HARVEST JOURNAL 2011 • ISSUE 233
INSIDE Rhineland tour p6 Pinnacle awards p10 Cotswolds visit p12 Chelsea Flowers p15 APPLICATION FORM Harvest Festival p22
Spelman visits Club Secretary of State explains policy p4
www.thefarmersclub.com
Farmers Club Over 160 years of service to farming 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL Patron – Her Majesty The Queen
FRONT COVER Chairman Richard Holland welcomes Defra Secretary of State Caroline Spelman to an exclusive briefing for members at the Club.
Contents
Disclaimer: The articles published in The Farmers Club Journal do not necessarily reflect the views of The Farmers Club. No responsibility for the quality of goods or services advertised in the magazine can be accepted by the publisher. Advertisements are included in ‘good faith’. All rights reserved.
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Chairman’s Comments Richard Holland reflects on the need for more applied research to support British farming
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Government insight Defra secretary Caroline Spelman visited the Club to explain government policy and answer members’ questions
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Rhineland review Investigating farming systems in Germany’s Rhine valley was the focus of our spring study tour
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A dragon in the uplands St George’s Day lunch speaker Mike Keeble demands action
10 Pinnacle business Students vied for top honours in the Club’s annual Pinnacle business management awards
12 Stowell Estate A leading Cotswolds farm shows how technology is being harnessed to improve productivity
14 Cow power
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Producing electricity from cow muck in Gloucestershire
15 Chelsea blooms Fabulous floral artistry at the nation’s top flower show
16 Agritechnica 2011 Europe’s premier farm show opens its doors
17 Succession planning Protecting the future of your farming business
18 Under 30s
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Spring farm walk in Devon
19 Property relief Our Under 30s writer considers agricultural property ruling
20 Whitehall Court Ramblings Show reports, WiFi for all and a new Master Woolman
22 Information and Diar y Dates
02 • The Farmers Club Harvest Journal 2011
Chairman’s Comments • Richard Holland
Chairman’s Comments
In Brussels tomorrow is next year. It is like planning permission – you just have to keep pushing!
WELCOME to your new look, redesigned Farmers Club Journal. Over the following pages you will find a host of fascinating articles, laid out in what we believe is a more contemporary, reader-friendly fashion, with clearer images and crisper presentation. I hope you like it. It reflects the forward-looking nature of your Club, which over recent weeks has welcomed Defra Secretary the Rt Hon Caroline Spelman, undertaken a study tour to the Rhineland, rewarded eight aspiring farm business students and investigated new farming technologies in the Cotswolds. Indeed, June’s visit to Lord Vestey’s Stowell Park Estate near Cirencester, instigated by Martin Taylor, triggered my thoughts for this article. This magnificent farm, which has been managed by Velcourt for twenty years, was ideal in two ways: First, it gave my year’s programme an arable perspective, and second it was a perfect example of applied research and development in action. I was so impressed to see the scale of the trial work going on within Velcourt’s operation (p12-14). I have always felt there was an opportunity for more on farm R&D and this was a perfect model. I remember seeing similar on-farm trials when in Canada for the 1998 triennial Nuffield International Conference. A farmer-run scheme was trialling mintill drilling and planting of alternate bouts of maize and wheat. The maize yield was markedly higher, due to the extra light available. Inspirational stuff! On the same trip we heard Guelph University researchers bemoan the fact that their scientific papers sat on shelves. How could they get their results onto farms, they asked. Gentlemen, talk to the farmers down the road!
At the time we were slated for a lack of peer review and a project overrun. But Dirk often called in to see our son James over the years and continued to talk about ‘spongy corpus luteums’! James reckons he would go bust if he did all Dirk advised, since he would be feeding cows exclusively for healthy CL’s not milk. But there is a balance, and I am convinced farmers and vets learned a lot from the Dartington project. It was a similar situation when Chris Older and I were involved with Paul Charter and James Nelstrop in Kaliningrad with the Nuffield Russia Trust in the early 1990s. We made mistakes there. As one wily old Australian commented, we should have started with a container load of wheelbarrows, rather than a new Keenan diet feeder, since there was never any protein to put in it! But I am sure a lot of what Paul and James preached stuck. It is a pity others can’t learn from our mistakes and develop more of the opportunities for on-farm R&D that I believe exist. Velcourt just shows what can be achieved. Numerous Nuffield reports could be further investigated through on-farm projects, with the results immediately transferring to other farms through local conversation.
A growing role Indeed, I am sure the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust can take a growing role in Knowledge Transfer. Its extremely worthwhile Technology Conference at the East of England Showground in 2009 showed the potential. Returning to 2011 the Farmers Club’s May study tour to the Rhineland included a fascinating research farm, run like one of our old experimental husbandry farms, where some very interesting work was capturing green house gasses from the dairy herd. Once developed, the facility will be used to monitor the effects of different diets on GHG emissions. The Farmers Club’s own successful EU R&D conference earlier this year, which won an undertaking from over ten countries to collaborate in future, has led to a new challenge: to secure Brussels finance for a manager to drive the project forward. I met with DG Research and DG Agriculture in Brussels a few weeks ago, and feel sure we will get something. But in Brussels tomorrow is next year! It is a bit like planning permission – you just have to keep pushing!
Researcher connection It is a salutary lesson and one that demands attention in the UK. In the same year that I was in Canada Phil Latham, a Cheshire dairy farmer, did his Nuffield Scholarship on conception rates and cow welfare. He wrote an excellent report, with a number of recommendations, which chimed with the Trustees of Dartington Cattle Breeding Trust, who were rather disillusioned by the lack of connection with researchers once they won their funding. We commissioned an on-farm project to check Phil’s recommendations, with Kingshay Trust using Phil’s Dutch veterinary consultant, Dirk Zaaijer, on eight or nine dairy farms in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.
Richard Holland
www.thefarmersclub.com • 03
Secretary of State Visit
A PACKED Farmers Club welcomed Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for Defra, in mid-May as she provided an overview of policy, fielded a wide range of questions and stayed on for an hour of individual one-to-one discussions over a hot buffet supper. “The Club is full of happy memories for me, from when I was working for the NFU,” she recollected. “Back then I never could have imagined I would find myself as Secretary of State for an industry for which I have the greatest respect.” She hoped the Coalition Government’s changes at Defra were working through. “Having four Ministers all with agricultural credentials must be something of a first, and three – Jim Paice, Richard Benyon and Lord Henley – are practising farmers.” She admitted to being quite proud of what the new Defra team had achieved in its first 12 months, in difficult circumstances, stressing the importance of the Foresight Report The Future of Food and Farming: Challenges and choices for global sustainability. “Hopefully, you will feel supported, knowing food production is the Government’s objective, alongside environmental protection and the greening of the economy.” She commended NFU committee chairmen, who are: “the cream of the industry and work incredibly hard to get the best deals for their farmers.” And speaking on the day the Farming Regulation Task Force presented its 200 recommendation report Striking a balance: reducing burdens; increasing responsibility; earning recognition, she stressed Defra’s determination to be more business focused and to cut the regulatory burden. “Defra is the first department to have done something about this and the report is being held up as an example to government of how to get to grips with the issue.” But regulations are not the only pressure. “I have great confidence that farming will rise to its challenges, but as a government we have to help.” On CAP reform, Mrs Spelman noted that there was somewhat of a hiatus, pending the French presidential election next May. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t work on other things, and the UK is the first to have a national blueprint on simplification [the red tape report].” Positive participation in Europe is essential. “For too long the UK has stood on the sidelines, and it is not getting us very far. It’s going to take a long time to reform the CAP, but we have made some progress, because the UK is seen to engage. Member states want a simpler EU and I know the Commission is very interested in our work on reducing the regulatory burden. By putting our [simplification] blueprint on the table first we can have the most influence.” As for greening the CAP, she paid tribute to the way the UK has: “got ahead of the rest on this, integrating sustainable production with environmental protection. This is where the CAP is going. It is very clear that tax payers across Europe want a greening of the CAP.” Was there a risk the Conservative party’s Liberal colleagues in the Coalition Government, with their demands for green taxes on pesticides and fertilisers, for example, might lead to unilateral restrictions on
04 • The Farmers Club Harvest Journal 2011
Farming into the future with Defra The Rt Hon Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for Defra, delivered on her pledge to reinstate an annual visit to The Farmers Club
UK farmers, effectively exporting production overseas, asked Wilts farmer Richard Butler. “Look no further than imports of food treated with pesticides elsewhere that we are prohibited from using here,” he stressed. Mrs Spelman vigorously refuted such a claim. “We need to dismantle the picture of a coalition split by a brick wall. The Government works well on rural issues, because Liberals and Conservatives both have rural constituents.” She went on to cite the Stern Report as evidence that the UK was providing science-based world leadership. “It was a game changer. It caused finance ministers to sit up and take notice. Greenhouse gas work shows how there can be win-wins for agriculture, both cutting emissions and costing farmers less. It is good to know that you can be green and growing.” On climate change she felt the prolonged dry spring was just one example of what may happen. “I don’t know if it is part of a new pattern, but I do know we will see a rise in extreme weather events. The UK is well placed to be increasingly resilient in this.” Returning to the theme of gold-plated UK standards, Andrew Parker, chairman of the British Egg Industry Council asked what could be done for UK producers who have invested to comply with EU legislation to protect them from cheap illegal imports from EU producers who have made no such effort. More specifically how would UK egg producers, who had invested £400M in enriched cages, be protected from shell and processed egg imports from the 30% of EU production, which
Rt Hon Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State at Defra, gave Club members a comprehensive insight into policy
Secretary of State Visit
Direct contact – individual queries were discussed in detail
Spelman’s strategy • • • • • •
would still be in illegal conventional cages after the Jan 2012 deadline? “I have made a very firm stand on this,” Mrs Spelman insisted. “Producers need recognition for the investments they have made and new member states have known about it for a long time. Other farm ministers take a similar view. I have taken it up with the Commissioner too.” In a similar vein, she stressed that the current MERCOSUR negotiations with Latin America were particularly challenging. “We have higher welfare standards and costs to comply, and the last thing we want to do is to compromise those standards.” Food exports can help grow the British economy, but what is government doing to help, continued Henry Lewis of the British Livestock Genetics Consortium. In responding, Mrs Spelman lamented the fact that whisky was the nation’s largest food export. “We need to be ambitious. At the World Expo in Shanghai the Chinese leaders talked a lot about food safety and the terrible problems with adulterated baby food. They don’t have the safety systems we do. ‘Made in Britain’ is an incredibly powerful message to emerging markets, which is why we have convened the companies that do export to better understand the barriers to trade exports.” Turning to bovine TB NFU deputy president Meurig Raymond asked what hope there was for farmers in hotspot areas. Mrs Spelman was upbeat. “We have to get the whole process absolutely right, because you would be very disappointed if we failed.” History shows rushed decisions frequently falter, she said. “I do understand the pressure, but the
Made in Britain’ is an incredibly powerful message to emerging markets.
