Vice president race - Nick Adams

Age: 45

Farm location/type: Sucklers, sheep and cereals on 210 acres (140 owned, 70 rented) light land at around 450 feet, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire. The farm has been organic for 10 years.

NFU positions held: Derby branch chairman, county chairman and regional livestock board chairman. Represented Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire on the national livestock committee. Have represented the NFU in Brussels and France.

Other relevant positions held: NFU Mutual local director, Meynell & South Staffordshire Hunt Hedgelaying Match organiser, Ashbourne Show council member.

Main interests outside farming: Cricket, riding (horses or motorbikes), scuba-diving, current affairs, working/training sheepdogs.

Tell us something surprising about you: I appeared as a “Mystery Guest” on the BBC sports quiz “They Think It’s All Over…”

Who is your hero? Sir Winston Churchill - great leader, farmer and NFU member!

Why are you the best person for the job?

I have the experience, energy and enthusiasm to meet the challenge, the vision creativity and drive to make a difference and the potential to develop further.

I grew up on my parents’ 30-acre dairy farm, took an Agribusiness degree in Western Australia and worked for Genus – Farm Management Services for four years before establishing my farming business in 1991.

Originally reliant on beef, my farm now has a balance of enterprises and is successful and profitable despite BSE, bTB and FMD. Whilst achieving this I’ve been

heavily involved in the NFU and served in the Territorial Army for ten years.

What would you change within the NFU to improve it?

Prioritise members needs. Counties go weeks and months without someone from the NFU setting foot there.

They’ve lost their Secretaries, Journals and Sector meetings. No wonder there’s a problem! We must find a way of increasing resources and support to members, county chairman and group secretaries.

Scrap regional sector meetings and invite open nominations to the national boards, with a transparent appointment process that gives geographical representation.

Rebalance our approach to lobbying; we’re strong on policy, we’re improving on PR, we must do better politically.

Take a much more robust (still polite!) stance with politicians, suppliers, processors and retailers.

What farming issue(s) would be your priority?

Find ways to redress market imbalances which continue to drive down our share of the retail price. Improve marketing and reduce costs, including reducing our dependence on fossil fuels - everything possible to deliver the SUBSTANTIAL PROFITS that are required to: increase investment, provide a good living, improve morale, reduce accidents, pay rents that encourage landowners to let farms…

PROFIT is key to many issues.

Bovine TB must be addressed properly, I hope to lead on this.

Reform Defra, RPA, NE etc. If food security is a serious issue these bodies must work with us, not against us.

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