Fram Farmers has announced a new Chairman and Vice Chairman – Wendy Houston and Doug Inglis.
Wendy Houston, previously Vice Chairman, was appointed Chairman of the cooperative at the recent Fram Farmers AGM, succeeding Andrew Read who stood down from the role after three years.
Doug Inglis, who has been a board member since 2020, has been appointed Vice Chairman of the cooperative, bringing with him considerable experience and a wealth of knowledge of the arable sector from his time at Velcourt, plus his continued role as an agronomist.
Pig producer and arable farmer Wendy, who became a board director in 2015, is energised at the opportunity to lead the board and continue the progress made by Fram Farmers.
“I aim to ensure the cooperative continues to be best placed to serve members in navigating the challenges both arable and livestock members face, and to prosper in the years to come,” she says.
The cooperative, which provides the purchasing, grain marketing and administrative function for over 1500 farming businesses across the UK, has also appointed Michael Muncey, former UK managing director of Bayer Crop Science and David Sheppard, former managing director of ADM, to the board during the past 12 months, along with farmer members Mark Williams and Frans de Boer.
Andrew Knowles, Fram Farmers CEO, welcomes Wendy and Doug as Chairman and Vice Chairman at an important and challenging time for UK agriculture.
Harnessing new skills
“I am looking forward to continuing to work with Wendy and Doug, as well as harnessing the new skills, knowledge and insights that Michael, David, Mark and Frans bring to the Fram Farmers board.”
“Farming is undergoing a period of unparalleled change, challenge and opportunity, and the new board membership will deliver strong, critical and demanding leadership to Fram Farmers.”
“This will enable us to continue to evolve and strengthen our performance to members, whilst remaining faithful to the values of the cooperative, and ensure our performance is unparalleled with leading commercial agribusinesses in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” he continues.
At the annual meeting, which took place in November, Wendy paid tribute to outgoing Chairman Andrew Read’s vast contribution during his time of chairmanship, coupling his boundless enthusiasm for Fram Farmers and an enormous amount of drive and belief that farmers are stronger together.
During Mr Read’s chairmanship, Fram Farmers defined and began implementing its new Fram26 strategy, evolving as an organisation to ensure it continues to deliver value, advice, and innovation to all members’ farming businesses, whilst also ensuring the cooperative’s future financial resilience. Andrew will remain a board member.
The AGM also saw the retirement of Suffolk farmer John Parkinson from the board following eleven years of service. John, highly respected by fellow board members, staff and fellow Fram Farmers members alike, has been an extremely dedicated and hard-working member of the board.
Charles Packshaw also retired from the board following six years’ service, bringing a wealth of experience from his senior career in banking and finance to benefit Fram Farmers in its governance, accounting and risk management, as well as an independent critical eye to how Fram Farmers can evolve its operations and performance.
