The now agreed merger between the Scottish Beef Cattle Association and the National Beef Association in Scotland will take immediate effect following a board meeting.
The Scottish Beef Association was given the green light at the Hexham meeting by the new NBA Board who carefully considered the merger which has been slowly, and often painfully, built under the chairmanship of John Ross through 2012.
The board approved the route at their November meeting, but 4th December saw final agreement reached on the central principles and a draft Heads of Terms was signed between respective chairmen Scott Henderson and Hamish McBean which will now allow a single representative body for beef farmers.
The SBA Steering Group will remain under the chairmanship of John Ross with the continued help of Ali McKnight to facilitate the process of a speedy move towards an inaugural member's meeting in early January to vote in a board.
The SBA will have an alliance with NBA on UK matters, while operating independently in Scotland determining its own policy and finances. The newly appointed NBA national director, Chris Mallon will also be available to assist the SBA Board.
At last both bodies can face the future with optimism as one and continue the valued work achieved through their Cross Industry Beef Working Group which has recently made significant steps in lobbying Scottish Government to protect beef farming under a new CAP.
The group set up between Jim Stewart, Scott Henderson and Ian Anderson of SAMW brings the supply chain together to focus on policy which pioneered the concept of modeling the single farm payment against land capability through The Macaulay classification. Last week the group met with Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead to stress the needs of Scottish beef production and resulted in letters to both Scottish and UK Ministers.
Commenting on the outcome John Ross said “I am very pleased that finally the persistence and commitment shown by the steering group has achieved this satisfactory result and I thank them for their efforts.”
Hamish McBean remarked “Definite progress has been made and there now should be nothing standing in the way for this to work for everyone. We will put forward the best of NBA into SBA to deliver for Scottish farmers.”
Scott Henderson commented “I am elated we now have a single strong voice for beef producers in Scotland which will put the industry first. The SBA will deal with the issues that affect beef production and beef producers and will continue the valuable lobbying that has been recently carried out by both parties. This process has taken far too long and allowed too much speculation by some in the farming press and beyond, but finally we have got there.”
