NORTH Yorkshire pig producer Stewart Houston has been awarded the David Black Award for outstanding service to the industry.

He was on a shortlist of nine and the announcement was made by Lord Whitty, Food and Farming Minister, in London on Wednesday.

Mr Houston, 56, has a 350-sow herd near Bedale where he farms with his wife, Janet, and elder son, Andrew. His younger son, Stephen, runs a field sports centre nearby.

The David Black Award, established in 1906, is the most highly-prized in the pig industry. It is awarded annually for a sustained and major contribution to any sector of the industry.

Mr Houston became a pig producer in 1970 and was the British Pig Association's first North-East regional chairman. He played a major role in achieving the union of the BPA and the NFU pig committee to form the National Pig Association.

He has just been appointed a commissioner of the Meat and Livestock Commission and chairman of the British Pig Executive. He is also executive director of the NPA - a post he is holding while the board determines the organisation's future.

The David Black Award is run by the British Pig Executive but the recipient is chosen by an independent committee.

Mr Houston said it was a nonsense to say he had achieved everything himself. "It has all been done with a huge amount of help, support and guidance from my friends, colleagues and, most importantly, my family," he said.

He added that, in spite of the difficulties which had afflicted the industry since 1998: "I am an eternal optimist and that is one of the reasons for my sticking to the various roles into which I have been thrust."