Three grower representatives, a processor representative and an independent member have been appointed to the HGCA Board. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) made the appointments to its Cereals and Oilseeds Divisional Board for a three year term, and these will take effect from 1 April 2014.

Ian Backhouse from East Yorkshire is the director of his family farming business which farms 320 hectares of winter wheat, winter barley, oilseed rape, sugar beet and grassland on the banks of the River Ouse. He also runs a 50 head beef finishing unit and 30 suckler cows. Ian is a former NFU Combinable Crops Board Chairman and currently sits on the EU Commission Expert Group on agricultural commodity derivatives and spot markets.

Bob King is Commercial Director of Crisp Malting Group, where he has developed grower groups committed to the long term supply of malting barley into the business. He is a past Chair and current member of the Maltsters’ Association of Great Britain (MAGB) Trade Committee and has up to recently sat on HGCA’s Recommended List Project Board.

Andrew Moir runs a contract farming business in Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire. He is Chairman of the NFUS Combinable Crops Committee and the machinery sharing business Ringlink Scotland. He also chairs Scotland’s indoor winter farming event AgriScot. Andrew also helped establish the current Monitor Farm initiative in Scotland.

David Neal-Smith is an agri-food industry adviser with a background in managing consultancy projects for farmer-controlled businesses, processing companies, grain marketing businesses and organisations such as Defra and the British Egg Industry Council. David is a former partner of English Food and Farming Partnerships (EFFP), and has 10 years’ experience as a former Regional Director in the Agricultural Division of Barclays Plc.

James Price from Woodstock near Oxford is a former Farmers Weekly Young Farmer of the Year, and is the 2011 winner of nabim’s Milling Wheat Grower of the Year. He has run the family’s 1600 acre farm since 2005 on a conventional arable rotation, and hosts commercial variety trials. He also has an extensive interest in precision farming, acting as a part time trainer for specialist precision farming equipment.

The new HGCA Board members will replace current members Mike Hambly, David Houghton, Guy Smith, Alex Waugh, John Cunningham and Cath Clelland, who will stand down from their posts on 31 March.

The appointments were ratified by the AHDB Board at its 25 March meeting.