Minette Batters, a beef farmer from Wiltshire, has been elected as the first female President of the National Farmers Union, for a two-year term alongside Guy Smith as Deputy President and Stuart Roberts as Vice President.

The new elected officeholder team (left to right); Stuart Roberts, Minette Batters and Guy Smith. Photo by Simon Hadley.

The election took place after the AGM of the NFU Council, a representative body made up of its elected members, following the annual NFU Conference.

Minette Batters, President, spoke of her gratitude at the announcement:

I am delighted to have been elected as President of the NFU and I am grateful to all the members who have given me the opportunity to lead our industry through Brexit and beyond.

At the heart of the NFU is its members and I would like the organisation to aim even higher on their behalf. British farming is in the spotlight like never before and this is a great opportunity to reposition the sector in the eyes of the nation.

Together as a new officeholder team, we will hit the ground running and I look forward to sharing our new vision for farming at the earliest opportunity.

Guy Smith, Deputy President, also commented:

It is a great privilege to serve the NFU as an officeholder and I am delighted to be given the opportunity to begin a new role as Deputy President.

To serve as the deputy to Minette is a great honour. Having worked with Minette for the past four years, I am looking forward to working with her and Stuart as a close team in what will be a pivotal two years for British agriculture.

Stuart Roberts, Vice President, added:

I’m extremely proud to join the new officeholder team and I am grateful to members for giving me this opportunity. British agriculture is facing both exciting and challenging times, and I am looking forward to offering Minette and Guy my full support for the years ahead.

As reported by NFU