Dean Bowden

Dean is a trainer and a compliance certifier for agrichemicals. He’s spent 40 years in the industry, starting his career doing government research projects for chemical companies in New Zealand and England. Also, crop spraying, contracting in environmental weed control and working on spray equipment manufacturing. 

In the last 15 years, Dean moved on to chemical education and training. He started as a contractor with Thoughtplanters back in 2008, when they were still known as Horttraining. As a teacher, Dean gives the students his full attention and he always strives to make learning light and not too serious. He likes to relate technical matters to practical experiences and demystify the more complex aspects of managing sprays, such as the legalities, compliance and equipment. 

Dean’s motto is that if you enjoy your job, you don’t have to work a day in your life. And lucky for him, he loves doing what he does and working for Thoughtplanters. But when he’s not there, he also enjoys plenty of other activities, such as swimming, hiking, biking, doing yoga and drinking nice wine.