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What a show!
NICK DARKING GENERAL MANAGER
BAGMA’s new general manager attends his first Royal Highland Show
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I have attended my first-ever Royal Highland Show. What a show it was! Bathed in glorious sunshine, it really is quite incredible the number of visitors that attend over the four days – 217,000, and a real mix of both farmers and families enjoying the wide choice on offer; from the Golden Shears shearing competition to arborists’ sculptures and everything in between.
The Royal Highland Show was special to us this year on a number of levels. We said a big thank you to Alasdair Straker for his many years’ service to BAGMA, particularly in the Scottish region as he retires. I am pleased to say he has offered to remain at the end of a phone offering guidance, for which I am eternally grateful. We are pleased to welcome Lyle Laird who will be taking over Alasdair’s role as the BAGMA Director for RHASS. I very much look forward to working with him.
We welcomed our new president, Peter Heming of Heming Engineering Ltd, who you will be able to read more about on page 7 of this edition of the Bulletin. Importantly, we thanked our outgoing president, Peter Arrand, who has done a fantastic job over the last four years, helping guide us through the Covid pandemic and the sale to the AEA. It was also great to catch up with both existing members and some new ones as well. My thanks to all those involved in the organisation of the show. We still have some hot topics to contend with as ever in our industry. You will have received emails from me recently outlining the issues around the Equipment Anti-Theft Bill and how it may impact you. Whilst the sentiment behind the Bill is good, there are real issues in the proposed delivery of the new law. It could result in liability falling on dealerships that must fit immobilisers and forensic marking on equipment that does not comply with the new legislation. We have already sent a position statement to the Government and discussions are ongoing. Thank you to everyone who has responded to both the government call to response and also to the BAGMA survey, we appreciate your input.
