The National Beef Association (NBA) has strengthened its veterinary and bTB expertise, while enhancing its representation within the pedigree world, with the appointments of Sarah Tomlinson and Barrie Turner to its national board.

In addition to her role as a farm veterinary surgeon with Westpoint Farm Vets in Derbyshire, Sarah Tomlinson MRCVS is an authority on bTB at both governmental and practical farm level.

As technical director at the TB Advisory Service (TBAS), she oversees and delivers training for new advisors, chairs technical board meetings and delivers farmer meetings around the country. She was also a member of the TB Eradication and Advisory Group (TBEAG) for England, advising government policy makers on all aspects of TB control in England, and now sits on the TB Partnership.

Ms Tomlinson has joined the NBA board with the aim to transfer knowledge and support to the UK beef industry, from both a veterinary and bTB standpoint.

She said: “I am extremely proud to be joining the NBA and to be a part of the team that can lead the UK beef industry into a healthy, productive and profitable bTB-free future.

“I am a firm believer that the most successful farmers are those working to the highest animal welfare standards to achieve great productivity. I am looking forward to supporting the beef industry by embracing that essential connection between welfare, productivity and profitability, which are at the moment hampered daily by the pressures around bTB control.”

Ms Tomlinson is joined by Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society chief executive Barrie Turner, who joins the NBA board as the representative for the NBA Pedigree Breed Society Group.