Food production priority Less regulation Shared responsibility Address climate change Managed greening of CAP Simpler EU
most important thing is that we get the process right. We are fairly close to that point.” A shortage of skilled staff, technicians and applied researchers, and the educational infrastructure to train new ones, was a significant risk to farming, warned John Reynolds of the Agri-Food Charities Partnership. Although education was not within her remit, Mrs Spelman said she had highlighted the issue to the relevant departments, but also noted that the status of the industry was rising, encouraging more young people to see it as a career choice. “It is becoming a very attractive part of the economy to work in.” Indeed, the Government’s apprenticeship scheme was creating thousands of opportunities for young people to get into industry, and farming was no exception. “The young people coming into agriculture will be the riders on the storm, because climate change and population growth will lead to global hunger unless we increase the capacity of the industry to feed us.” While acknowledging the rising cost of inputs, she signalled the upcoming publication of the Grocery Adjudicator Bill and the appointment of the Animal Health and Welfare Board as a partnership between government and industry, taking responsibility together. “It has felt like a very busy 12 months, and we have some very important decisions coming up, including the National Environmental White Paper in June, the Biodiversity Strategy and the National Ecosystem Tool to inform decision making on planning. We have a very busy summer ahead of us.”
www.thefarmersclub.com • 05
Martin Taylor • Germany
Rhineland tour reflections A study tour to the Rhineland provided a fascinating insight into German farming. Martin Taylor reports
(Above) The party gather in anticipation of the morning boat from Bad Briesig to Koblenz - wrongly as it turned out ! (Below) Riverside castles proliferate between Koblenz and Bingen
EUROSTAR high speed train to Brussels, fantastic! Then, shock horror, the line to Dusseldorf is closed for maintenance. Are we still in the UK? The prospect of a four hour coach journey to Dusseldorf is intimidating. However, we had a secret weapon with us, our guide, Carl Weiers, naturally a member of The Farmers Club and a walking talking encyclopaedia of all things German. He made the journey both interesting and informative. For example, did you know German motorways must have ‘ecoducts’ for wildlife? And German citizens pay 10% tax on their total tax bill to maintain church buildings. I bet British bishops would like that! Covering 357,000 square kilometres, and with a population of 82 million, Germany has 230 people per square kilometre, similar to the UK. Just over half the land is agricultural, with lots of loam-based soils. The good water retaining sandy loams, grades one and two, are largely arable with significant emphasis on root crops and first wheats. The dairy and beef farms tend to be on lower quality land. Germany is self-sufficient in potatoes, sugar beet, cereals and meat. En-route to our accommodation we came across the incredible RWE Garzweiler opencast brown coal (lignite) mine in North-Rhine Westphalia. It is the largest such mine in Europe, covering 114 square kilometres, and with a further 1.3 billion tonnes of lignite to extract by 2044. This is grade one/two land! The mine is 400 metres deep and the water table is lowered to enable excavation. The shear size of the biggest bucket wheel excavator is awesome: 96m high, 240m long and weighing 13,500 tonnes! RWE extracts 100 million tonnes of lignite a year, with 92% of output going to power stations, to produce 25% of German power. By contrast UK Coal produces 10 million tonnes! Once planning is obtained nothing stands in the way. Whole villages are bulldozed and rebuilt elsewhere and any interfering motorway or railway is diverted! All the lignite is transported to three power stations on electric conveyors, with not a lorry in sight.
State research A night in Dusseldorf, a sniff of the Rhine, and then it was off to the 300ha Haus Riswick Regional Research Station for Ruminants. The station is funded 82% by ‘state’ and the rest by a per hectare charge on farms. Research is on cows, goats and deer, including a look at methane issues for the 200-cow dairy herd, whilst the 130-head deer enterprise is looking at using wild fallow deer to increase animal size and produce more docile offspring. Of the 80kg of meat consumed per annum by the typical German, 50kg is pork and 2kg venison. More than 50% of New Zealand venison output is imported, plus imports from Poland. Domestic production costs w9/kg, with variable quality imports from Poland at w2/kg. Does this remind you of problems at home? As in the UK, dairies are increasing in size, and B.M.W.AGRO at Kleve was a good example. This 1000 cow dairy on a 620ha farm was housed in a single building 190 metres by 66 metres by 16 metres
06 • The Farmers Club Harvest Journal 2011
Germany • Martin Taylor
high. On twice a day milking output was 9,950 kg milk per cow. A typical 400 cow unit in Germany today would require an investment of around w2.8million: rents are typically w800 per hectare with ‘tenancies‘ for nine to twelve years. The larger arable units in Germany, on the better land, mirror UK units in terms of rotation and yield. Sugar beet and potatoes represent about 30% of cropping, with 38% in first wheat. It seemed that almost everywhere we went in this region there was a biogas unit, not to mention the ubiquitous wind turbines, with few places out of their view. Currently there are 6,800 biogas units in Germany producing a whopping 2,600 megawatts. A 500kw biogas plant requires 70ha of maize and excrement from either 550 breeding sows, 3,000 fattening pigs or 175 cows! Most villages have biogas units, but the best have farmers in charge. The green lobby is very much in favour, but is also concerned that in some areas they are leading to monoculture. In 1990 there was 120,000ha of maize grown, this year 2.7 million hectares. In the UK you can count the number of biogas units on two hands!
Rhine drought After a stay at Bad Briesig we were on the banks of the Rhine at 8am awaiting our boat to take us upstream to Koblenz and the BUGA Federal Horticultural Show. At 8.30 the river police cancelled our vessel, as the Rhine had become too shallow, reaching its lowest level for 110 years. So it was back to the coach for the journey. The BUGA show incorporated The Ehrenbretstein Fortress, The Electoral Palace as well as horticultural exhibits. A pleasant day finished with dinner on a boat on the Rhine, from where we viewed numerous castles, an unmistakeable feature of the Rhine landscape, with more castles between Koblenz and Bingen than any other river valley in the world. Our final journey was by boat to Rüdesheim and the opportunity to take in the splendid scenery with castles, churches and vineyards. Most of Germany’s vineyards owe their existence to the river Rhine and many small vineyards cover the steep valley sides. A quiz set by our chairman, to develop our European awareness, was won by the Parkers and Metcalfes – congratulations. Rüdesheim am Rhein is a wine making town in the Rhine Gorge, part of the UNESO World Heritage site. Here we experienced our two tasting sessions! At Kloster Eberbach vineyard, founded in 1170 by Cistercian Monks, the original vineyard is surrounded by a 2,600 metre wall completed in 1767. The total estate of 220ha is the largest in Germany and specialises in dry, semi-sweet and sweet Rieslings. So what stands out about the visit? Firstly, farming performance, at the top, is comparable to the UK and the problems are similar. Secondly, Germany is in the grip of a green revolution, backed by financial support from the government, just like the UK, but already delivering 17% of energy needs from renewable sources, 5% ahead of the EU target. Thirdly, when decisions are made in Germany, such as opencast mining, nothing stands in the way! An interesting country, with much more to see on a future visit.
