Germinal appoints Dr. Jo Matthews as New Product Development Manager at its R&D division, Germinal Horizon
5th Dec 2025
Belfast-headquartered Germinal, the pioneering breeder and supplier of innovative grass and forage varieties, has announced the appointment of Dr. Jo Matthews as New Product Development Manager at its research and development division, Germinal Horizon.
Dr. Matthews’ responsibilities will include planning and delivering pre-market trials across all Germinal Horizon’s trialing sites, providing animal nutrition expertise to Germinal’s plant breeding and technical sales teams, and preparing new varieties for entry into national trials programmes.
Dr. Matthews will also continue her work in supporting Germinal’s contract with the British Society of Plant Breeders on the trials programme supporting Variety and Recommended lists of grass and clover varieties. Dr. Matthews will continue to oversee the Germinal Horizon forage crop trials site at Germinal Horizon Wiltshire.
Commenting on this appointment, Paul Billings, Managing Director of Germinal UK & Ireland, said:
“Since joining Germinal Horizon in 2018, Jo has made an outstanding contribution to our research programmes. As New Product Development Manager, she will collaborate closely with Grace Welling, our Strategic Development Manager and Dr. David Lloyd, Head of Plant Breeding at Germinal Horizon, in guiding the exciting journey from scientific discovery to commercial success for the next generation of Germinal products. These include the breakthrough hybrid clover, RedRunner, PUE White Clover, Lotus Corniculatus, and a ground-breaking flavourless pea plant that could have widespread application as an alternative protein crop for farmers and substitute for imported soya.”
Paul Billings also added that, given the research effort and length of time it takes to identify and develop new plant traits into commercial varieties, it is critical to have stable research teams and strong succession planning in place. He said: “With Grace, David, and Jo, we have an incredibly knowledgeable and committed leadership team that will be able to seize the opportunities ahead of us and guide the future of Germinal Horizon.”
