ARABLE and livestock farmer Mr John Rider was elected chairman by the NFU North Riding and Durham County committee at its annual meeting on Thursday of last week.

Mr Rider, who is 62, farms to the west of Guisborough on the edge of the Eston hills, and near Loftus, just inside the North York Moors national park.

He farms a total of 1,070 acres (433 hectares), with 600 acres (243 ha) of arable crops and 125 acres (51 ha) of grassland. He grows winter wheat and barley, spring barley, and oilseed rape.

Mr Rider rears 500 sows, half inside and half outside, producing 10,000 pigs for the market each year, and has 70 spring calving suckler cows. The bull calves are finished entire, while the heifers are either finished or reared as replacement suckler cows.

He also grows silage, with the grass grazed by the pigs until the summer when it is cropped and used to produce silage to feed the cows.

The farms employ seven men full-time and a part-time farm secretary.

Mr Rider's wife, Maureen, is a local magistrate, and they have three children. Kate, who is 35 and a Newcastle university graduate, is an events manager in a PR firm; Suzie, aged 33, a graduate of Herriot Watt university, is a commercial interior designer, and Michael, aged 30 and also a Newcastle graduate, works with his father.

The family have been active members of the NFU since the 1930s when Mr Rider's grandfather was a county chairman.

Mr Rider said he wanted to help the NFU move forward during its restructuring and ensure the changes were acceptable to members. He also pledged to represent the interests of the county's members to the union's senior office-holders.

"After representing pig interests for the last seven years in the NFU, and now in the National Pig Association, I feel I have a good understanding of how the NFU works, of the work it does and of the strength of its political lobbying," he said.

"I will encourage members to observe in the major retail outlets how our products are promoted and sold, to make sure our products are not labelled misleadingly.

Mr Rider was also congratulated on being elected chairman of the NFU's parliamentary committee.

Mr Brian Hodgson of Durham City branch was elected vice-chairman. Nominations are sought for his deputy. Mr John Seymour, of Stokesley was elected HQ council representative