A Highland Perthshire farmer has been elected as the 63rd president of the country’s largest agriculture union.
Martin Kennedy, who has been a vice president at the National Farmers’ Union of Scotland (NFUS) since 2017, now takes over the organisation’s top role.
Martin, who runs Lurgan Farm just a few miles north of Aberfeldy, was elected unopposed in last Friday’s vote at the NFUS’s virtual council meeting in Glasgow.
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He is a tenant farmer in Highland Perthshire and farms with his wife Jane and three daughters, Jillian, Katrina and Yvonne.
They have 600 ewes and 60 cows on the farm rising from 800ft to over 2500ft.
Martin served two years as Highland Perthshire branch chairman, before representing the east central region on the LFA committee in 2009.
He then went on to be vice chairman then chaired the committee for three years and was then elected vice president in 2017.
The presidential position will be held by Mr Kennedy for two years and a president can serve a maximum of two consecutive two-year terms.
The organisation represents 9000 farmers, crofters, growers and other supporters the length and breadth of the country.
After the election, Martin said: “It goes without saying that it is indeed a great honour to be elected president of NFU Scotland.
"This is a role I recognise carries a huge responsibility to represent all our members in all sectors of farming and crofting throughout Scotland.
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“Without question we will have some real challenges ahead as we strive to meet not only climate change and environmental targets, but also at the same time continue to carry out our fundamental role of food production.
“I see these challenges as opportunities, and provided we implement a positive future agricultural policy, one that’s right for Scotland, then we can create a profitable industry that’s the envy of many across the globe.”