(Top) Dairy methane emissions research is a priority in Germany (Above right) Kloster Eberbach vineyard dates from 1170 (Above) Local wine was a welcome refresher (Right) Reflecting on a day’s sightseeing
www.thefarmersclub.com • 07
St George’s Lunch
Upland dragon needs slaying Beware, there’s a dragon in the uplands, St George’s Day lunch guests heard
Luncheon in The Club was well attended
“WE have a dragon living in the uplands, because that is where we have a problem and it is a big problem,” intoned guest speaker Mike Keeble as members and guests celebrated St George’s Day in The Club. Hailing from Wensleydale, where he has farmed Limousin cattle and sheep since 1971, Mr Keeble is well known for his show commentating, media contributions and regular columns in Farmers Guardian. Club chairman Richard Holland, who hosted the luncheon, paid particular tribute to his role with the Red Meat Industry Forum and the EU-funded Limestone project. “The lack of financial return in the red meat sector is a very serious thing,” Mr Keeble stressed. It is the dragon that needs slaying and slaying by a rural attitude to Englishness, not something from the conurbations. “Our government is watching pastoral production go down the spout and we’ve got to face up to it. “We need to get back to the principles of
08 • The Farmers Club Harvest Journal 2011
Mike Keeble – there’s a dragon in the uplands and it needs slaying
St George and the dragon and take pride in our countryside, with a professional team to lead us forward,” he urged. Bureaucracy is not the answers. A £14M EU project in Nidderdale highlighted the risk, with a fifth of the total budget spent on bureaucracy. “It doesn’t need all that – it’s bad. “We should have a Federation of Agriculture, to take our industry to Westminster and take the battle to them, because the basis of capital [in farming] is in a completely different phase to 20 years ago. We’ve rolled over on our backs with our legs in the air being told what to do with our land for too long.”
Significant damage The impact of ill-conceived foot and mouth compensation payments in 2001 did significant damage, pumping money into diversification projects, many of which were not properly vetted by consultants. “A lot of government money just vanished. And the Single Farm Payment is just about
St George’s Lunch
the worst form of support possible, keeping people farming who should not be,” he added. “This dragon in the uplands is a big thing, because more than 50% of English and Welsh pasture land is in the uplands, and if livestock numbers fall it will be very costly to return and if they don’t the landscape will change. We’re seeing that in the Lake District, with bracken creeping in from the lakeside to the hill top.” He poured scorn on the idea that everybody farming in the uplands was over 60 years old. “It’s absolute baloney. The number of tenants on my estate has dropped from 27 to six, and all of them are under 50 years of age, with eager successors. The hills are full of young people looking for opportunities. But the government likes to peddle the myth that that older people are standing in the way, for all sorts of political reasons. “I have ten grandchildren, one of whom is going to be a farmer and two are looking at food production at University. But we must not hand on to our heirs a countryside of uneconomic wind turbines and vulgar barn conversions.”
Huge problem Three key figures should dominate farming thinking – three, six and nine. “When I was born there were 3 billion people in the world. Today there are over six billion. That’s a doubling in three score years and ten. And in less than half that time we will be up to 9 billion. That is a huge problem, which needs addressing.” Arable, dairy, horticulture and intensive poultry farming are all changing, and so is world farming. In Kazakhstan, for example, the Ministry of Resources has said profits from unexplored oil, gas and coal reserves will be reinvested in improving the production of agricultural commodities. “They are already the world’s seventh largest cereal producer and they see a huge potential and need for food production and have linked up with North Dakota, because it has a similar climate, to import 1000 Hereford and 1000 Aberdeen Angus bulls to improve productivity. It is a sobering thought.”
West Country Visit It’s across the River Tamar and into Cornwall for Cornwall Hotel sun The Farmers Club’s terrace autumn visit to the West Country. With its pretty gardens, magnificent beaches and historic sites, Cornwall is renowned as one of Britain’s most scenic counties – and it has a rich farming heritage too. Our tour will include a go-ahead family-run flower farm, a state of the art dairy unit and some of the country’s leading tourist attractions. Based at The Cornwall Hotel, Spa and Estate (www.thecornwall.com) at Tregorrick, St Austell the tour commences on Tuesday 20th September with an informal dinner. On Wednesday the group heads for Fentongollan Farm on the Roseland Penninsula where the Hosking family cultivates over 250 varieties of rare daffodil bulbs and produces Cornish cut flowers and professional grade vegetable plants. From there it is off to Tregothnan Estate and Botanic Garden (www.tregothnan.co.uk). After lunch Pawton Dairy at Wadebridge will be visited, where up to 1100 cows can be milked and housed. Dinner will be taken at a restaurant in Watergate Bay. First stop on Thursday is the mysterious Lost Gardens of Heligan (www.heligan.com), seat of the Tremayne family for over 400 years, followed by the world famous Eden Project (www.edenproject.com), home to the largest greenhouses in the world, housing tropical, temperate and desert environments. Lunch will be taken at the Eden Project. The cost of £360 per person (£40 supplement for single occupancy) includes two nights’ accommodation at The Cornwall Hotel Spa & Estate, full English breakfast, dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday, lunches, coach travel and entrance fees. To book contact events manager MaryAnne Salisbury 020 7930 3751 events@thefarmersclub.com
English Feast Luncheon commenced with as unusual but extremely tasty Lincolnshire smoked eel mousse accompanied by watercress relish and Melba toast. Main course was a deliciously tender sirloin of Cumbrian Galloway beef, served with traditional Yorkshire pudding, veal bone gravy and seasonal vegetables. For dessert guests were treated to an Old English Lemon Posset with raspberries. Wines were Coleridge Hill Three Choirs 2009 from Gloucestershire, plus Farmers Club Claret and Bordeaux.
Glorious Eden Project
www.thefarmersclub.com • 09
Pinnacle Awards
Runner-up: William Baillie, Reading University
Runner-up: Sam Carey, Harper Adams University College
Expanding a high-output dairy herd to make better use of a flagship rotary parlour would involve a 150-cow rise to over 600 Holstein milkers and commensurate increase in slurry storage, building design and silage storage. Full account was taken of interest rates, required return on investment and likely rises in both milk and input prices.
Introducing an on-site butchery, farm shop and local delivery service would boost income on a Herefordshire farm, tapping into the growing preference for locallysourced produce with a story to go with it. Creating off-farm income from the owned portion of the farm was particularly important to avoid rent rises on the mainly tenanted holding.
Runner-up: Scott Dewart, SAC Ayr
Runner-up: George Hoyes, Writtle College
High value Wagyu beef produced by a Scottish farming co-operative could provide viable enterprises for farms involved in producing the feed and straw, breeding stock using the MOET system, finishing animals, and slaughtering and packing for top-end outlets like Gleneagles, plus on-line marketing through Facebook. Beer in the feed and mechanical massage would ensure top quality meat.
Replacing sugar beet in an all arable rotation was the challenge. With no scope for diversification, an expansion in the area of potatoes grown for the Leeds fish and chip shop trade, milling wheat and oilseed rape were proposed, with machinery savings anticipated and rotational implications of weeds, pests and diseases considered.
Runner-up: Jack Norris, University of Nottingham Increasing productivity and profitability on a top-25% dairy farm of 77ha was the goal. Improving efficiency through a new cubicle building with indoor feed passage was proposed, plus expanding cow numbers from 118 to 154, investing in two continental bulls and extending beef calf rearing from three weeks to six months. A near doubling in profit was predicted.
