At next week’s annual general meeting (AGM) of the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), a select band of executive council members will elect a new deputy president of the organisation.

Normal protocol would suggest that the successful candidate out of David Brown from Florencecourt, Ian Buchanan, Dungiven, Tim McClelland, Tandragee and Crosby Cleland from Saintfield will go on to serve four years as deputy, and two years as UFU president.

They will join Victor Chestnutt from Bushmills, who is starting his second two-year term as deputy, and the new president, Ivor Ferguson from Markethill, who is taking over from outgoing president Barclay Bell.

The contest between the four members for the position of new deputy is a straight race, so whoever gets the most votes on the day wins. The nature of the election means that if a candidate is able to mobilise executive council members in their county along to the AGM they are probably in a reasonably strong position. Surely a better system would be to have a number of ballots, with the person receiving the least votes dropping out each time.

Or perhaps, more radically, is it time that those who faithfully pay up their membership fee each year are given the opportunity to vote, at a hustings event held in each county?

Before dismissing that idea, it should be remembered that whoever is elected is effectively in post representing the views of NI farmers for the next six years. And during the two years as president of the organisation, that person is the figurehead in discussions with senior civil servants, political leaders, and officials in Brussels.

Finally, it should be acknowledged that Barclay Bell has fulfilled that role with great dignity and integrity. It is highly unfortunate that for over half his term as president his lobbying effort has been frustrated by the political stalemate at Stormont.