AHDB Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds (RL) board and committees

The AHDB Recommended Lists (RL) is an independent and trusted source of information on varieties. We explain the responsibilities of the RL Project Board and the three supporting crop committees and how they help uphold the project’s positive reputation.

The RL Project Board has overall responsibility for the development, management, and delivery of the project.

This includes setting detailed budgets and protocols, agreeing variety selection procedures and criteria, and managing any potential conflicts of interest. Critically, the RL Project Board appoints RL crop committee members and provides a clear framework for these committee to follow.

The RL Project Board comprises:

• A Chair appointed by AHDB and the British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB)
• Three individuals nominated by AHDB
• Three individuals nominated by BSPB
• One individual nominated by the Maltsters Association of Great Britain (MAGB)
• One individual nominated by UK Flour Millers (UKFM)
• One individual nominated by the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC)
• The three Crop Committee Chairs

Chair

Peter Gregory (independent)

Members

• Patrick Stephenson (Wheat Crop Committee Chair)
• Marion Self (Barley, Oats and Other Cereals Crop Committee Chair)
• Greg Dawson (Oilseeds Crop Committee Chair)
• Chris Guest (BSPB)
• Richard Summers (BSPB)
• Steph Speirs (BSPB)
• Chris Piggott (AIC)
• Mark Ineson (MAGB)
• Alistair Gale (UKFM)
• Russ McKenzie (AHDB)
• Jenna Watts (AHDB)
• Lisa Black (AFBI – AHDB appointment)

2023

The RL crop committees have delegated authority from the RL Project Board to manage the trialling and variety selection process.

There are three crop committees:

• Wheat crop committee
• Barley, oats and other cereals crop committee
• Oilseeds crop committee

The role of the crop committees is to:

• Follow criteria and processes set by the RL Project Board
• Provide guidance to the RL Board – for example, by proposing definitions, guidelines, and specific criteria for recommendation
• Propose varieties for inclusion in trials (candidates) and entry onto the RL
• Propose which varieties should no longer be re-sown in trials and, subsequently, be removed from the RL

All proposals are considered by the RL Project Board.

Typically, each crop committee comprises no more than 11 voting people (including the chair).

• AHDB and BSPB each has the right to nominate two people to each committee
• UKFM has the right to nominate one person to the wheat crop committee
• MAGB has the right to nominate one person to the barley, oats and other cereals crop committee

An open process is used to recruit the other members – with vacancies, timelines and other key details published in the news section of the AHDB website.

Members, who are selected to ensure that each committee has balanced experience, include growers, agronomists and other crop specialists.

Current membership is available in the RL Crop Committee Handbook on the RL project page.

Members meet three times a year – generally, in May/June, August/September and November – and receive technical support and reasonable allowances (i.e. travel and subsistence).

Members are initially appointed for a term of up to three years, with the potential to serve a second (consecutive) three-year term.

AHDB staff members may attend meetings to provide advice on protocols, criteria and procedures.

AHDB staff are neither permitted to contribute opinions on varieties, nor to participate in voting.

Chair

Patrick Stephenson (agronomist)

Members

• Ben Abell (grower, Lincolnshire)
• Chris Leslie (grower, Scotland)
• Edward Flatman (BSPB representative)
• Matthew Kerton (BSPB representative)
• James Brosnan (SWRI)
• James Brown (pathologist)
• Joe Brennan (UKFM)
• Jonathan Baxendale (grain trader)
• Neil Watson (agronomist)
• Donald Paterson (agronomist)

Chair

Marion Self (agronomist)

Members

• David Walston (grower, Cambridgeshire)
• Gordon Rennie  (grower, Scotland)
• Gabriella Everett (BSPB representative)
• Paul Bury (BSPB representative)
• Nick Pitts (SWRI)
• Richard Broadbent (MAGB)
• Brin Hughes (BOBMA representative)
• Adrian Fisher (barley trader)
• Jonathan Arnold (oat trader)
• Neil Havis (pathologist)
• Eric Anderson (agronomist)
• John Miles (agronomist)

Chair

Greg Dawson (agronomist)

Members

• Andrew Cragg (grower, Sussex)
• Richard Wainwright (grower, Yorkshire)
• David Fuller-Shapcott (grower, Scotland)
• Mark Nightingale (BSPB representative)
• Craig Padley (BSPB representative)
• David Leaper (trader)
• Faye Ritchie (pathologist)
• John Cook (agronomist)
• Duncan Durno (agronomist)
• Dale Senior (agronomist)

Barley, Oats and Other Cereals Crop Committee 

• Grain trader with a particular interest in barley
• Grain trader with a particular interest in oats
• Grower

Oilseeds Crop Committee

• Independent pathologist
• Grower

Applications will close on Friday 19 January 2024, with interviews held online on 6 February 2024.

Applications, cover letter (describing the applicant’s interest in varieties and what they believe they can contribute to the RL) and CV should be sent to Paul Gosling.