North West livestock board election success
Following a closely fought election campaign, Trevor Wilson of Low Bankside in Grange-Over-Sands, has retained his position as the Cumbrian representative on the NFU’s North West Livestock Board.
Mr Wilson, who joined the board in 2009, was challenged by Gordon Capstick of Park House in Milnthorpe. Mr Wilson received 77 votes whilst Mr Capstick received 52 votes from Cumbrian NFU members. Mr Wilson will now serve a period of office between 2011 and 2013.
When informed about his election victory, Mr Wilson said: "This is a monumental time for British agriculture. Our government has to decide if they want to put some substance behind their encouraging words. They talk about food security but without the differing levels of monetary support farming businesses receive, I very much doubt any farming enterprises in this country would be making money.
"Profit has to be put back into food production and that is what I’ll be working towards as the Cumbrian representative on the NFU’s North West Livestock Board. Farmers don’t need to be preached to about conservation as they’ve been practising it for the last 400 years. All attention should now be focused upon producing the important food we need to fuel this country."
Mr Wilson was elated by the number of NFU members who decided to get involved in the democracy of the organisation and used their vote. He added: "It’s good to see that NFU members want to get involved with their representative body. The amount of issues being dealt with by our professional staff is awe inspiring. The work they do has to be shaped and supported by NFU members and it’s good to see that interest and participation in the NFU is healthy in Cumbria."
NFU North West Livestock Board Chairman, Bill Mellor, said: "I welcome Trevor back onto the board and look forward to working with him during the next two years. He is a very active and vocal member of the board who speaks up for Cumbrian farmers. The good turnout in this election shows just how popular he is."
