Newyear2008 by The Farmers Club

A host of exciting things to do in

London Events over the next few weeks include: Now running: Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Adelphi Theatre Strand Tel: 0870 895 5598 Still running: The Mousetrap St Martin’s Theatre West Street Tel: 020 7836 1443 Ongoing: Tate Modern Bankside, Holland Street Tel: 020 7887 8000 Still running: Mamma Mia! Prince of Wales Theatre Tel: 0870 850 0393

Ongoing: New Sculpture Galleries Victoria and Albert Museum Tel: 020 7942 2000 Always open (except Christmas Day): London Zoo Meet the Animals Tel: 020 7722 3333 Ongoing: Clink Prison Museum Clink Street, Southbank Tel: 020 7403 0900 Now running: Billy Elliot - The Musical Victoria Palace Tel: 0870 895 5577 Open daily, 9.30am - 8pm: British Airways London Eye South Bank Tel: 0870 500 0600

While in the Capital why not stay, dine and relax at YOUR Club Remember, you can now book to stay on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights up to six months in advance To book to stay or dine at the Club call reception on

020 7930 3557 (Please note Club closure dates on page 23)

Dinner is now available from 6pm Monday to Friday

CHAIRMAN JULIAN SAYERS and wife Sarah ready for busy year ahead

inside… Application forms for: • St George’s Day Lunch at the Painters’ Hall (23 April) • Visit to Bowood Estate and Wiltshire farms (7 – 8 May) Details in Ramblings (p21) about: • St David’s Day Dinner (Friday 29 February) Secretary’s Testimonial Fund

For further events go to www.visitlondon.com More details about The Farmers Club at www.thefarmersclub.com

Please note your individual Club membership number, printed on your Journal envelope. You will need it to access the members’ section of the Club website at www.thefarmersclub.com

CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS • Julian Sayers

THE FARMERS CLUB Over 160 years of service to farming

Farming will face challenges and opportunities in busy year ahead

3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL

contents

Patron – Her Majesty The Queen

2 Chairman’s Comments Julian Sayers introduces himself, announces the appointment of Stephen Skinner as Club Secretary, greets new Committee members, and looks forward to a busy and challenging year for both the Club and the farming industry. 4 Into the bio economy Don Gomery summarises the superb and optimistic talk given to Club members by plant scientist Professor Dianna Bowles at the House of Lords.

There will be a full article paying tribute to Grieve’s work in the Spring edition of the Journal, though many of you already know how much he has achieved during his tenure. He will be leaving the organisation in a very strong position in terms of our finances, the staff, the facilities and the programme the Club offers each year.

7 Your tax checklist Susan Shaw provides a handy - and potentially money-saving tax checklist for members to use ready for the start of the 2008 tax year on 6 April. 8 Helping farming families RABI Chairman Andrew Densham and Chief Executive Paul Burrows tell Journal editor Don Gomery of their plans to make the charity of even greater help to farmers and their families. 10 World Jersey Bureau Roger Trewhella flags up a forthcoming World Jersey Bureau Conference - based on the Island itself but with visits to England and France - and its role in bringing potential customers to the UK. 12 St Andrew’s Day Lunch Don Gomery reports on the Club’s inaugural St Andrew’s Day lunch, piped in at historic Trinity House and addressed by The Countess of Mar, holder of the premier Earldom of Scotland and the oldest peerage in the realm. 14 Beware of the risks… Carrie de Silva of Harper Adams College used a Farmers Club Charitable Trust bursary to study the liability towards visitors of those engaged in potentially hazardous rural land activities in the US. 16 Annual General Meeting 17 Ladies Lunch Liz Pexton explains why the thirteenth annual Club Ladies Lunch was a much more glittering occasion than normal. 18 Funding farm conversions Kevin Jay looks at how the new Rural Development Plan for England will help finance farm diversification projects. 19 Under 30s 20 Whitehall Court Ramblings 22 Information and Diary Dates 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.

AFTER twelve months during which the farming industry has faced an unprecedented series of events and changes in market conditions may I wish you all a very happy and hopefully a prosperous New Year as we rise to the challenges set before us. I am conscious of the great honour which I have been given following my election as Chairman of the Club and I look forward to working with my fellow Committee Members, the Trustees and the Staff to continue all that has been achieved by my predecessors. I would like to pay tribute to Tony Pexton and his wife Liz for their commitment and hard work last year, which has ensured the Club remains in good heart both in London and across the country. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible during 2008, be it at the Club or one of the events I will be attending as part of the annual programme, full details of which will, as usual, appear in the Journal. We will be starting off with a St David’s Day Dinner, to be held in the Club on 29 February, followed by a lunch to celebrate St George’s Day on 23 April, in The Painters’ Hall. I hope that some of you will be able to join the two-day visit which I have organised to Wiltshire on 7 - 8 May. This will provide an opportunity to visit the magnificent Bowood Estate and two leading farms in the county.

