The new Regional Director of the NFU in the North East is 38-year-old Barney Kay – and while he may be a new face to many of the NFU’s 6,000 members across the region, to local pig producers he is already well known.
That’s because he joins the NFU from the National Pig Association (NPA), where he has been general manager for the last five years. In that role he oversaw the work of the NPA at a time when pig farmers faced exceptionally difficult trading conditions and unsustainably low farmgate prices.
He brings to the job a wealth of experience gained during a diverse career that has seen him working in the livestock sector, running a 1000-ha farm in Romania and working in two separate roles for the NFU – one in East Anglia and another at NFU headquarters.
He replaces longstanding Regional Director, Richard Ellison, who retired at the end of July after 39 years with the NFU – 21 of them heading up the North East regional office.
Barney says he is delighted to be joining the regional team, which covers the whole of North East England stretching from Sheffield to the Scottish Borders. Having studied agriculture at Newcastle, he gained an early insight into farming in the region and of course has already got to know a great many farmers in his new patch during his time with the NPA.
“I’m very lucky to be working with a great team at the York office, representing the NFU across this incredibly diverse farming area,” he said.
“The region encompasses a range of quality producers and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the various challenges they face.”
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