Meet the Consultant - Quianne Reijnen
I鈥檓鈥疩uianne (pronounced key-aah-nah), and听I have recently听joined the team at SAC听Consulting in听Stirling听as an听Agricultural听Consultant.鈥疘鈥檓鈥疍utch鈥痮riginally but鈥痟ave spent the last 20+ years in Central Scotland, between Fife,鈥疎dinburgh鈥痑nd Glasgow.鈥�听
I studied at听the鈥疷niversity鈥痮f鈥疓lasgow, gaining a first in听Veterinary Bioscience.听It鈥檚鈥痓est described as听鈥渢he science behind what the vets do, without learning to鈥痮perate鈥�,听with modules on veterinary anatomy, biology of cancer cells, genetics,鈥痯harmacology鈥痑nd ethics.听Ultimately it鈥痺as the unit on听agriculture that I loved with a鈥痯assion and鈥痬otivated me to pursue a career in the farming industry.鈥��听
Following my听graduation, I听spent time on the Genus Future Leaders Graduate Scheme learning about the world of cattle genetics. Here I learnt about听the huge effect of the beef sire鈥檚听genetics听on the calf鈥檚 lifetime profitability, and how听National Milk Records (NMR) data听can be used to inform听if a听cow听should be听bred to听a beef or dairy bull. This鈥痠nformation was core to a lot of discussions I had on farm when I worked with Genus,鈥痑nd despite no longer working for them,鈥痠t鈥檚鈥痩eft me convinced genetics has one of the best returns on investments out of all farm expenses.听One of the good things about working for Genus, similarly to SAC听Consulting, is that no two weeks are the same. As well as gaining an听in-depth understanding of how genetics听can听help improve herds, during the graduate scheme I听also spent听time听working alongside consultants听gaining experience in how consultancy supports farmers to become more profitable,听efficient听and sustainable. I later spent a year within the farm consultancy and sustainability departments before moving into a role as a Farm Sustainability Consultant, working with dairy,听beef听and sheep clients across Scotland.听
I鈥痳egularly worked鈥痺ith dairy,鈥痓eef鈥痑nd sheep clients across Scotland, as well as having a project management role where I advised corporate clients on farm sustainability and managed the rollout of projects across the UK.鈥疧ne of the projects I worked on involved听Arla Dairy farmers in Dumfries听and听Galloway and the Carlisle region where I advised on their carbon鈥痜ootprint and听gave鈥痑dvice on how to optimise their results for a better milk price (since Arla attaches a milk-price related incentive to their sustainability KPIs).听I was also involved with training advisors, including those in the Netherlands, and a project surrounding the cost of production for dairy beef calves from arrival on farm through to slaughter.听鈥�听
Since joining SAC听Consulting听I have helped clients with听work relating to ruminants,听finance听and environmental sustainability.听I have been able to continue to听develop on my听favourite topic areas鈥�-鈥痜inancial and environmental sustainability of dairy,鈥痓eef鈥痑nd sheep farms, which inevitably always leads to technical livestock consultancy.听I enjoy getting out on farm gathering data and learning how each farm is run. Data gathered for example for a Whole Farm Plan听opens鈥痗onversations we otherwise never would have had.鈥疘t鈥檚鈥痑mazing how I end听up speaking about shed design, work-life balance鈥痑nd鈥痝enetics on a finance or carbon footprint visit!鈥�听
I have been involved in the delivery of听Scotland鈥檚听Farm Advisory Service (FAS) programme running a听series of听financial听management听workshops for farmers in Stirling听where we looked at听financial accounts, cashflows, future planning, and that the net profit鈥痠s not equivalent to a 鈥渘ew kit fund鈥�!听I have also been involved in carbon audits for Whole Farm Plans and collaborated听with听carbon calculator听Agrecalc听on听corporate sustainability work.听
Each year鈥疘鈥痶ake some time off听for听lambing.听I鈥檝e听been lambing at the same farm for the past five years now, with my听veterinary-adjacent听background,听making me an听invaluable member of the team.听Although鈥疘鈥檒l鈥痓e tired, bruised, and have more straw than hair on my head by the end of it, I return every year with a new love of sheep, and motivation to鈥痵upport the鈥痵tudents鈥痺ho are there on placement.鈥��听
Quianne Reijnen, Agricultural Consultant,听Quianne.Reijnen@sac.co.uk
Posted by SAC Consulting on 11/12/2025
