ANGUS MacFadyen has stood down from his chairmanship of the Argyll and Isles Agricultural Forum after 19 years.

Principal agricultural officer with Rural Payments and Inspections in Oban, Bill Dundas, commented: “Angus has given a great deal of his own time to the Forum to secure a better future for Argyll’s agricultural sector over the last 19 years and it has been greatly appreciated. This has been not only through his time chairing meetings, but all the activity that goes on behind the scenes that many of us don’t realise.

“I have only been involved in the Forum for the last 12 years and in that time have seen the development of the Argyll and Islands Agricultural Strategy in 2005 and the delivery of tangible activities against that strategy. This has been far more than just a round table tick box engagement process.”

In addition to this, Fergus Younger, who joined the Forum in 2006 has also stepped down to take on a full-time role with the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society. Bill also acknowledged the contribution that Fergus has made over the last 10 years, which has included the development of the Food from Argyll brand; work on the Argyll Hill Lamb project, the island slaughterhouses, the working farm woodlands, and most recently the work with Kintyre and Bute’s dairy farmers.

“On behalf of the farming community in Argyll and the Islands and the other forum members, I thank both Fergus and Angus for the valuable contribution they have made,” said Mr Dundas.

Kintyre dairy farmer Sandy Pirie has now taken on the chairmanship of the Forum, with John Dickson, a livestock farmer from Bute and who is currently NFU Scotland’s regional board chairman, takes on the vice chairman’s role.