Top students vie for Pinnacle 2011 business management award Business management acumen was rewarded in the 14th Pinnacle Awards THE Pinnacle Awards, sponsored by The Farmers Club, the Cave Foundation and ADAS, aim to encourage business excellence in rural industries by rewarding students who have shown exceptional ability in farm business management projects. Selected from an initial field of more than twice as many entrants, the finalists participated in a day of panel interviews and platform presentations at The Farmers Club, chaired by Professor David Leaver, president of the British Institute of Agricultural Consultants. The judging panel comprised Roy Walker, who created the Pinnacle Awards in 1998 with funding from the family’s Cave Foundation, Farmers Club chairman Richard Holland, Farmers Club Journal editor Charles Abel and senior business management
10 • The Farmers Club Harvest Journal 2011
consultant Tony Turner of sponsor ADAS. Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose presented the Pinnacle Awards’ Nickerson Cup and a cheque for £1250 to gold award winner Ellena Pitts, a final year student at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. Hot on her heels were silver award winner Robert Baker, also from the RAC, and bronze award winner Colin Cameron from SAC Ayr. “I think you’ve chosen a brilliant career to go into – the nation is going to need you more than for a long time,” commented Mr Price. “There is nothing more important on the political agenda than food and food security.” He went on to say the challenge for new graduates is to provide solutions to ensure the food supply chain can continue to improve. “I really do
Pinnacle Awards
Bronze: Colin Cameron, SAC Edinburgh
Silver: Robert Baker, Royal Agricultural College
Caledonian Chevon is a new meat brand set to break into the Scottish meat trade, based around the meaty Boer goat from South Africa, selling at £100/carcass. Initial marketing would be to East European and Asian communities, which currently source supplies from Yorkshire and beyond. But with total fat content comparable to chicken, and lower saturated fats, a share of traditional meat sales is anticipated too. Initial market research supports that view. “You want it, we’ve goat it!” enthused Colin.
Adding two self-catering wooden lodges to a small Somerset dairy farm, which already has fishing lakes and a pony trekking business, would complement diversification income without interfering with farm operations. Each year there are 10.4 million tourist stays in Somerset, so demand is strong. Vigorous marketing would undercut local competitors to ensure a rapid rise in occupancy levels, resulting in a return on the total £160,000 of capital employed of 3.8% in year one, 18.2% in year two and 28.9% in year three.
Winner: Ellena Pitts, Royal Agricultural College
think other supermarkets are going to have to rethink their buying policies, because they are discovering that the English option is the best, compared with importing, with the issues of currency and food shortage that faces.” Professor Leaver commended the calibre of the finalists. “They struck a good balance between innovation and realism, making proposals practicable, which is so important. Business analysis is what we’re interested in, and innovative business structures are something the industry needs to look at, so that is something we are particularly keen to see.” Mr Walker added: “A big pioneering spirit is what we need. But it is also important that business cases consider how success will be monitored once their plans are implemented.”
“All the presentations really were first class,” agreed Mr Holland. “But if we are going to feed the world we are going to need to see some more innovation in core agriculture.” Mr Turner endorsed that. “It was pleasing to see a slightly higher number of farming focused entries and we look forward to seeing farming focused business cases in future with the same level of innovation found in those addressing diversification projects.” Dr James Jones from the Gold and Silver Award winning RAC commented: “The awards provide tremendous motivation for all students on our courses to compete for this prestigious accolade. The experience of the judging day, interviews and presentations are a great learning experience.”
A traditional bakery to exploit existing buildings on a Devon farm near the large population of Exeter would provide a viable business for a returning family member, inspired by the £3M turn-over Flour Power City bakery (www.flourpowercity. co.uk). Intensive promotion, including farmers markets, backed by the security of wholesale contracts already lined up, would see a return on capital of over 59% over the first three years. Whilst flour would not be milled from home-grown grain, it would be locally sourced, additive free, and the provenance of all ingredients fully utilised in marketing. Solar power generation would provide free electricity and green credentials. Capital funding of £77,000 would include a 20% Rural Development Programme for England grant. “It is possible to have your cake and eat it too,” Ellena enthused.
www.thefarmersclub.com • 11
Charles Abel • Summer Farm Walk
Cotswolds showcase for farm science Intensive arable, dairy and renewable energy production were the focus of The Club’s summer farm visit
Winchcombe Priory by Henry VIII and passed through a number of owners before being sold to his family in 1922, for just £6/acre. Over the past 20 years Velcourt farm manager Mike Dewar has expanded the farmed area to include a further 540ha of arable contract farming. First wheat drives the rotation on 1172ha of very free draining silty clay loam over limestone, with rape, beans and oats as the main breaks and some spring and winter barley, plus rye. Long-term grass on parkland and steep hillsides accounts for a further 420ha, supporting a low input, out-wintered flock of 1850 pure Romney ewes, a fine shoot and membership of the Cotswold Hills ESA. The under-lying drive to push inputs and agronomy for top yields was evident across the farm, not least in trial plots managed by Velcourt’s technical director Keith Norman and his six-man research and development team. Over 7800 plots across 14 counties, reflecting 123 individual research projects, highlight Velcourt’s commitment to the appliance of science. But it doesn’t mean blueprint agronomy, he stressed. “We have an agronomy plan, but nothing beats in-season fine-tuning to push on-farm profitability.”
Plough is best
Lord Vestey – family paid £6/acre for much of the estate (Below) Magnificent Stowell Estate provided the backdrop to Velcourt’s tour-de-force of all that’s new in arable farming
LORD Vestey’s 2200ha Stowell Park Estate in the heart of the Cotswolds was the starting point for a fascinating day’s insight into the way science is being harnessed to boost productivity in modern farming. The estate, draped across a magnificent Cotswolds valley, has been run by Velcourt since 1990, highlighting the farm management firm’s role in the appliance of science, optimisation of input use and strategic business planning. After a splendid luncheon at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, hosted by Principal Chris Gaskell, it was a short drive to Kemble Farms, where Club members gained an intriguing insight into carbonfriendly electricity production using an on-site biogas unit to process all the farm’s waste. The whole day was expertly co-ordinated by Club member Martin Taylor. Introducing Stowell Park Estate, Lord Vestey noted that much of the land had been seized from
12 • The Farmers Club Harvest Journal 2011
Min-til cultivations with a Vaderstad Top-Down were tried, but any savings in labour and fuel were offset by herbicide costs chasing blackgrass and brome, plus admix problems in wheat, barley and rye, prompting the acquisition of a second-hand 8+6 furrow Kverneland plough last autumn to run behind the new articulated, tracked Case 485 Quad-Trac. Biosolids are applied at 20t/ha to boost autumn phosphate and nitrogen supply to oilseed rape and the following wheat, and improve soil condition. Like many modern tractors, including the estate’s Case 155 and 125s, the Quad-Trac carries GPS positioning equipment, which Velcourt has linked to mobile phone masts to achieve 2cm accuracy. Sounds excessive? Not to Midlands farms director Brian Redrup. “The economics speak for themselves, in terms of saved seed, fertiliser and spray inputs from reduced overlaps and a 5% saving on fuel thanks to better bout matching. It should make sense on most arable farms.”
Summer Farm Walk • Charles Abel
So will it be driver-less tractors next? “I don’t think so, because what it really means is the driver can use his skills to get the best from the implement – don’t under-estimate the input of a driver just because he isn’t hanging onto the steering wheel,” noted Mr Dewar. Solstice bread wheat is grown for Warburtons via Openfield, the rest of the wheat being a mix of Group 2, 3 and 4 varieties grown as feed, much of it Oakley, for Herefordshire poultry farms and Portbury docks for export. But even the latest technology can be thwarted by adverse weather. This spring’s significant slump in rainfall and huge temperature fluctuations, meant thinner than desired crops would yield below expectation, although maybe not as severely as many East Anglian farmers, Mr Dewar acknowledged.
Agronomy drive SOME of the novel trials work being undertaken by Velcourt includes using fertiliser additives so the release of urea can be better matched to crop needs, foliar urea in rape to boost pod fill at the end of the growing season, variable seed rates, sclerotinia forecasting in rape and making chipboard for B&Q using fibres held together by waxes, glues and bonding agents from wheat. More extreme is a study to detect disease spores remotely in the field, to trigger an alert in the farm office. Sounds impossible? Not for Velcourt. The system uses sensors that determine spore type by their reaction upon contact with sophisticated membranes. “The Holy grail will be to check for rusts, septoria and sclerotinia to better prioritise spraying,” Mr Norman enthused. Another investigation into the 1t/ha-plus yield discrepancy between virgin and rotational rape land is pointing to two take-all-like diseases, for which control agents are now being sought. Similarly a new fusarium species has been identified, which could be responsible for barley germinations slumping from 98% to 70% during storage.
