Tony Bell

Tony Bell farms 265 all-arable hectares in North Yorkshire in partnership with his wife. His wide span of experience includes commodity purchasing and feed production. He began his career in technical and commodity purchasing roles, including time in Rotterdam in the Netherlands buying oils and fats in the Unilever head office.

Returning to the UK, he managed a business crushing seed and upgrading raw feed materials, before being appointed purchasing director for BOCM PAULS, later rebranded ForFarmers. In this role he was responsible for the company’s purchasing and formulation teams for 20 years.

After retiring from ForFarmers, Tony took over the running of the family farm, which is growing wheat, rape, maize, with land rented out for potatoes and carrots. Tony has no full-time employees, so he’s very much farming hands-on.

Tony has found the more he has put into AHDB, the more he has got back, and that being a Sector Council Member has been very enjoyable and informative. With his background in commodity buying and practical farming, he feels he has a breadth of experience to share with the Sector Council to address issues which are important for levy payers, and investment priorities, which give value for money.