Grieve retiring Members will be aware that Grieve Carson is due to retire as our Chief Executive and Secretary at the end of March, after almost 13 years of loyal service.

I am sure that members would, as a mark of personal esteem for Grieve, like to donate to a presentation. You will therefore find a flier in this issue of the Journal explaining how you can take part in the collection if you so wish.

Welcome, Stephen I have great pleasure in announcing the appointment of Grieve’s successor, Stephen Skinner, who was selected from a very strong field of applicants which was very encouraging for those of us involved in the interview process. Stephen has recently retired from the Royal Air Force as an Air Commodore, after a distinguished career. He served as the Station Commander at RAF Kinloss for two years until 2004, since when he has held various senior posts within the Ministry of Defence and NATO. He lives in Oxfordshire and will take up his new post at the beginning of March. There will be an interview with Stephen in the Summer issue of the Journal to coincide with the start of the show season, when, hopefully, many of you will have an opportunity to meet him. I would like to express my thanks to Mark Hudson, who, in his capacity as Chairman of the Trustees, has masterminded the selection process over the past 12 months.

Committee members While on the subject of announcements, I should like to welcome the six members who have recently been elected or re-elected to serve on the Club Committee - Nicki Quayle, Jimmy McLean, Charles Notcutt, The Rev’d Dr Gordon Gatward, David Richardson and John Wilson - and to thank those who were unsuccessful. Also to

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008 • www.thefarmersclub.com

thank Tony Strawson and Gerald Osborne, who are standing down from the Committee, for their hard work and support in recent years.

Personal profile For those of you who don’t know me, I practice as a Rural Chartered Surveyor and Director of Adkin Rural & Commercial, based in Oxfordshire, from where I travel across the country undertaking a wide variety of work for my clients from the West Country to Northern Ireland. This includes estate and farm management, strategic planning, diversification projects, rural asset management, taxation advice and property acquisitions. The focus of my work can be summed up as being all about people and property. The people vary from major land owners to elderly tenants who have lived in the same cottage for the past 50 years. As for the properties, I can find myself considering the options for the re-use of a farm building or delivering an estate master plan setting out the direction for the business concerned over the next ten years.

comment, as no one could have predicted what happened during 2007, but there are a number of factors which farmers, landowners and their advisers need to take into account as we look towards 2008 and beyond. These include the fact that we are experiencing different climate conditions and improved commodity prices in some sectors, with quite the reverse in others. However, across the board, costs are rising, regulation in many forms continues to increase and the problems associated with bluetongue, avian flu and TB remain. On the positive side, there is far greater interest in many of the issues associated with food production, including sourcing, quality, traceability and security. The industry needs to capture this awareness, which will, hopefully, lead to profitability across the board. Part of this process must be to embrace the Year of Food of Farming, which is now well

underway as those involved seek to make our consumers of the future aware of the industry which produces their food and manages the countryside. At the same time, we need to press the Government to increase, rather than to cut, funding for research and development, which is more critical than ever for the reasons I have highlighted. The implications of the new NVZ Regulations, the CAP Health Check, the Cabinet Office food industry review, the future costs associated with animal disease and the changes in tax legislation will all need to be addressed in the coming months. No doubt the Club will continue to provide a variety of forums in which these and many other matters can be debated. I am looking forward to my year as Chairman and with your help and support I can hopefully ensure that the Club continues to thrive.

One thing is for certain… every day is different and equally challenging. I have the privilege of holding a number of other positions in the farming industry, including Chairman of the 2008 Oxford Farming Conference, which, by the time you read this article, will hopefully have been enjoyed by those members who attended the event. I am also Deputy Chairman of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, which continues to provide much needed support to the farming community including those affected by flooding and animal disease over the past six months; a Trustee of the Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group and a Governor of the Royal Agricultural College.

Looking ahead Following a year in which the weather, animal disease and volatile market conditions have had a major impact on all sectors of the agricultural industry, what does the future hold? I hardly dare

New Club Chief Executive and Secretary Incoming Club Chief Executive and Secretary Air Commodore Stephen Skinner (left) is welcomed to Whitehall Court, on confirmation of his appointment, by Chairman of Trustees Mark Hudson. Stephen will work alongside retiring Secretary Grieve Carson in March and take over officially when Grieve leaves on the 28th of the month.

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008

HOUSE OF LORDS LUNCH • Don Gomery

Club member Professor Dianna Bowles - Weston Chair of Biochemistry at the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, University of York - was guest speaker at a Farmers Club lunch at the House of Lords in late November. Journal Editor Don Gomery reports on the thought-provoking bio-based future predicted by this most eminent of plant scientists.