Productivity key Velcourt Europe’s leading farming company formed in 1967 and now managing 55,000ha for 100+ clients from Northumberland to Cornwall to Kent, plus Europe, including prime arable land and over 12,000 dairy cattle, more than any other UK farmer. It prides itself on a vibrant management structure, with all 70 managers receiving regular training. www.velcourt.co.uk
All that research effort is increasingly relevant as world food demand is forecast to double within 35 years, from substantially the same area of arable land, Mr Norman noted. “Without crop production products it will require 6 billion hectares, which is impossible, so there is a huge underlying need to increase the productivity per unit of area.” But while plant breeding has pushed the yield of UK wheat up over recent decades, to a theoretical 18t/ha, the national average on-farm has plateaued. Mr Norman suggested sub-optimal input use, inferior management, volatile weather, new legislation, and pest resistance could all be to blame. “One of the greatest risks is politicians and regulators, who with one piece of paper can destroy so much of what is being done,” he continued. EU directives are expected to slash the number of crop protection active ingredients from 950 in 1993 to a predicted 350 by 2017. At the same time grassweeds, pests and diseases are all becoming increasingly resistant to agrochemicals, and changing weather patterns have a huge part to play.
Breeding answers
Mike Dewar – driverless tractors are a way off yet
He believes plant breeding holds the key to future success. “Our plant breeders are second to none, largely because despite being competitors they co-operate towards common goals, unlike agchem manufacturers.” Boosting the activity of the C4 photosynthetic enzyme RuBisCO, as in maize, could be key to boosting UK cereal productivity, he suggested. “We could even move to perennial wheat, harvested each year, but only established every five years. Cereals are grass relatives after all.” Ventura chemical mixing systems to tailor spray output to specific crop need, could also improve efficiency. So too could bioinformatic experimentation, whereby computer modelling overcomes the need for costly and cumbersome field trials. “It is an extremely challenging but exciting time for the future of agriculture, in which we are going to need a lot of applied research, and more interface between farmers and researchers, because very often too much does not get through.” Improved agronomy is essential to meet global food demand – Velcourt’s Keith Norman
Continued on p14
www.thefarmersclub.com • 13
Charles Abel • Summer Farm Walk
Biogas Converting cow slurry and maize silage into electricity, heat and low-odour soil conditioner is something every livestock farm in the UK should be doing, according to Tim Wring, biogas facility manager at Kemble Farms, Cirencester. “If you are a dairy farmer this is a no-brainer. The digester eats anything a dairy cow will eat – it’s just a big cow, which produces electricity.” The only additive is glycerol, a by-product from biodiesel manufacturing, which accelerates the anaerobic digestion. The farm’s original goal was for 2MW output, but the extortionate cost of laying in higher capacity connections to the National Grid thwarted that. So in 2008 today’s operation, the second such system in the UK, was constructed to convert 80t of slurry, 7.5t of conventional maize silage and 1.5t of glycerol into 300kW of electricity, plus heat for the dairy milking 650 permanently-housed Holstein cows producing 9,600 litres/year from three-times-a-day milking for Sainsbury’s. The £1.2M cost, including new silage clamps, was one third offset by a capital grant from the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Double ROC (Renewable Obligation Certificate) entitlements ensure £360,000 operating profit for 12 years, and capital payback is expected within six. “But we’d not be profitable without the subsidy,” Mr Wring noted.
Fully automated The anaerobic process creates methane, which is collected and fed through a basic diesel engine to generate electricity. “There’s nothing very sophisticated. But the system is bespoke for our needs, and is fully automated, so it only needs two hours a day to manage,” he added. The resulting low-odour effluent is separated and umbilical piped or spread onto adjacent land. It contains 5% nitrogen, as highly available nitrate, which has cut bagged fertiliser use significantly. The biggest downside? “It can produce hydrogen sulphide, at up to 5,500ppm, and 200ppm is lethal. So I always wear a detector. If it bleeps, run.”
My outputs? Low-carbon electricity, reduced odour nutrients – and milk
Tim Wring – biogas should be a “no-brainer” for most dairy farms Kemble Farms produces 360KW of electricity from cow muck
14 • The Farmers Club Harvest Journal 2011
Postcard from Wales – a perfect sunny hideaway, where fertile hills meet salt marsh beside the River Taf at Laugharne, hometown of Dylan Thomas, hence cockleshell-lined slate paths, fig tree and boat ‘Cuckoo’. Fencing is driftwood and shells, planting is split between contemporary cottage and wild. Designed by Kati Crome and Maggie Hughes (www.katicromegardendesign.co.uk and www.littleacornsdesign.co.uk)
Pause to reflect – Club members Della and John Stones enjoy the Basildon Bond Centenary Garden, where walls decorated with waterproof paper lead the eye over a stream fringed by “fountain pen” blue Iris sibirica to seats beneath an Acer griseum paperback maple, ideal for crafting a handwritten letter. Designed by Will Quarmby. (www.quarmbylandscaping.co.uk)
Chelsea Flower Show • Charles Abel
London flower power Glorious sunshine welcomed Farmers Club members to the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show FEW events conjure up the image of a quintessential start to the summer season as effectively as the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show, which was attended by just over 100 Farmers Club Members and their guests. After a splendid luncheon buffet at the Club horticultural member Charles Notcutt provided an
insider’s guide to Chelsea, drawing on the views of fellow judges to point show goers in the right direction and help them minimise the inconvenience of the crowds. Suitably enthused the group headed out into Whitehall Court in search of the coaches – but found none! It seemed the state visit of President Obama to Britain, and Downing Street in particular, had brought traffic mayhem to central London. Fortunately, it was just a few moments of waiting in the glorious summer sunshine before two 56-seaters arrived. En-route to the show passengers caught a glimpse of President Obama’s entourage in Downing Street, and huge queues at Chelsea’s main gates. But privileged access saw members enter via the Bull Ring gate, beside the River Thames, skipping a long wait in the sun. Once inside visitors were treated to a heady mix of exhibits, just some of which are captured on these pages.
Cool blue – the Monaco garden, designed by Sarah Eberle (www.saraheberle.com), combined poolside relaxation with evocative Mediterranean foliage, including Aloe, Carob, Chorisia speciosa and Pinus sylvestris trees and Bulbine frutescens as an alternative to grass.
A child’s garden in Wales – as viewed by Club members Sue and Edward Coales of Suffolk – was designed with a 1947 make-doand-mend theme, including grow your own food production, by Heronsbridge and Ysgol Bryn Castell Schools with Anthea Guthrie.
Literally great – this artisan garden, created by Martin Cook and Bonnie Davies, and inspired by Ian Hamilton’s Little Sparta, is a poet’s retreat, intended to be informal and overgrown, favouring Cornus kousa ‘China Girl’, Campanula ‘Take Me’ and Geranium ‘Jolly Bee’. (www.martincookstudio.co.uk)
www.thefarmersclub.com • 15
Farming Views • Charles Abel
Farming Views Farming Figures
£85bn Annual income from UK food and farming Defra
£11.6bn
Farm borrowing in 2010, up 3.7% on year before
500,000 DVDs Tractor Ted recordings sold since the cartoon tractor started educating children in an entertaining way about the countryside
500m
Number of EU citizens served by the Common Agricultural Policy
£125m Brazilian investment in protecting biodiversity in wildlife-rich savannahs
£445m/year Value of wheat yield increases thanks to plant breeding efforts since 1982
£2.9bn Estimated value of branded bread market in UK
16 • The Farmers Club Harvest Journal 2011
Machinery, new technology and advice – all on offer at Agritechnica
Destination Hanover NOVEMBER will see farmers from across Europe heading for Hanover in Germany for Agritechnica 2011. UK farmers will head there in the most confident mood for decades, although concern over exchange rates may dampen investment intentions, according to research conducted by the organisers, the German Agricultural Society (DLG). More exhibitors from more countries have already booked stands than for any previous event, making it the world’s largest exhibition of agricultural machinery and equipment. Indeed, the entire Hanover Exhibition Centre will be dedicated to Agritechnica, for the first time, when the gates open from 15 to 19 November 2011 (Preview Days on 13 and 14 November). Since the demise of the Royal Smithfield Show, UK farmers have increasingly turned to Paris and Hanover as the nearest “big hall” international machinery shows. “At Agritechnica we have seen growth in both domestic and international exhibitor numbers,” comments event managing director, Dr Jochen Kochler. “More than 355,000 visitors, including 80,000 international visitors (4,000 from the UK), came to Hanover to seek out information on new developments in agricultural machinery and equipment in 2009. “Agritechnica is seen as the leading event for businesses to launch new ideas and new technology. And our research programme, TrendMonitor, shows investment intentions are at
their highest for years. The mood among farmers right across Europe is very good. German farmers once again top the optimism chart, but the UK ranks second, the best British performance since the survey began in 2003.” An increase in consumer demand for agricultural products is behind the surge in confidence, supported by low interest rates across Europe. “From our research, farmers are planning to capitalise on these favourable business conditions to modernise their production and increase efficiency,” notes Dr Kochler. The event reflects interest in renewable energy technologies and smart farming, based around electronics, robotics and other advanced techniques. There is also a major Farm Workshop feature catering to those with a really practical engineering bent and a conference focused on farming in Eastern Europe. This year, alongside the website www.agritechnica.com, the organisers are using Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and YouTube, to promote the show and help visitors find their way round what can be a daunting event to cover in just a couple of days. • Farmers Club members planning to visit Agritechnica should contact Nichola Gray at the show’s UK travel partner Field Farm Tours Ltd, Field House, 3 Stephenson Court, Stephenson Way, Newark, Notts NG24 2TQ Tel: 01636 616060 Email: info@fieldfarmtours.co.uk
Farm planning • Duncan Elson
Protecting the farm’s future
means that the partnership assets must be sold in order to pay each partner, or a partner’s estate in the case of a deceased partner, their share in the value of the partnership. For farming businesses which are not able to raise the necessary funding to pay out, this could result in the breakup of the business. The problems are even more complex if the senior partner has a serious accident and becomes mentally or physically incapacitated. In such cases, who takes over the management roles? How would the incapacitated partner (and his or her family) be provided for in the future? Succession planning therefore needs to address a number of questions. Among the most important are:
Farming partnerships need careful planning, explains Duncan Elson
• Who will be responsible for managing the day-to-day business of the farm? • Who will deal with the ever-increasing legal obligations to which farmers and land owners are subject? • How will the business structure continue after the death, incapacity or bankruptcy of a farmer? These are questions that should be dealt with in advance with good estate and succession planning.
