Three new members appointed to AHDB Sector Council

Three new appointments have been made to AHDB’s Pork Sector Council, while three members have been re-appointed.

The new faces are producers Mark Westgarth, who runs his family farm in North Yorkshire, and Charlotte Duggleby, a director at family business, Ian Mosey, also in North Yorkshire, and processor representative Mike Wijnberg, Pilgrim’s UK’s technical director.

Joining the 11-strong council, they replace producers Rob Mutimer and Rob Beckett, who stand down after serving their terms.

Producer Robin Thompson, processor representative Willian de Klein, of Karro, and Rupinder Ashworth, an independent member, have all been re-elected.

AHDB Council elections are staggered to ensure the whole council is not changed at once. The remaining members of the council – producers Tim Bradshaw and Robin Thompson, Hugh Crabtree, of Farmex, and Mark Haighton, who worked for Pilgrim’s until this April, Morrisons’ Jodie Boland and Cranswick’s Chris Aldersley – were not up for re-election. Mike Sheldon continues as AHDB Pork Sector Council chair.

In total, 20 new appointments and re-appointments have been made across AHDB’s four sectors, also including the Beef and Lamb, Cereals and Oilseeds and Dairy, following the completion of the ratification process.

This process was run by an independent organisation, Civica Election Services Limited, which reported that 1,586 levy payers voted out of a total registered of 9,228. No candidate received less than two thirds of the available votes.

Sector Council members were selected on an open, competitive, skills-based process before levy payers, who were registered to vote, were asked if they agreed with the recommended appointments via a yes/no vote.

• On Thursday at 4pm, in an AHDB Funding the Future online event,  Mr Sheldon will set out why AHDB is planning to raise the pork levy by 20%, and take questions from levy payers.