Outstanding contribution award presented at NSA North Sheep

As a proud Lancastrian who took his very first job in the sheep industry in Yorkshire, it was fitting that David Croston MBE accepted the National Sheep Association (NSA) George Hedley Memorial Award at the organisation’s premier event in the North of England today.

NSA presents the award annually to recognise an individual’s outstanding contribution to the sheep industry; Mr Croston was announced as the winner earlier this year and was presented with his specially-commissioned sheep statuette during the opening ceremony of NSA North Sheep by the NSA President, His Grace the Duke of Montrose.

There was also a celebratory dinner in Cockermouth, Cumbria, the evening before NSA North Sheep, bringing together NSA staff and officeholders, industry stakeholders and supporters. Speaking at the dinner, NSA Chairman Samuel Wharry said Mr Croston had dedicated his career to supporting sheep farming businesses, and continued this past his retirement when he became NSA Honorary Treasurer, making him a very worthy winner of his highly prized accolade.

Mr Wharry said: “David dedicated his career to the industry, and on a personal note, it was as a fresh-faced teenager in the 1970s when I read an article he wrote about individual ewe recording schemes, that I was inspired to follow the performance recording route in my own flock. It was after his retirement that David became involved in NSA, when his voice of wide council and his knowledge of the industry was invaluable to us as an organisation. He is a true friend of the sheep industry and of NSA in particular.”

Mr Croston joined the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) in 1970, working from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, under the tutelage of his then boss Joe Read. Mr Read, who was originally from Cockermouth, Cumbria, and is himself a recipient of the George Hedley Memorial Award (back in 1981) was a special guest at the dinner on Tuesday evening.

Within his many roles at MLC, Mr Croston took responsibility for the individual ewe recording schemes, later known as Sheepbreeder, and the creation of Sire Reference Schemes. He moved on to be Chief Sheep Advisor and Sheep Strategy Manager, before transferring to the MLC Export Marketing Department and heading that up from 1996. In January 1998 he was appointed Head of Sheep Strategy at MLC and in 2003 became Chief Executive of Eblex, where he drew up the proposals for the Better Returns knowledge transfer programme.

Following his retirement in 2005 David became involved with NSA, playing a key role in the running of NSA events and using his industry experience to help steer the organisation through a period of reform. In 2010 he became NSA Honorary Treasurer, a post he held until June 2014.

Speaking on Tuesday evening, Mr Croston said he had been involved in many exciting innovations in the sheep industry – such as the advert of sheep pregnancy scanning, CT scanning and breeding schemes, and the development of Eblex as a levy body – but he accepted the award for the work he had been able to give back to the industry via NSA.

“I have been very fortunate to be part of some absolutely fantastic things during my time in the sheep sector, but it is an honour to get this award because of what I did with and for the NSA,” he said, referring particularly to his work restructuring the organisation to be region-centric. “I am very proud that NSA has flourished in the period I’ve been involved. My time with NSA was a great period in my life, to be able to put back what I’ve had from the industry. There were so many exciting bits of my career, that were great fun and I got a real buzz from, but I was looking for a challenge on my retirement and NSA gave me that. It’s been great to see all that has happened, and it’s been great to give that all back.”

Read the full NSA North Sheep report here.

Notes to editors:-

• NSA has presented the George Hedley Memorial Award annually since 1960. It is given to honour the memory of George Hedley, a highly respected farmer from the Scottish borders who was involved with the NSA (then the National Sheep Breeders Association) for many years. It was while he was Chairman of NSBA, travelling to a Council meeting in London on 26^th January 1960, that he was tragically killed in a car accident.
• David Croston is the 2014 winner; nominations for the 2015 recipient will be invited later in the year.
• Each person who receives the NSA George Hedley Memorial Award is given a specially sculptured statuette of a South Country Cheviot sheep mounted on a plinth carrying the name of the recipient and the words ‘For outstanding service to the sheep industry’. Recipients are also made Honorary Life Members of the National Sheep Association.
• Additional information and a selection of high resolution images will be available after NSA North Sheep on Wednesday 3^rd June. To request a picture or for further information please contact Joanne Briggs, NSA Communications Manager, on 07807 237982 or joanne@nationalsheep.org.uk.
• The National Sheep Association is an organisation that represents the views and interests of sheep producers throughout the UK. It is funded by its membership of sheep farmers and its activities involve it in every aspect of the sheep industry. More at www.nationalsheep.org.uk and www.nsanextgeneration.org.uk.