Libby Bird, Blends & Straights Trader - South

Tell us a little about your background, how long have you been with ForFarmers?

I left school at 16, starting my career in a customer service role at an agricultural & equine feed company. I worked my way up from there, learning various parts of the business from sales to feed safety and developed a real passion for blends. I joined ForFarmers four years ago as a Blends & Straights Trader.

What does your role involve day-to-day?

As a trader my bread and butter is buying, selling and formulating, but each day always looks a bit different!

In general I spend a lot of time speaking to account managers, customers and prospects to discuss what they need and when they need it. I will then work with our suppliers and shippers to work out the best prices in the marketplace, before putting together a quote.  If the price works for the customer I then go and buy the raw material/s.

On the blends side, I look at the rations and formulations which are currently being fed, assess current prices and raw material availability to quote customers and also look at alternative more cost-effective formulations to achieve the same performance, but ultimately save the customer money in a really volatile market.

What is your favourite part of the job?

I love the variety, as it keeps me on my toes and means I’m always challenging myself. I also love the relationships that I’ve built in my role. I’ve been speaking to some of the same farmers since I started my career 20 years ago, so it’s great to be able to have that personal connection.

My colleagues are also great; they are passionate about the industry and what they do, while also being encouraging and supportive. I’ve always been encouraged to feel empowered in my role and I feel that people want to see you do well.