Following a meeting of the AHDB Beef and Lamb sector board and after just six months into the post, its chairman, Stuart Roberts has resigned.
In a reported statement Roberts said: “This is the toughest decision I have ever taken – but I felt it is important to stand up for what I believe in, which is agricultural levies belong to farmer and processor levy payers.”
Roberts was clearly adamant that sector boards should be in control of how the levies were spent: “It should be the industry through their AHDB sector boards that are responsible for determining how levies are used.
“At the present time, I can foresee a realistic prospect of the levies, in the long term, being lost to the realms of a remote tax that the industry will have little or no influence over.
“This is a situation I am determined should not be allowed to happen and have therefore resigned as an AHDB board member and chairman of the AHDB Beef and Lamb sector board.”
AHDB chairman, Peter Kendall said: "I am very saddened to hear that Stuart Roberts has offered his resignation today as the AHDB Board member responsible for Beef & Lamb.
"It is a real shame that Stuart did not feel able to raise his concerns about Defra with his colleagues on the main AHDB Board so that I and my Board Members could have taken these up collectively with the Minister.
"I have always fought passionately for the interests of this industry, and I am well aware of the strength of feeling from farmers and growers that levies belong to the industry.
"As AHDB moves forward, we will continue to make the strongest possible case to Government to carry out the work that our Boards believe has the biggest impact for the industry."
AHDB is currently recruiting for a new chief strategy officer and strategy director's for each sector. There is speculation that the former may be a former agriculture director from one of the major multiples. Interviews for the new strategy director for AHDB Beef and Lamb are reported to be taking place this week.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
