Three to contend for two Vice-Presidential posts
Highland Perthshire farmer Martin Kennedy will stand unchallenged for the position of President of NFU Scotland at the Union’s AGM on Friday 10 February 2023.
Mr Kennedy has served as President for the past two years. If approved by the Union’s Council, he will be re-elected to the post of President for a further two-year term. No other nominations for President were received by the deadline of Monday 12 December. The maximum term allowed for an individual to hold the role of President under the Union’s constitution is four consecutive years.
Three nominations for the two Vice-Presidential posts have been received. They are (in alphabetical order)
- Andrew Connon, North Quilquox, Ythanbank, Ellon, Aberdeenshire.
- Alasdair Macnab, Kildun Farm, Dingwall, Ross-shire
- Robin Traquair, Wellington Farm, Millerhill, Dalkeith, Midlothian.
(See detailed biographies in Notes to Editors)
A series of regional hustings events will take place in January ahead of the voting process. These events will provide NFU Scotland members with the ideal opportunity to question each candidate about what their plans are for leading the agricultural industry and NFU Scotland forward ahead of the voting process.
Commenting Mr Kennedy said: “It has been a privilege to serve NFU Scotland as President, a role I have enjoyed immensely over the past two very difficult years where we have had to deal with a myriad of challenges from global to local spectrums. I hope to be re-elected President by Council in the New Year. That would be a huge honour at a time when the changes, challenges and opportunities facing Scottish farmers and crofters have never been so immense.
“These will be incredibly busy and significant times for the Union as we strive to secure a sustainable, profitable future for Scottish agriculture. If elected, I will remain fully committed to driving forward the work NFU Scotland is doing on behalf of more than 9000 members across Scotland.
“Strong teamwork has always been central to NFU Scotland’s lobbying efforts. There are three excellent candidates for the Vice-Presidential posts, and I encourage each and every member to take part in the forthcoming hustings events, feeding back to their Council members on who they believe is best suited to fill these influential posts when it comes to the vote on 10 February.”
Notes to Editors
President Elect
Martin Kennedy, Lurgan Farm, Edradynate, Aberfeldy, Perthshire
Martin is a tenant farmer in Highland Perthshire and farms with his wife Jane and three daughters, Jillian, Katrina, and Yvonne.
They have 600 ewes and 60 cows on the farm rising from 800ft to over 2,500ft.
Martin served two years as Highland Perthshire Branch Chair, before representing East Central region on the LFA committee in 2009.
Martin then went on to be Vice-Chair then chaired the committee for three years. He was elected Vice-President in 2017 a position he held until being elected President of NFU Scotland in February 2021.
Vice Presidential candidate.
Andrew Connon, North Quilquox, Ythanbank, Ellon, Aberdeenshire.
Andrew farms near Ellon in Aberdeenshire running a small commercial sheep flock whilst also doing some local contract work on a beef and arable unit, working with the Online Market Places SellMyLivestock and Graindex, and is a Director of Livestock Health Scotland. He is married to Pauline. Son Andrew (24) and daughter Sarah (18) are employed on neighbouring farms. His father, uncles and cousin run the neighbouring family business focused on finishing cattle, sheep, and barley.
After graduating from Aberdeen University with an honours degree in General Agriculture, he joined Velcourt as a trainee farm manager in South East England before returning to a farm management position in Aberdeenshire.
Andrew then embarked on a commercial career in agricultural finance with NWS Bank and then JCB Finance. In 1999 he joined the family-owned machinery business of A M Phillip initially as a Branch Manager before becoming a director and then Dealer Principal until the business was sold in 2018.
He is a long-standing member of NFU Scotland New Deer Branch and a former Branch Chair. He represented the North East Regional Board for several years, elected Vice-Chair (2017) and Chair (2020).
In February 2021, Andrew was elected NFU Scotland Vice-President and currently sits on the following committees: ELU, Combinable Crops, Horticulture, Potatoes, LFA, Crofting, Milk, Finance and Renumeration.
Key issues for Andrew as Vice-President have included input inflation and sector profitability, retailer labelling /promoting Scottish, the ongoing pig’s crisis, EU ban on seed potatoes, labour issues, tree planting on productive land, energy crisis, slurry regulations, furthering Agricultural Education and the decline in livestock and people from rural areas.
