We are delighted to announce that Sinclair Mayne has been elected as an Honorary Member in recognition of his outstanding contribution to animal science and the agri-food sector.

After completing a Bachelor of Agriculture degree at Queen's University Belfast, Sinclair undertook a PhD, based at the Agricultural Research Institute for Northern Ireland (ARINI). He then moved to the South East of England to take up the role of Head of Dairy at North Wyke, before returning to Northern Ireland as Head of Dairy in ARINI in 1987.  In 2002 Sinclair was promoted to the post of Director of ARINI, at which point his responsibilities and interests widened to all livestock production systems and where his close connections with industry and science influenced the NI and UK agri-food agenda. After bringing ARINI through the transition to AFBI, Sinclair progressed his career to become DARD’s Departmental Scientific Adviser in 2009.

In 2013, Sinclair returned to AFBI as the Director of AFBI’s Sustainable Agri-Food Sciences Division.  This role involved leading and managing a comprehensive research programme focussed on the sustainable intensification of food production spanning the disciplines of livestock and plant science, environmental protection, fisheries and aquatic ecosystems research as well as food science and economics.

In 2016 Sinclair took up the post of AFBI’s Chief Executive Officer and in typical Sinclair style, his whole energy was thrown into the role which reflected his passion for AFBI and the NI agri-food industry as a whole, retiring from the position in 2018.

Sinclair was President of BSAS 2009/2010 and has contributed significantly to animal science throughout his distinguished career.

Sinclair Mayne commented:

“I am very pleased, and humbled, to receive Honorary Membership of the Society. I first joined BSAP, as it then was, in Jan/Feb 1980 and attended my first annual meeting in the Crown Hotel in Harrogate in April,1980. Whilst a lot has changed in animal science and animal production in the last 46 years, I am pleased that the Society remains strong and continues to play a crucial role in communicating advances in animal science”.