No simple transfer
Duncan Elson – succession plans must consider management, legal and financial issues
HOW to deal with a farm on the death, incapacity or bankruptcy of a partner or family member should be one of the most important considerations for farming families and partnerships. Of course, it is understandable that no-one wants to dwell on such morbid issues. But they have to be confronted if disputes or the potential breakup of the business are to be avoided. Good succession planning is key to ensuring that a farm continues as a successful business, and that all stakeholders in the business are provided for. At a time when the farming industry is subject to ever increasing regulation, there are more and more complications which could arise when proper plans are not made for the succession of a farming business. Worse still, failure to put in place an adequate succession plan can lead to serious disputes – for example, over how (and at what value) any outgoing partner should be paid out, or over the potential dissolution of the partnership,
Immediate dissolution In a farming partnership, if one of the partners dies in the absence of a formal agreement, the result is the immediate dissolution of the partnership. In turn, that
Failure to put in place an adequate succession plan can lead to serious problems in the event of the death, bankruptcy or incapacity of a farming partner. Problems can range from serious disputes between surviving partners, to the breakup of the entire business. A succession plan needs to address management, legal and financial issues to ensure the continuation of the farm as a business and to provide for family members in the future. A formal legal arrangement is more secure than an informal agreement between partners. It can avoid unforeseen legal problems, be more tax effective, and provide greater financial security in the long term.
One of the key points to bear in mind here is that a partner cannot simply ‘transfer’ their partnership share in a will: instead, an alternative mechanism needs to be considered and employed. For example, a trust can be created, which can then be managed for the benefit of the farm while still providing an income for others. Alternatively, an agreement can be put in place whereby remaining partners agree to buy an outgoing partner’s share, thus providing some capital to the outgoing partner or his/her family. Farmers seeking to put in place a succession plan may also seek advice on the most tax effective way to treat each partner’s share. Agricultural Property Relief and/or Business Property Relief may be available for inheritance tax purposes on death; but partners should take into account the need to pay capital gains tax if the value of an outgoing partner’s share has increased significantly since the partnership’s inception. As we live longer, our mental and physical ability to deal with day-to-day issues in our advanced years can become more and more difficult. It is vital not to put off difficult decisions until it is too late. But disputes and uncertainty regarding the succession of a farming business can be avoided if these issues are considered and resolved at an early stage. • Duncan Elson heads the Litigation Service at Charles Russell LLP and was the lead partner for the defendants in the recent farming partnership decision of the Court of Appeal in Drake v Harvey, in which the Chancery Division held that, in the absence of clear provisions to the contrary in the partnership deed, where payments of a share of any profits in the partnership were due to a partner leaving the partnership, the current value of the assets, rather than a historic value, would be used to calculate the share of the profit payable to the outgoing partner.
www.thefarmersclub.com • 17
Patrick Durnford, Chairman; Rhydian Scurlock-Jones, Vice Chairman; MaryAnne Salisbury, Secretary • U30s
U30s Chairman’s Jottings SPRING, that is to say what we recognised of it, seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. On speaking to Under 30s members I am keenly aware of the frustration felt by those who are anxious to see a drop of rain. I imagine that many readers of the Journal will feel the same and I think that we all have our fingers firmly crossed for some much overdue precipitation. We are always delighted to welcome new entrants to the Under 30s and hope that those who have recently joined will be interested in attending the events throughout the year. I myself was introduced to the Club by a good friend, and I would encourage members to ask people along to occasions. Similarly, if as an Under 30s member you have an idea for a particular function, or feel the Club may want to participate in an external event, the Committee would be pleased to hear from you. Thank you to Philip Hoare for organising a very excellent Devon Farm walk earlier in May. The weekend, which is reported upon in more detail (right), was a great success. Thank you also to Under 30s Vice Chairman Rhydian ScurlockJones and MaryAnne Salisbury for hosting the Royal Agricultural College Alumni Drinks on the 26th May sponsored by The Farmers Club. I know that the drinks were a welcome restorative to students parched by examinations! Looking ahead to dates for the diary there will be a Farmers Club drinks reception at the CLA Game Fair, to be held at Blenheim Palace on 23rd July. We are also looking forward to a midweek ‘Pimms evening’ in July, details to be confirmed shortly. I hope to see you soon, in the meantime do feel free to contact me on any matter.
contact Patrick for more information Patrick Durnford patrick.durnford @bidwells.co.uk 07967 822892
18 • The Farmers Club Harvest Journal 2011
Devon DEVON was the destination for the Spring Farm Walk over the weekend of 20th – 22nd May, when Under 30s members descended on the South West for a thoroughly entertaining and educational weekend. The city of Exeter, an historic and lively centre, provided a fun and accessible base of operations for the two days. The event started with members gathering in time for drinks and dinner at the hotel on the Friday evening. After a hearty breakfast the following morning the group visited Lynch Farm at Thorverton, home to Nick Heard and his family. Nick farms about 600 acres, running 250 Swedish Red origin dairy cattle on an organic extensive system. He is also the Exeter NFU Chairman and provided a hugely informative overview of the opportunities and challenges of organic dairy farming. His role within the NFU also provided perspective into some of the wider political and economic issues affecting the region. The group very much enjoyed the scenic tractor and trailer tour and felt privileged to be given such an open insight into the enterprise. Above all, Nick’s talk provided a refreshing and inspiring view that, with traditional ‘know how’ and entrepreneurial spirit a great deal can be achieved! After a bite to eat at the Red Lion Pub, the group met with Julie Bateman for a tour of Martinsfield Farm a holding tenanted from the National
Trust as part of the Killerton Estate. Julie’s husband Kevin (who was not able to be there, as he was participating in the ‘Ten Peaks’ challenge) is a farmer turned Chartered Rural Surveyor running his practice from the farm whilst farming (an arrangement supported by the Trust). The holding is nearly 200 acres in size and is within the Higher Level Environmental Stewardship Scheme. The farm walk in the truest sense demonstrated how such schemes can contribute to small farming opportunities and deliver environmental results. A special thank you to Julie and Charlotte Furnival (Kevin’s assistant) for their kind guidance and time. On leaving Martinsfield a Devon Cream Tea at Killerton House was enjoyed before returning to the hotel for recuperation ahead of the evening. Drinks were taken in the town prior to an excellent dinner at ‘Rendezvous’ restaurant. The evening was rounded off with après dinner refreshments at a local ‘night spot’. A sedate Sunday morning involved calling in at ‘Darts Farm Shop’ before crossing the river Exe at Topsham and an invigorating stroll along the bankside for a well earned pub lunch at the ‘Turf Inn’. The weekend was a great success – thank you to former Under 30s Chairman Philip Hoare for organising such a memorable weekend. Patrick Durnford
U30s • Patrick Durnford, Chairman; Rhydian Scurlock-Jones, Vice Chairman; MaryAnne Salisbury, Secretary
THE judgement of the first-tier tax tribunal in the case of Golding v HMRC was handed down recently, which held that a lack of annual profit from a farm consisting of a 3-bed farmhouse on 16.29 acres did not impede a farmhouse from being ‘character appropriate’ for the purpose of achieving agricultural property relief (APR). The case regarded an appeal against the determination that the Golding residence was not an agricultural property within the context of the Inheritance Tax Act. Mr Golding had for more than 65 years farmed a smallholding of just over 16 acres near Lichfield, in the earlier years intensively, but latterly at a much lower level of activity, a lot of the produce being for his own consumption, though he had continued to make modest profits each year On his death APR was claimed on the farm to reduce the liability to inheritance tax on his estate. HMRC, whilst accepting the claim in respect of the land and buildings, denied it in respect of the farmhouse, which was a small 3 bedroom house in a poor state of repair.
