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New Committee Members
Industry experts join Committee
Industry experts Sue Bullock and Sarah Cowlrick are newly elected members of The Farmers Club’s General Committee. Charles Abel introduces them
Worcestershire farmer Sue Bullock brings extensive business experience, especially in rural insurance, and an involvement in Welsh hill farming.
TWO new committee members joined the General Committee of The Farmers Club in January – Sarah Cowlrick from Hampshire, who sits on the newly re-named Marketing & Communications Committee, and Sue Bullock from Worcestershire, who serves on the House Committee.
Worcestershire’s Sue Bullock
Sue arrives with a deep knowledge of insurance, specialising in farms, estates and rural businesses, and is married to Nigel, who runs an arable farm and machinery business near Malvern.
She grew up on a mixed farm on the Penrhyn Estate in North Wales. “As a child I can remember the great excitement when all the local farmers grouped together to gather the thousands of sheep from the open mountain for lambing and shearing.”
“My sisters and I still jointly own and rent out some hill land in North Wales, mainly for mountain sheep, but occasionally wild Carneddau Welsh Mountain ponies stray onto the land. Henry Vlll ordered the destruction of feral ponies that weren’t strong enough to carry knights in armour – fortunately the harsh terrain and unforgiving elements deterred his henchmen and the wild ponies have survived.”
Sue studied General Agriculture at Harper Adams followed by Advanced Farm Management at The Royal Agricultural College Cirencester. “When I arrived at Cirencester it was the fifth intake of girls, so there were just about enough to make up a ladies hockey team! Now even the Vice-Chancellor is female – Professor Joanna Price.” Her career in insurance started in 1987 as assistant NFU Group Secretary/ NFU Mutual agent in Wantage. After marrying Nigel in 1989 she moved to Frizzell Countryside, insurance brokers for the CLA and HTA, in Malvern.
Following a 10 year career break to raise two daughters she joined the NFU office in Pershore, becoming a partner in 2014. “The work is varied and fascinating with the broad range of services now offered by the NFU Mutual to the agricultural industry and wider market.”
Husband Nigel’s 400 acre arable farm has been in the family for 500 years, initially rented from the Foley Estate, until Nigel’s great grandmother, Emma Bullock, bought the farm as a sitting tenant. “Quite an achievement at a time when women didn’t have the vote.”
It employed 12 staff in 1910, but the dairy is now gone and all the work is done by one man, plus an occasional contractor. Bullock Tillage, established in 2013 to sell slug pellet applicators and small seeders, now designs a comprehensive range of bespoke arable cultivation equipment, mainly manufactured in Europe.
Under 30s role
In 1986 Sue joined the Farmers Club Under 30s – for the farm walks and London social base – and recalls the help of senior members while an Under 30s Committee member. “The late Jim Blanchard, former Club Chairman, helped organise a farm walk in Oxfordshire and Mark and Sue Hudson (now Sir and Lady) helped us organise a farm walk in North Wales. Hugh and Fiona Fell (current
Sarah Cowlrick from Hampshire is Chief Executive of the professional body for independent crop consultants (AICC) and a huge enthusiast for new entrants to farming.
Committee member) were brave enough to organise a fascinating Under 30s trip to France.
“It was a great honour to meet guest speakers, including the Duke of Edinburgh and The Duchess of Devonshire, and to meet her Majesty the Queen when the Club celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1992. Both our daughters have recently become members.
“I very much hope I will be able to contribute to the Club to ensure it continues to be a thriving place for farmers. As a Committee member I also look forward to helping and encouraging the Under 30s.” Hampshire’s Sarah Cowlrick
Sarah Cowlrick brings a wide ranging knowledge of farm businesses and the organisations that support them, with a particularly strong focus on farm business advice through her role as Chief Executive of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants.
Despite being born at Barts, London – “I’m no stranger to the city” – farming has long been Sarah’s passion. Her parents met at a Young Farmers Club, her father’s side of the family having farmed for generations.
During World War 2 her grandfather’s Lincolnshire farm was requisitioned for a military runway, but shortly after he was offered a position managing Baron Westenholz’s mixed farm in Hertfordshire. Sarah’s father also worked on the farm and went on to create a farm machinery business. The farm is now farmed by Nick Von “I have many fond childhood memories of visiting the farm in Hertfordshire, and spending hours with my Grandfather, preferring to be on the farm than anywhere else.” “I love the principles The Farmers Club holds, mixed with adapting to the needs of the next generation.”
Sarah studied Business Finance and Management at Brooksby Agricultural College, Melton Mowbray and then Farm Management at Berkshire College of Agriculture. In her early thirties she was a partner in a Berkshire mixed farm, until circumstances brought that chapter to a close.
Her first farming post was working for a farm business administration business in Wiltshire, where she beta tested a new era of electronic farm accounting software. “It stood me in good stead for the future. When the company was sold, I set up an independent professional farm advice business and took on a contract with ICI, giving advice to farmers who through the purchase of ‘Blue Bags’ were given their first computerised farm accounting package. I was responsible for collating the benchmarking data for the south.”
Her own company has provided independent business support since 1985, but Sarah is best known as Company Secretary and Chief Executive of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants, where she has been actively involved in the growth of independent agronomy to almost 50% of the UK Arable advice market. She manages the national 3-day conference, a recognised event in the agronomic calendar, each January. She also created The Independent Agronomist Magazine, which is produced annually.
Sarah has served on a wide range of agricultural committees, including Young Farmers Clubs, The Wessex Cereal Group (a Hampshire-based discussion group ahead of its time), The Hampshire Farmers Club and the Hampshire Farms and Conservation Competitions. She was Chairman of her local School Governors and Director on the BASIS Board and currently sits on the LEAF Advisory Board. She recently stood down as Director and Company Secretary of Rothamsted Research Association.
Sarah has three grown up children: Emma, a surveyor in Bristol; Laura a teacher; and George in his final year reading Biological Sciences at Reading University. Her husband, Peter is an established Agronomist Director with CCC Ltd, who provide independent agronomic advice across the south of England.
Sarah is particularly passionate about new entrants. “The AICC Academy (AICCA) has proven extremely successful and currently has 53 members, all working with established AICC Members, providing future-proofing for independent agronomy.”
A member of The Farmers Club for 14 years, Sarah fully embraces its ethos. “It is an excellent venue for business meetings and very convenient for social purposes. I’m very much looking forward to being involved.”