Vice-President Candidate
Alasdair Macnab, Kildun Farm, Dingwall, Ross-shire
Alasdair Macnab farms at Kildun, Dingwall with his wife Gill running a well-known pedigree Limousin herd, growing malting barley and hay. Alasdair went to Dingwall Academy and then Glasgow University graduating in veterinary medicine. He worked in a vet practice in Ross-shire for 11 years, then joined the Government vet service in Inverness. He worked across Britain for 25 years gaining extensive experience in animal welfare, BSE, TB, the Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth outbreaks, disease outbreak management, import and export, pigs, poultry, transport of livestock, publishing research and crofting. He now farms, runs a consultancy advising farmers in legal disputes, assessing vets doing TB testing and writes a column for the Scottish Farmer.
His farming career started on his late uncle’s dairy farm at Humberston, Dingwall (now Dingwall Auction Mart) working with dairy, sheep and cereals. He was a crofter breeding cattle and sheep near Strathpeffer for over ten years before buying Kildun from his mother in 2005. On Kildun, Alasdair and Gill are developing some high value nature sites to integrate into the farm system.
Alasdair has been a member of NFU Scotland for over thirty years. On leaving the Government, he took on the role of Vice-Chair for Black Isle and Mid Ross Branch in 2016 before becoming Chair and representing Highland Region on the Legal & Technical committee. He is currently Vice-Chair for Highland Region and took on the role of L&T Committee Chair in February 2022.
Alasdair has also run a timber reclamation and flooring business, is a past RHET Highland Chair and a Ross County season ticket holder.
Vice-President Candidate
Robin Traquair, Wellington Farm, Millerhill, Dalkeith, Midlothian.
Robin farms in Midlothian with his wife Anna. They have three children of university age. His main enterprise is indoor sows taking stock from farrow to finish, and selling the progeny through Scotlean, a farmer-based co-op of which Robin is a director. When the price of grain started rising unprecedently in Spring 2022 he decided to mitigate his losses and undertake a full destock/repopulation of his herd. He is now in the repopulation stage and hopes to be back up to full capacity by the Spring 2023.
To advance the business in 2010, Robin was the first farmer in the UK to import a high health SPF commercial and nucleus herd of Danbred sows, which eventually led onto to him being a finalist at the ‘Farmers Weekly’ awards. At full capacity, his farm business buys 1500 tonnes of grain a year from local merchants and farmers.
In his youth he was a member of South Midlothian JAC and was National Chair of SAYFC (1999-2000). Shortly afterwards he became NFU Scottish Pigs Chair and sat on the Remunerations committee. He was the Scottish representative on the British Pig Executive, a part of the MLC, for several years and was Chair of South of Scotland Pig Producers discussion group. In 2017 he took part in the Scottish Enterprise Rural Leadership Programme. He currently sits on the UK Pig Disease Eradication Fund Board.
When not working Robin enjoys watching Scotland and Edinburgh play rugby or shooting clays with the Scottish Gun Club.
After two years of holding the Vice-President role he now seeks re-election and looks forward to meeting as many members as possible at the forthcoming hustings being organised across Scotland.
- The NFU Scotland Council Meeting being held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow on Friday 10 February 2023.
- Booking forms for the 2022 AGM and dinner have been included in the January edition of NFU Scotland’s membership magazine ‘Scottish Farming Leader’ and are available online at: https://www.nfus.org.uk/about-nfus/agm-2023.aspx
- The Annual General Meeting of the members of NFU Scotland will be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, 301 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8DL on Thursday 9 February 2023 at 10.15am until 11.30pm. The normal business to be conducted will be the consideration of the Directors’ report; the Auditors’ report and the Financial Accounts for the year ended 31 October 2022.
- Hustings events, to which media are invited to attend, will take place in addition to Regional AGM business on the following dates.
- Wednesday 11 January 23 (Ayrshire: The Hub, Crossroads 7.30pm)
- Thursday 12 January 23 (Garfield House Hotel, Stepps 7.30pm)
- Friday 13 January 23 (Bowling Club, Tarbert, 12 noon)
- Monday 16 January 23 (Carfraemill Hotel, Lauder, 7pm)
- Tuesday 17 January 23 (Ernespie Farm, Castle Douglas, 7.30pm)
- Wednesday 18 January 23 (Lochter Activity Centre, Oldmeldrum, 7pm)
- Thursday 19 January 23 (St Johnstone Football Club, Perth, 7pm)
- Monday 23 January 23 (Dingwall Mart, Dingwall, 7pm)
- Tuesday 24 January 23 (The Neuk, Albert Hotel, Kirkwall, 7.30pm tbc)
- Wednesday 25 January 23 (Shetland Hotel, Lerwick, 7pm tbc)
Ends
Contact Diana McGowan on 07920 018619