National Farmers' Union of Scotland

In 1972, the NFUS — alongside other employers' associations National Farmers' Union of England and Wales and the Ulster Farmers' Union — set up the 'British Agriculture Bureau' to represent their interests in the European Economic Community affairs, and later in European Union affairs. In the late 2000's, proposals were made to reform the EU Common Agricultural Policy by altering the direct payment system. NFU Scotland declared their opposition to the reform package with NFUS policy director Scott Walker stating it would have a disproportionate negative impact on big farms. Former NFUS presidents Ian Grant, Jim Stobo, Sandy Inverarity, Sylvester Campbell, George Lyon and Sandy Mole supported voting for Scotland staying in the UK. Former presidents John Ross, John Cameron, Jim Walker and John Kinnaird supported voting for Scottish independence. Following a review of the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board (SAWB) in Decembers 2015, MSP Richard Lochhead, the Rural Affairs Secretary, announced that the SAWB would be retained to protect farmworkers. NFU Scotland—which has and continues to campaign against the SAWB—criticised the decision, with NFUS chief executive Scott Walker describing the board as redundant. Martin Kennedy was elected unopposed as NFUS president in February 2021. == Structure and function ==

According to the NFUS' constitution, the president is elected by the NFUS National Council for a term of two years, and no individual may be president for more than two consecutive terms. All though the executive body of the organisation, it is unclear how many people sit on the NFUS National Council, with the constitution only stating that the president, vice-presidents, and the members of NFUS' regional boards. NFU Scotland selects a three of the six employers' representatives on the seventeen member Scottish Agricultural Wages Board. British Agriculture Bureau The British Agriculture Bureau (BAB) is the joint office of the NFU, NFU Scotland and the Ulster Farmers' Union in Brussels. The BAB lobbies for the British farming industry in regards to European Union policy. ==See also==