Eligibility test The character appropriate test is a key measure used by HMRC in determining eligibility for APR and considers whether the house in question is of a character appropriate to the farm as a whole. HMRC argued that the farmhouse was not character appropriate for APR purposes and issued a Notice of Determination that it did not qualify as agricultural property for the purposes of APR. There was a preliminary issue at the tribunal hearing, since HMRC had in open correspondence agreed that the only basis for its refusal of the relief was that the farmhouse was not character appropriate, but on the eve of the hearing it sought to argue a second ground, namely that the house itself did not qualify as a farmhouse for APR in any event. The tribunal did not allow HMRC to take this point, so the case proceeded on the character appropriate point only.
Executor success The tribunal found in favour of the executors. Furthermore, it made it clear that they would have won on the farmhouse point too had that been considered. Had HMRC been successful, it would have had a major impact in narrowing the definition of character appropriate. The thrust of its argument was that there was in essence a single objective test based upon the financial viability of the farming operation to sustain the house, one factor in which was its assertion that APR would only be available if the house would continue after the owner’s death to be a working farmhouse. The important issues arising from the case are: 1) The assertion that the Antrobus principals for establishing character appropriateness still hold good and that the test is one of fact and degree, taking into account a number of different physical and other factors, and is not based simply on financial viability.
Golding v HMRC: another landmark victory for the countryside 2) The acknowledgement that as farmers grow older and their work rate drops, reduced business turnover and profitability do not of themselves mean that the farmhouse will cease to qualify for APR. 3) The recognition that the lifestyle aspirations and expectations of the working farmer are very different from others and that the character appropriate test needs to be viewed through the eyes, and with an appreciation of, the working farmer’s approach to life. 4) Detailed records over a period of time are essential to assist your argument. 5) A properly advised farm with a well considered valuation for probate purposes is an essential element of a successful case. A victory for HMRC would have meant that the character appropriate test would have been subject to the vagaries of farming profitability and would probably have meant that few farmhouses in the country would qualify for APR in bad years. The case is very important in confirming that Antrobus is still very much alive and seems an eminently common sense approach. HMRC has until mid-July to lodge an appeal if it wishes to challenge the decision.
(Top) When is a farmhouse not a farmhouse? Latest ruling is a fillip for the industry (Above) Under 30s member Rhydian Scurlock-Jones
• Rhydian Scurlock-Jones MSc MRICS Vice Chairman of U30s committee and chartered surveyor with Savills 01952 239529 rsjones@savills.com
www.thefarmersclub.com • 19
Stephen Skinner • Ramblings
Ramblings Balmoral and Devon Show success OUR Royal Ulster Show dinner was a splendid affair yet again and we were honoured to have as our guest of honour Peter Morrow, MD of Morrow Communications and incidentally, son of the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society President, Robin. Peter spoke most eloquently on the importance for the industry as a whole to communicate regularly, openly and honestly. As he said, “actions well explained by words”. The Balmoral Show has a wonderful feel to it, sitting in stunning surroundings and always busy. It is a great way to start the show season. As the Chairman was otherwise engaged on the Rhine tour, Paul Heygate, our Vice-Chairman, stood in and rose to the occasion with great aplomb! The Chairman returned safely from the Rhine and then hosted our visit to the Devon County Show, where we held a drinks reception for members and the Show executive in the Vice President’s Marquee. The weather was perfect and the backdrop of the magnificent heavy horses made for a most enjoyable and relaxing couple of hours. The Chairman took the opportunity to
AS I write the wiring to ‘WiFi’ the entire Club, so members and guests can access the internet and their e-mails throughout our premises, is just coming to completion. By the time you read this each and every bedroom (and all meeting rooms), will be WiFi capable. At the same time, work is going on feverishly on the seventh floor to create two new en-suite bathrooms for rooms 26 and 27. We are also refurbishing the bathrooms for rooms 29 and 30. Furthermore, we have ordered a large number of new mattresses for Club bedrooms. So a night’s sleep here should be even more peaceful than normal!
Bookings remain strong AS far a business goes for the Club, bedroom occupancy rates remain very high indeed; it is only functions and meetings that are below historical norms. So, if you are thinking about holding a lunch or dinner or party or meeting in London or have business associates who might consider the same, do let us know. Peter Morrow – industry needs to communicate regularly, honestly and openly
update all there with what had been going on at the Club, which was well received, despite regular yet beautifully timed interruptions from the announcer in the main ring. It was quite a double act!
New Year’s Eve party IT MAY still feel like mid-summer, but New Year’s Eve is once again on our minds and no doubt on many of yours too. Our intent is to hold an event in the Club as in previous years so if you are interested, please call or email Mrs Lynne Wilson on 020 7930 3557 or functions@thefarmersclub.com to get your name on the list. As always, I would expect a lot of interest so there will have to be a ballot. Also, please do not try to book a room in advance while waiting to see whether you have a place or not. We have reserved the bedrooms for those attending the function. You may well be aware that many of our events ‘sell out’ very quickly. Well don’t give up if you think you won’t be able to get a ticket! More often than not we get cancellations and have a limited number of spare tickets. So, if you want to attend a specific event and can remain reasonably flexible, do give us a call on 020 7930 3557.
20 • The Farmers Club Harvest Journal 2011
WiFi for all
Committee members THE form for Nomination of Committee Members has been sent to you all in the last issue (included within the Accounts). The closing date is 14 August 2011 so could I encourage you to complete one if you wish to stand for election.
New newsletter by e-mail WE have just e-mailed out our first newsletter to all of those who we have e-mail addresses for. Our intent is to send this out once every six weeks and include details of forthcoming events and local Club news. It is not intended as yet another agricultural news newsletter, as I suspect there are more than enough of these already. We have also started our own Facebook page in order to help pass the word. If you have a little time and have access to the web, do look us up and let me know what you think.
Ramblings • Stephen Skinner
Guild of Agricultural Journalists’ Charitable Trust THE Farmers Club has long had close links with the Guild of Agricultural Journalists, so members may like to know they can support the very good work of the GAJ Charitable Trust, which for 18 years has provided financial assistance and assurance to members, former members and their dependents in hardship. To help support this discreet but excellent work, and have the chance to win cash prizes, Farmers Club members can now invest in the GAJCT 200 Club. An annual subscription to shares qualifies the holder to participate in prize draws, usually held at the Guild’s annual Spring meeting and its Harvest lunch, with a £250 first prize, £100 second prize and two £50 prizes at each draw. The annual subscription is £10 per share, with a maximum of 10 shares, each with two chances a year of winning a cash prize. Contact GAJCT treasurer Diane Montague: 020 8290 1212, e-mail diane.montague@btconnect.com
CROPWORLD GLOBAL 2011 MEMBERS involved in crop production will be interested to know about CropWorld Global 2011, a major conference and exhibition in London on 31 October – 2 November. The event brings together expert strategists, global thought leaders, government advisers and prominent scientists, to debate the key issues around sustainable crop production from ‘field to fork’. Major topics include food security, the fuel v food debate, going beyond biotech, R&D advances, crop innovations, natural resource management, funding, regulation and legislation, and projects in growth markets. Professor Sir John Beddington and Jim Paice MP are both confirmed speakers. The event, which takes place at London’s ExCel conference centre near Canary Wharf, is organised by UBM Conferences and crop protection industry body BCPC, which run similar events in India, Brazil and the USA. For more information see www.cropworld-global.com or e-mail enquiries@cropworld.com. Farmers Club members are entitled to a 50% discount on ticket prices.
NEW MASTER OF THE WOOLMEN’S COMPANY PAST Club Chairman Eric Wilson is the new Master of the Worshipful Company of Woolmen. The Company, which grew out of the ancient guild with records going back to 1180, regulated the wool trade for centuries and, when wool prospered, so did England. But the reverse was also true. When wool suffered so did the nation. Today wool prices are on the up and Eric together with another Club member John Thorley are directors of the Campaign for Wool with Prince Charles as its Patron. After the recent Installation ceremony in St. Michaels, Cornhill, the new Master hosted a Livery Dinner in the nearby Merchant Taylors Hall where Lord Vestey responded on behalf of the Guests. Simon Boardman Weston (right) and Lt Col (retd) Bill Clark were installed as Upper and Under Wardens respectively.
www.thefarmersclub.com • 21
The Farmers Club • Club Information
Club Information 020 7930 3751 DIARY DATES Please check the dates carefully as they are sometimes changed and new dates added for each issue. Details of Club events circulated in the previous issues are available from the Secretariat at the telephone number shown above. JULY
Autumn Mixed Golf Meeting
Royal Welsh Show Dinner
Wednesday 28th Coxmoor GC, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts. Thursday 29th Lindrick GC, Worksop, Notts.