Out of the oil economy… and into the bio economy attributes they may have. It will open up a huge, very exciting future for the agricultural industry.”

maybe about it. It’s the major issue, and the issue offers tremendous opportunities to the agricultural industry. “We all know the drivers for this… the need for sustainable development; climate change and the effects this will have on the environment; dwindling fossil reserves and the consequent soaring costs of fossil fuels; an increasing world population with changing demands.”

Current lifestyle

Professor Bowles, as well as being a plant scientist for some 40 years, lives in the Yorkshire hills of Upper Nidderdale, keeps Herdwick sheep and founded Heritage Genebank during the foot and mouth disease epidemic of 2001 to help sheep breeds under threat of extinction. She expressed the view that the combination of the sun’s energy and green plants was a resource that would continue to support life on earth as it had for millions of years .

“The Industrial Revolution has enabled us to have our current lifestyle, but in a large part it has been based on carbon, be it oil, gas or coal. It has taken us about 200 years to use up most of that carbon, which took 200 million years to form.

“While we have that resource, we’re in pretty good shape,” she said. “Whether we look at the organisms in the sea that can use sunlight, look at the forests, or look at the crops we grow, while we have sunlight we have an exciting future ahead.”

THE HEADING to this article was the subject Professor Dianna Bowles was asked to speak about by 2007 Club Chairman Tony Pexton to the almost 100 Club members attending a House of Lords lunch in late November, hosted by Baroness Hazel Byford. In introducing Professor Bowles, he described her as having “a lifetime’s experience in biochemistry, which is hugely important to us all, as farmers and as processors beyond the farm gate.

“All of a sudden we are going to have to start using current, rather than ancient sunshine, working on plants, to provide our energy needs. “Professor Bowles and her team at York are leaders in looking into plants to see what useful, but as yet largely untapped,

Major issue The subject of her talk - ‘Out of the oil economy into the bio economy’ - would be an important but very necessary transition. We had all to be aware that “this is what is going to happen; there’s no perhaps or

There was an opportunity to use the sun’s energy direct, in the form of concentrated solar power, but in terms of biofuels and liquid transport fuels, green plants had a paramount part to play. “My message to you today is that sunlight and photosynthesis - the way plants can capture and use sunlight - will mean an increasing reliance of the global econonmy on agricultural feedstocks, processed through biorefineries. Biorefineries, rather than oil refineries, will provide our future chemical, material and fuel needs.” Major topics that came into the discussion were climate change, land availability and agricultural productivity, and their effects on a global farming industry that

Professor Dianna Bowles

increasingly would have to provide food, animal feed, fuel and chemicals. “The demand for productive land is going to increase massively right across the world,” Professor Bowles said, “and must be considered within the context of shortages of key resources such as water. So if we’re looking at the increasing use of agricultural feedstocks for all of our needs, from fuel and chemicals through to food, it’s absolutely crucial as a country that, going forwards, we get our priorities and policies right and make informed decisions. “This will help to ensure we can protect the security and quality of the food chain, while also realising the potential of the plant production system for other uses, such as chemicals and fuel. “So land use decisions, as they’re called, are really crucial, both to the developed and the developing world. Initially, for example, highly productive land in the developing

Tony Pexton welcoming members to the House of Lords Lunch

world will be used for biofuels, but increasingly we must look for crops that can still produce good yields when grown on marginal land. “It is essential for us to think about sustainable production and use of agricultural feedstocks and to do that within a much wider holistic framework than is happening currently worldwide.” Professor Bowles went on to talk about the “immense power of the plant production system”, and how plants had evolved over millions of years to maximise available opportunities and minimise risks from threats such as cold, heat, drought and being eaten. The evolution of these adaptive responses had led to the production of a huge variety of chemicals with all sorts of functions to help the plant survive. “While we are already using some of these, such as for food, clothing and medicines,

we’ve got to realise the full potential of all of these products made by plants. Breaking up plant cell walls – lignocellulose - to release sugars for biofuel production in fermenters can be done, but we should realise that plants offer far more than just materials to break up or burn.”

Living organisms There had to be an increasing awareness, too, about the possible potential for feedstock production from new non-food crops, as well as the options available to us from living organisms in the marine environment, with access to plankton and the like. Also, there was great scope for using vegetable and other green waste to produce biofuels. “These are the alternative ways of thinking that will need to filter through into policy in coming years,” Professor Bowles said, before going on to explain how cows and termites were able to use micro-organisms

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THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008 • www.thefarmersclub.com

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008

HOUSE OF LORDS LUNCH • Don Gomery

TAX CHECKLIST • