Allan Bowie cropped

Allan Bowie

Cereals grower Allan Bowie has been elected as president of NFU Scotland to replace Nigel Miller who has stepped down after four years.

Today’s vote at the union’s AGM, held in St Andrews, saw Bowie, who has held the role of vice president since 2009, beat off competition from Andrew Moir and Rob Livesey.

Livestock and cereals producer Livesey went on to secure votes as vice president, along with fellow livestock farmer Andrew McCornick.

The unsuccessful vice presidential candidates were Moir, Kelvin Pate and John Smith.

Bowie said it will be a “huge task and a privilege” to follow in Miller’s footsteps and tackle ongoing issues such as CAP implementation and new powers for Scotland.

“I appreciate all the support from the council and members, and going forward it is certainly going to remain challenging,” he said. “It was a privilege and pleasure to tour the country with them, speaking to members across all our regions. This is one aspect that we’ve always got to concentrate on – continuing to listen and speak to members.

“The challenges won’t go away, and, on behalf of the new presidential team, I promise we will do all within our power to get the best deal possible for Scottish agriculture in all our commodities and across every region of the country.”