New EBLEX board members
New EBLEX board members
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has appointed three new EBLEX board members to help steer its work enhancing the profitability and sustainability of the English beef and lamb sector.
Ros Turner, Rizvan Khalid and Mark Allan will take up their roles on 1st April 2013.
Rizvan Khalid is senior director of Euro Quality Lambs.
Rizvan is senior director of Euro Quality Lambs, a family-run abattoir based in Shropshire, with a focus on the lamb export trade. A chartered accountant by profession, Rizvan has also completed an MSc in Meat Science and Technology. He is an active member of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) and the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) and sits on both the EBLEX Better Returns Programme steering group and the EBLEX Halal steering group.
Rizvan said: “I feel proud and honoured to have been selected to join the EBLEX board. Hopefully I will be able to offer my knowledge in lamb processing for the benefit of the industry, particularly from a scientific, export and halal perspective.”
Mark is head of livestock procurement at Dawn Meats UK, based in Bedfordshire. Having worked in the industry for over 20 years, Mark has experience of every aspect of the meat processing sector. He is currently responsible for purchasing cattle and sheep for all five Dawn Meats abattoirs, which involves interaction with farmer suppliers as well as managing a team of livestock buyers.
“Having spent my career working throughout the red meat industry, I’m looking forward to bringing my experience of the whole meat supply chain to the EBLEX board,” Mark said.
“I also have a good understanding of the challenges faced by beef and sheep farmers through regular contact with our farmer suppliers, enabling me to take a balanced approach to the issues affecting the industry.”
Ros is an eighth generation farmer, running her own grassland farm in Leicestershire. She has a flock of 125 early lambing Suffolk Cross ewes and 250 Mules ewes lambing in March, and also produces hay and haylage for the equine market. In addition, Ros runs a small retail grass and fodder crop seed business. Off the farm, she is actively involved in the NFU and is currently a member of the East Midlands regional livestock board.
“I’m delighted to become an EBLEX board member as I believe I can bring a practical and common sense approach to decisions affecting the industry,” Ros said.
“I’m particularly keen to help communicate to levy payers the work EBLEX is doing on a global scale, as there is an awful lot of activity taking place to benefit the beef and sheep sector that grassroots farmers aren’t necessarily aware of.”
EBLEX chairman John Cross has also welcomed the appointments: “Ros, Mark and Rizvan have a wealth of knowledge and experience and I look forward to working with them to determine EBLEX’s future strategic direction,” he said.
“We have historically attracted a high calibre of board members and these appointments are no exception.”
