Bio-Agri's History
Fresh out of university, Chris began his career with Tractors UK, helping agricultural machinery find its way into farms across the UK and Ireland. It was here that he honed his skills in building relationships, creating marketing strategies, and connecting with farming communities to bring reliable tools to those who needed them most.
Chris joined New Earth Solutions, where he turned challenges into opportunities by designing innovative recycling and energy facilities. He worked closely with councils and environmental agencies to build the UK’s first enclosed composting facility and a groundbreaking municipal waste treatment plant.
Returning to his roots, Chris became the Managing Director of Parsonage Farms. With determination and resourcefulness, he grew the dairy herd from 160 to over 600 cows, doubled the farmed acreage, and increased yield per cow. Chris not only managed day-to-day farming but personally led the development of new facilities and adapted machinery in his workshop.
As Head of Construction at Greener For Life, Chris spearheaded the design and build of Anaerobic Digestion plants that turned organic waste into renewable energy. Leading a dedicated team, he delivered over 35 successful projects, including gas-to-grid facilities and renewable heat systems—all completed on time and ready to power homes, farms, and businesses.
In 2016, Chris took over AMZCO, a specialist company in Anaerobic Digestion. With a farmer’s mindset and an engineer’s eye for detail, Chris has led his team to continually improve plant performance and efficiency.
In 2017 Rachel Hooper Joined the show, with 14 years of experience in finance and financial management, Rachel has a proven track record as a Management Accountant, overseeing 18 depots for a leading UK facilities management company. Rachel’s role extends beyond finance, encompassing human resources, head and site office management, marketing, and key account management, showcasing her versatility and leadership skills.
In 2019 Trevor Silifant joined us as our key H&S Advisor. With a lifetime of experience across high hazard industries including nuclear, munitions, and petroleum. A recognised safety and environmental SME, he has held senior roles within IOSH South West and has worked with authorities and emergency services to develop plans for Top-Tier COMAH sites.
In 2022, Josh and Will joined the team, bringing focused expertise in engineering design, process systems, and project delivery. Their addition marked a new phase for the business, strengthening its technical capability and supporting a shift towards design-led, compliance-driven engineering.
In 2025, Chris Hawkins and the core team moved on from AMZCO to establish Bio-Agri Ltd, marking a deliberate shift in direction. Bio-Agri was created to focus on engineering, innovation, complaince and long-term sustainability in the AD sector.
Alongside this shift, the team broadened its focus to address wider challenges facing the sector and farms, including waste management, resource efficiency, and the practical realities of operating AD systems in increasingly constrained regulatory environments.
By mid-2025, Bio-Agri had begun actively developing its own R&D programme, launching three core projects: Modular Renewable Systems (MRS), focused on small-scale AD solutions; BioMax, designed to improve feedstock homogenisation; and Bio-Recover (the most advanced of the three) targeting nutrient recovery and clean water production from agricultural wastes.
During this period, the team supported the delivery of the UK’s first dry AD facility to successfully export gas to grid, based on a 750m³ system. Our involvement (Started by AMZCO) covered engineering design, interface coordination, project management, and civils work to deliver the energy centre portion of the project, contributing to a fully integrated and operational plant.
Converting black bag waste to usable National Grid Gas!
Bio-Recover has now reached prototype stage, following support from the UWE Entrepreneurial Enterprise Fund awarded in summer 2025. Laboratory testing has confirmed its ability to recover nutrients and treat water across a range of agricultural wastes, including animal manures, food waste, and crop residues.
The next phase will focus on scale-up, and we are actively seeking investment partners to support this progression.
We are currently supporting seven AD plants and a hydrogen generation start-up across the UK. Our work covers compliance, ATEX and DSEAR, lightning protection (LPS), and engineering design, providing clear, practical support to help sites meet regulatory requirements and implement improvements.
Interested? See what we could do for you!