became the Company Agronomist at CF Fertilisers where his focus has been on leading CF R&D programme including on-farm trials to help farmers improve Nitrogen fertiliser Use Efficiency (NfUE) while lowering their carbon footprint through better use of Nitrogen alongside soil N testing via CF N-Min test.
Martin Hanson
HSBC UK Head Of Agriculture
Chairperson 
Martin Hanson leads the HSBC Agricultural Business for the UK which consists of one hundred agricultural banking specialists across all regions of the nation.
Martin’s Leadership experience started over 20 years ago and since then he has been at the forefront of Commercial, Corporate and Agricultural teams operating at Area, Regional and National levels
His agricultural experience stretches back even further having been a rural Relationship Manager in Yorkshire 25 years ago and members of his teams ever since that time have worked with farming clients and the wider agricultural community.
He takes a real interest in the art of leadership and is a keen believer that culture, environment and long term strategies are the keys to success.
Martin has said that ‘Farming faces many challenges and opportunities in a post-Brexit world and a world where social attitudes to climate change and consumption are changing at a faster pace than ever, HSBC UK Agriculture will support farming customers through these changes with advice, signposting and where appropriate finance needed to work through the changes’.
Martin’s hobbies include Rugby (watching now not playing), white water canoeing and SCUBA diving.
