THE Queen's birthday honours included a knighthood for Mr Don Curry, former chairman of the Meat and Livestock Commission, pictured, above.

The honour was immediately welcomed by Mr Gwyn Howells, MLC director general. "Sir Donald's contribution to the meat and livestock industries has been enormous and this honour is extremely well deserved," he said.

"On behalf of MLC commissioners and all staff I congratulate him and thank him for his dedication to the organisation and the industry."

Sir Donald is married with three children and farms 730 hectares in Northumberland with arable, lowland grass and hill land. He has beef cattle, suckler cows and a breeding flock of ewes with lambs for finishing.

He became an MLC commissioner in 1986 and was elected the first chairman of its Lamb Promotion Council, holding that post until 1993. He became deputy chairman of the MLC in 1992 and was acting chairman from September of that year. In April 1994, he was appointed chairman; re-appointed for a second term in 1997 and finally stepped down in April this year. He is the MLC's longest serving chairman.

Sir Donald, who received a CBE for services to agriculture in 1997, is founder and chairman of North Country Primestock, the livestock marketing company. He was an early pioneer of assurance schemes and became the first chairman of FABBL, the Farm Assured British Beef and Lamb scheme.

He has previously been an NFU council member serving on the marketing, cereals, livestock and wool committees. He is deputy chairman of the NFU Mutual insurance company and was appointed a Crown Estates Commissioner in January last year.

He is a member of the council of Food From Britain and was a founder, and is now chairman of At Home in the Community, a charity managing residential homes in the North-East for people with learning disabilities.

In December last year he was the first recipient of the Royal Smithfield Club's bicentenary trophy, awarded in recognition of his major contribution to the improvement of the British meat industry.

In May he was appointed to the Scottish agricultural college group board.