Country Antrim farmer takes over as new NSA Chairman

National Sheep Association (NSA) has a new national chairman – Samuel Wharry from Carnlough, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
 
The NSA Management Board met yesterday (Wednesday 14^th January) and elected a chairman for a term of three years from within its pool of 12 regional trustee managers. Samuel has been an officeholder within NSA Northern Ireland Region for a number of years (including regional chairman), served on the Board for three years and has a wealth of sheep farming knowledge to draw on for this national role.
 
Samuel says: “I am delighted and honoured to be selected by my fellow board members for this role. I look forward to working with the board to continue to make NSA relevant and useful to all our members.”
 
With a real commitment to breeding fit-for-purpose stock, Samuel has maintained a purebred Scottish Blackface flock on his hill farm in Country Antrim while also taking part in a number of initiatives using other breeds, including the Swaledale and Lleyn, to gather practical data on maternal lines. He is also passionate about encouraging the next generation of sheep farmers and recently entered into a share farming agreement with James Davison, a young farmer from Ballymena with an appetite for the sheep sector but little land of his own. This is a mutually beneficial agreement that sees the pair work side-by-side making management decisions on the sheep enterprise, with James earning an increasing stake in the flock over the coming years.
 
Comments on this new share farming agreement, Samuel says: “Our industry needs to bring new blood forward and I’m pleased to be working with James to build a healthy business which will provide a decent income for both of us. I would like to think it could be an example that was useful to other people in the industry.”
 
Samuel takes over from John Geldard of Cumbria, who had held the post of national chairman since January 2012. On passing the reins to Samuel, John says: “It has been an absolute pleasure to represent the NSA over the last three years. I never dreamed I would be chairman of the grassroots organisation where I started as a member nearly 40 years ago and I have been very proud to be part of an organisation that punches well above its weight and involves a great bunch of people. I am fully confident that Samuel will continue to take the organisation forward in the next few years in the same spirit as it has operated in.”
 
The NSA Management Board is made up six Trustee Managers from the NSA English regions, three Trustee Managers from Wales, two from Scotland and one from Northern Ireland, plus a co-opted Honorary Treasurer. Trustee Managers are appointed by NSA regional committees and a National Chairman is elected from within the Management Board. For more information about the structure of NSA and how to get involved and feed in your views about the UK sheep sector visit www.nationalsheep.org.uk.
 
 
Notes to editors:-

• For more information or high resolution images contact NSA Communications Manager Joanne Briggs on 07807 237982 or joanne@nationalsheep.org.uk.
• The National Sheep Association is an organisation that represents the views and interests of sheep producers throughout the UK. It is funded by its membership of sheep farmers and its activities involve it in every aspect of the sheep industry. More at www.nationalsheep.org.uk and www.nsanextgeneration.org.uk.