UK grower organisations are missing out by not recruiting a non-executive director on their boards. This is someone who can bring skills ranging from finance and marketing while also adding to the stature of the company and benefiting shareholders.

This was the message that came out last week from the heart of Lincolnshire, at an invitation-only conference jointly organised by More People, Roythornes solicitors and HSBC bank.

Management does not often get a slot to itself and the fact that more than 50 recognisable faces in the industry attended indicated this event fulfilled a real need.

Certainly growers have had to learn new skills when doing business with supermarkets, or considering the introduction of venture capital – now called private equity – with another description on the horizon.

But according to Martin Lawrence, former managing director of Perkins Foods and now a non-exec of Lingarden and an advisor to Branston Potatoes, this role is not the gravy train that most of the public believes.

More than half the executives in such posts earn less than £10,000 pa, and 25 per cent less than £5,000 for varying degrees of time where 22 days a year is considered normal.

'These people can bring a lot to the party and can often open doors which saves both time and money,' Lawrence said.

But he agreed with Colin Clark, managing director of DGM Growers which has a turnover of £18 million and who recently sold the company to M&W Mack, on the golden rules.

'They should be independent, professional personnel and strategic skills and above all have sound judgement,' Lawrence explained.

The days of being appointed simply because there was a previous friendship with the chairman are gone, although personal chemistry with the board remains vital. Non-execs could also be ambassadors and mentors in the fight to win new business at a time when an already complex business is still going through change. The industry is under stress, not just in its own terms but it is feeling the chill in the overall financial landscape.

Nevertheless there were smiles all round when the subject of decision making came up for discussion. Growers may not spend an hour debating whether or not to buy a red or green tractor, and only a few minutes on building a multi-million pound packhouse as the speakers joked, but the point was taken.

Apart from instilling good corporate practice there was another serious side to the debate designed to appeal to medium to small owner managed businesses within the horticulture sector.

Solicitor Phil Cookson spelt out that the legal responsibilities of non-executives was the same as other directors. 'The concept is not known in English law,' he said. 'They have the same obligations and responsibilities.' With company practice having been under the microscope for more than five years, Lawrence added that if the Higgs report was implemented by the government then changes could be on the way, and eventually it might be compulsory to have non-execs on every board.