Harper Life Magazine 2020

—Harper Life Nov 2020 John Aled Griffiths OBE retires from the British EggMarketing Board Trust After almost 40 years promoting, encouraging and supporting education, research and development work associated with the egg industry, Aled Griffiths OBE has retired from the British Egg Marketing Board (BEMB) Research and Education Trust. Aled was first appointed to the BEMB Trust in 1981 as the NFU Poultry Representative. At that time the BEMB was very involved with the Poultry Husbandry Experimental Unit at Harper Adams Agricultural College and Aled was Chairman of the Unit from 1983-1992. Aled was Chairman of the NFU Poultry Committee in 1985 and, when the Government abolished the Eggs Authority in 1986, he was instrumental in obtaining the residual income of the Eggs Authority for the BEMB Trust to support its research and education programme into projects related to eggs in the UK. The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) was formed to replace the Eggs Authority in 1985 and Aled became its Founder Chairman. Having completed a Nuffield Farming Scholarship himself in 1974, Aled was actively involved with the interviews for the Nuffield Poultry Scholars as the BEMB Trust’s Selector and, since 1984, he has had the pleasure of working alongside many of these Nuffield Scholars. It has been incredibly rewarding for Aled to see the BEMB Trust’s financial assistance enabling so many PhD candidates and research facilities continue sector-leading research across the UK. Aled was born and bred in North Wales and graduated from Aberystwyth University College, before he and his late wife, Olwen, began farming on the Welsh border in Shropshire in 1955. The family later founded Oaklands Farm Eggs with sites across Shropshire, Wales and the UK. During his illustrious career, Aled has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades for his long-standing and distinguished service to the poultry industry in the UK, Europe and the world and in recognition of his commitment to innovation and sustainable stewardship of his land and farming business. He was honoured with an OBE for his services to the poultry industry in 1993 and was made a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1994 and awarded a Fellowship of Harper Adams University in 2009. In 2018 he received both the egg industry’s most prestigious and highest awards, the International Egg Commission’s (IEC) Denis Wellstead Memorial Trophy for The International Egg Person of the Year, together with the Peter Kemp Award for Outstanding Contribution to the British Egg Industry. Professor Peter Biggs was the Chairman of the BEMB Trust in the early days and he was the only trustee that was a scientist. The other trustees were egg producers and the Chairman of the NFU National Poultry Committee. During this time most of the trustees could understand the science, but from 2000 onwards the scientific research work has become much more complicated and it became imperative that scientists should be appointed to the BEMB Trust to explain and follow the research work that is being carried out today. Aled commented that: “It has been very gratifying for me to look back over my 39 years working for the BEMB Trust and to see that of the 26 Nuffield Poultry Scholars that I was able to help to obtain their scholarships, 20 of them are still very actively working or associated with the poultry industry today. I am delighted to be leaving the BEMB Trust in such good hands, with a great team representing egg producers, together with three eminent scientists, all under the guidance of such an excellent Chairman, Dr Martin Shirley CBE, and a very experienced, organised and dedicated Secretary, Alison Bone. Furthermore, with Investec taking good care of the investments, the BEMB Trust is in very good hands and long may it continue.” Aled was presented with a set of Welsh crystal whisky glasses and an inscribed crystal jug, thanking him for his 39 years of service. 22 www.harper-adams.ac.uk