Sunday 17th Application Form was in the Summer journal
OCTOBER
CLA Game Fair Reception, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Har vest Festival Ser vice at St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Buffet Supper at the Club
Saturday 23rd Application Form was in the Summer journal
Tuesday 11th at 5pm Preacher: The Bishop of Exeter, the Rt. Revd. Michael Langrish, Application form below
SEPTEMBER
DECEMBER RABI National Golf Challenge, Oswestr y GC Friday 2nd
Dair y Event & Livestock Show, NEC Birmingham Tuesday 6th & Wednesday 7th
Friday 9th December
New Years Eve Supper at the Club
Visit to the West Countr y Tuesday 20th & Wednesday 21st Application Form was in the Summer journal
HARVEST FESTIVAL SERVICE AND BUFFET SUPPER TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2011
!
Christmas Concert at St. St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Buffet Supper at the Club
The Club will be holding its annual Harvest Festival Service at St. Martin-inthe-Fields on Tuesday 11 October. The Service starts at 5pm; our Preacher this year will be The Rt. Reverend Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter. Do please come and join us for this important and enjoyable event in the Club calendar. All Club members and their guests are most welcome. Our traditional Harvest Festival Supper will be held afterwards in the Club from 7pm, costing £30.00 per person, including wine.
Please complete in CAPITALS WITH FIRST NAME and return to Mrs Lynne Wilson, Meetings Office, The Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL Tel. 020 7925 7100 email: meetings@thefarmersclub.com I would like to reserve ................ tickets for the Buffet Supper. Cheque enclosed for £ ................00 [payable to The Farmers Club]. Member Guest (only 1) Address
Post Code Telephone Number Email
22 • The Farmers Club Harvest Journal 2011
Saturday 31st December
HARVEST FESTIVAL SERVICE AND BUFFET SUPPER TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2011
Club Information • The Farmers Club
Further information is available on The Farmers Club Website www.thefarmersclub.com
use of a laptop therefore is no longer allowed in the public rooms and is restricted to the Business Suite only.
Obituaries It is with regret that we announce the death of the following members:
Parking The Club has no private parking at Whitehall Court and metered parking in the immediate area is extremely limited. The nearest public car park, open 24 hours a day, is situated in Spring Gardens off Cockspur Street, approximately 5 minutes walk from the Club. Telephone: 0800 243 348. The Congestion Charge can be paid at this car park. For more information on parking, visit www.westminster.gov.uk/services/ transportandstreets/parking.
Over 160 years of service to farming
Mobile Phones, Briefcases and Business Meetings Mobile phones must not be used in the Public Rooms. Briefcases should be left in the Cloakrooms and Business meetings must be conducted in a private room. Members should speak with the Meetings Manager for details.
VICE-CHAIRMAN Paul Heygate
Television There are no TVs in the Club bedrooms however there is a television available in the Muddiman Suite lounge on the fourth floor which on occasion is also used as a Meeting Room. Members should therefore check with Reception that it is available for general use before entering the lounge.
Elected 2007: Tim Bennett (Chairman House Sub-Committee) Mrs Anne Chamberlain (Chairman Journal & Communications Sub-Committee), James Cross, Richard Harrison, Campbell Tweed OBE (Chairman Membership Sub-Committee)
E Burroughes P Evans R Flint Mrs T Hockley Sir Henry Leach GCB DL J Scott A Thomas
Norfolk Herefordshire Lincolnshire Hertfordshire Hampshire Kirkcudbrightshire Herefordshire
Honours and Awards The Chairman and Members of the Club congratulate the following members whose names appeared in the Queen’s 2011 Birthday Honours List: KCVO Sir John Hamilton Scott Shetland OBE Alison Margaret Blackburn Professor William Alexander McKelvey MBE John Bryan Foulkes
Suffolk Midlothian Powys
Dress Code Members are requested to advise their guests of the following: • Gentlemen must wear formal jackets and ties on weekdays. Polo-neck jerseys, jeans and trainers are not acceptable. • There is a Club jacket and a selection of ties at Reception which may be borrowed in an emergency. • Ladies should be dressed conventionally. Trousers are permitted but not casual slacks, jeans or trainers during the week. • Smart casual dress may be worn from 6pm Friday to midnight Sunday, smart clean jeans and trainers permitted. • Children should conform with the above guidelines. • Members must advise their guests of the dress regulations. Business Suite This is situated on the Club floor and gives Members an opportunity to use a laptop or a Club PC in a tailor made environment. The Reciprocal Clubs UK Royal Overseas League, Edinburgh The New Club, Edinburgh OVERSEAS The Western Australian Club, Perth, Australia (Bedrooms not reciprocated) Queensland Club, Brisbane, Australia Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, Ireland (Bedrooms not reciprocated) Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club, Dublin, Ireland
Storage of Shotguns Members are reminded that the Club does not hold a licence for the secure storage of shotguns. There are however a number of “Registered Firearm Dealers” in London who offer this service. Details are available from Reception. Security in the Bedrooms and Cloakrooms Please do not leave wallets, money, cheque books or any valuables in the bedrooms or in briefcases in Club cloakrooms. The Club cannot accept responsibility for any loss and so do please be as security aware as possible. Reception has a small security safe to deposit valuables.
THE FARMERS CLUB 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL
Patron – Her Majesty The Queen VICE PRESIDENTS Peter Jackson CBE, Roddy Loder-Symonds, Sir David Naish DL, John Parker, Norman Shaw CBE THE COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT OF THE CLUB FOR 2011 PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN Richard Holland TRUSTEES Mark Hudson (Chairman), Barclay Forrest OBE Mrs Susan Kilpatrick OBE, Julian Sayers
HONORARY TREASURER Richard Butler IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN Mrs Nicki Quayle COMMITTEE Elected 2006: Stewart Houston CBE, Meurig Raymond MBE
Elected 2008: The Reverend Dr Gordon Gatward OBE, Jimmy McLean, David Richardson OBE, John Wilson Elected 2009: John Stones Elected 2010: David Leaver, Martin Taylor Elected 2011: Andrew Brown, Micheal Summers Co-opted: Patrick Durnford (Chairman Under 30s) Rhydian Scurlock-Jones (Vice-Chairman Under 30s) THE FARMERS CLUB CHARITABLE TRUST TRUSTEES John Kerr MBE JP DL (Chairman), James Cross, Vic Croxson DL, Stephen Fletcher, Mrs Stella Muddiman JP, The Chairman and Immediate Past Chairman of the Club (ex officio) Chief Executive and Secretary: Air Commodore Stephen Skinner Deputy Secretary: Robert Buckolt Bedroom & Dining Room Reservations: 020-7930 3557 Private Function & Meeting Room Reservations: 020-7925 7100 Accounts: 020-7925 7101 Membership: 020-7925 7102 Secretariat: 020-7930 3751 Personal calls for members only: 020-7930 4730
CLUB CLOSURE Noon Fri 23 December to 3.00pm Weds 4 January 2012
The Muthaiga Country Club, Nairobi, Kenya The Harare Club, Harare, Zimbabwe The Christchurch Club, Christchurch, New Zealand (Closed due to earthquake damage) The Canterbury Club, Christchurch, New Zealand (Closed due to earthquake damage) Members wishing to visit any of the above Clubs must obtain an introductory card from the Secretariat.
Fax: 020-7839 7864 E-mails secretariat@thefarmersclub.com accounts@thefarmersclub.com membership@thefarmersclub.com functions@thefarmersclub.com meetings@thefarmersclub.com reservations@thefarmersclub.com reception@thefarmersclub.com u30s@thefarmersclub.com Website: www.thefarmersclub.com THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Editor and Advertisement Manager: Charles Abel, 07795 420692 Email: editor@thefarmersclub.com Designed by: Ingenious, 01323 729515 Website: www.ingeniousdesign.co.uk Printed by: Pureprint Group, Brambleside, Bellbrook Park Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 1PL, 01825 768811
www.thefarmersclub.com • 23
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Thursday Thursday 6th October Octoberr 2011 Grosvenor Hotel, Grosvenorr House Hotel, Park Park LLane ane London
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