STEWART Houston has been appointed interim executive director of the National Pig Association.

A pig producer from Bedale, Mr Houston has been appointed for three to six months while the organisation reviews its structure and administration.

He is also chairman of the NPA's powerful producer group, and takes up the new appointment at the end of the month when Stuart Royston, the chief executive joins the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health.

The NPA is to consult with its members and the industry on how it should develop, but in the meantime Mr Houston said it would be business as usual.

All the projects it is already conducting will continue, and he appealed for members to stick with it over the next few months.

New chief for

dairy group

NICK Everington this week took up his job as the new chief executive of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF), the only independent organisation representing the interests of dairy farming in Britain.

This appointment completes an extensive, 18-month programme of reorganisation within the association.

Since gaining a degree in agriculture and food marketing at Newcastle University, he has worked for a number of high profile companies including United Molasses, Tate and Lyle, Forum Feeds and Lurmark.

In the dairy sector, he is known for his work at Volac, where he played a key role in developing the concept of big bale silage and bale wrapping, culminating in the launch of Silawrap in the mid 1990s.

Grouse seminar

THE fourth annual North of England grouse seminar at the Scotch Corner Hotel was attended by 250 delegates, including estate owners and gamekeepers. The event was organised by the Game Conservancy Trust and chaired by Earl Peel. Topics under discussion included moorland management, diseases in red grouse and access rights.

Adapting well

CONTINENTAL cross suckler cows can perform well in the hills when managed well, says the MLC.

Belgian Blue X Holstein and Simmental X Holstein performed equally well despite differences in body condition score (the BBX being lower than the Simmental X).

The MLC/Defra research project showed the only real difference was longevity in the herd with BBX producing eight calves and Simmental X six during their herd life