Ian Duncan Millar MBE – who has helped to shape and deliver key agricultural services to the Scottish farming industry – has received one of the Union’s most prestigious awards.
A farmer from Aberfeldy, Ian has been at the heart of various organisations including the Highland Glen lamb marketing co-operative; the Scottish Association for Sheep Health and was Scotland’s first director of the National Fallen Stock Company.
A qualified Chartered Surveyor and Agricultural Arbitrator, Ian has also recently served on Scotland’s rent review group. His latest appointment is as chair of the animal health and welfare charity, the Moredun Foundation.
Ian received the Ambassador award in front of 500 guest, attending NFU Scotland’s annual dinner at St Andrews last night (Monday, 10 February).
Announcing the award, NFU Scotland President Nigel Miller said:
“Agriculture in Scotland needs people like Ian Duncan Millar who have the ability to pull people together in a collaborative way and use that collective strength to make things better.
“He took on the thankless task of creating a structure to collect fallen stock in the UK and deserves great credit for the fact that the framework around the National Fallen Stock Scheme still endures today.
“As an able arbiter, he is also in a unique position of being respected on both sides of the landowner/tenancy divide making him an ideal candidate for inclusion in the rent review group a few years ago.
“However, his involvement in Moredun will bring him closer to his roots as a sheep farmer but even here, Ian has had the vision to record and benchmark his Blackie flock as a route to driving improved performance.
“When the industry recently wanted to revitalise the role of Kirkton as a hill farming research unit there was only one man for the job and Ian’s track record as a servant to Scottish farming makes him a very worthy recipient of this award.” Ends
Notes to Editors
• The inaugural winner of the NFU Scotland Ambassador award, first made in 2009, was former BBC broadcaster Ken Rundle. Ken is currently Senior Communications Officer at SAC. In 2010, the award was given posthumously to the journalist and broadcaster Dan Buglass, Rural Affairs Editor of The Scotsman. In 2011, prominent cook, hotelier and writer Lady Claire Macdonald collected the award. Well known livestock auctioneer David Leggat was the winner in 2012 and John Cameron, a true stalwart of the Scottish farming industry collected the award in 2013.
• A photograph of Ian Duncan Millar receiving his award is available from media@nfus.org.uk or tel. 0131 472 4000