Charles Abel • Club Chairman
Devon Chairman for 2022
The Club’s 2022 Chairman has an impressive record in agri-politics, successful farming organisations and supporting the sector. Charles Abel introduces John Lee DEVON farmer John Lee OBE DL has lived and farmed at Shobrooke, near Crediton all his life. But his career has taken him to the heart of European policymaking and leading roles with many farming organisations. A true English gentleman, his pragmatism, sound business acumen and drive to get things done have served him well. Much of his success he traces back to days chairing the UK and European Young Farmers Club federations, and some timely mentoring from Lord Plumb. 678AD farm history John’s grandfather bought Coombe Barton farm in 1928, when it was a traditional mixed enterprise. It’s history and early ownership, as part of a larger estate owned by the church and then the crown, was traced to 678AD by historian WG Hoskins in his 1972 book The Making of the English Landscape and featured in the BBC TV documentary Horizon.
06 • The Farmers Club Winter 2022
The farm’s position near a source of water, and it’s stocking, helped define the local landscape over centuries. “It makes you realise how our involvement with a farm, over 30 or 40 years of working life, is relatively small in the scheme of things,” says John. “We are just custodians for a brief period.” After agricultural training at Bicton Agricultural College (where he was later to return to Chair the Governors) he was “destined to return to the farm”. A traditional mixed farm on predominately Devon red sandstone it grew grass well and in his father’s time supported dairy, beef, pig and poultry enterprises before streamlining to beef, sheep and arable, and now purely arable. After the EU referendum was announced, and before the result was known, John decided change was coming, and with no successor, it made sense to get a younger farmer involved, who could adapt and grasp the new
