Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scotland’s largest agricultural society puts new chairman in hot seat

RHASS chairman Bill Gray.
RHASS chairman Bill Gray.

Scotland’s largest agricultural organisation has appointed a new chairman.

Lothian farm manager Bill Gray is the new chairman of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), which organises the four-day Highland Show every year.

He replaces Jimmy Warnock, who has completed his two-year term.

Mr Gray, who is currently in his fourth term as a director of RHASS, has been involved in the society in many capacities for the last 20 years, including taking on roles such as chief steward of car parks in 2006 and chief steward of parades in 2015.

He has been farm and estate manager at Preston Hall Farms since 1994 and is currently co-ordinating the Lothian Monitor Farm project jointly with Peter Eccles at Saughland Farm.

Mr Gray holds an HND in Agriculture from the West of Scotland Agricultural College, and is currently a director of Dalkeith Farmers, a past director and chairman of Lothian Machinery Ring, and past chairman of Dalkeith Agricultural Society.

“I am hugely honoured to take on this role in what is one of the most prestigious agricultural organisations in the world,” said Mr Gray.

“My ‘apprenticeship’ in the society over the past 20 years, and particularly my four years on the executive committee, will stand me in good stead as I take on the chairmanship.”

Commenting on the new appointment, RHASS chief executive Alan Laidlaw said: “Bill has played a key role in RHASS for many years, and his dedication and commitment to the organisation, and the agri sector as a whole, is outstanding. I look forward to working alongside him to drive the organisation forward, and ensure it continues to meet the needs of our members.”