Fife arable farmer John Hutcheson has been appointed chair of the board for Scottish Quality Crops (SQC) – Scotland’s quality assurance scheme for combinable crops.
Mark McCallum has been appointed to the position of SQC vice chair.
Hutcheson farms an extensive arable unit and grows cereals and oats in West Fife. He is the chair of the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS) and of Oat Co Group.
He has been a cooperative for oat growers in Scotland is the largest supplier of milling oats into Quaker. He is also a former chair of Tayforth Machinery Ring.
SQC managing director, Teresa Dougall, said: “We are looking forward to John and Mark taking the helm of the board and leading SQC through its next phase of both opportunity and challenge.
“There is plenty of change and progress in our sector and we welcome the experience and insights they will bring as we ensure our assurance scheme remains fit for purpose and continues to secure access to the widest and most lucrative markets for our farmer members.”
Dougall thanked the outgoing chair, arable farmer Andrew Moir, who has been in the position for the past eight years.
“We’ve greatly valued Andrew’s expertise and insights from working across the industry with NFUS, the Voluntary Initiative and other related posts, as well as his ground-up perspective as an arable farmer,” Dougall said.
“I have also personally gained from his generous support and guidance when I took on the role as managing director at a time of significant change, including appointing a new certification body and the impact of Brexit and policy changes on maintaining fluid market access.
“I’d also like to congratulate Andrew on being awarded this year’s Ed Rainy Brown Award from SAOS in recognition of his many years of co-operation and collaboration within the agricultural industry. It’s very well deserved, and we wish him all the very best for the next chapter.”
SQC vice chair
New SQC vice chair McCallum farms an arable enterprise comprising of a home farm and a number of contract farming agreements between Dingwall and Cromarty on the Black Isle.
He is a former chair of the grain cooperative, Highland Grain, as well as growing for the cooperative.
McCallum is the current NFUS regional chair for the Highlands and will be one of the NFUS representatives on the SQC Board, which is made up of representatives from seven industry organisations.
McCallum, who has been a part of the SQC board for a while, said he is looking forward to continuing to strengthen SQC and its offering to farmer members and stakeholders.
“Quality assurance and traceability, and increasingly evidence of sustainable farming practices, is essential for customers and the supply chain,” he said.
“SQC’s overarching goal is to help growers gain market access and premiums for their crops by providing this.
“This is by ensuring that the standards meet the requirements of the widest and best markets, but it is also supporting growers through the audit process, taking a pragmatic approach to quality standards, streamlining and leveraging technology where we can, and continuing to place the farmer at the heart of the organisation.”
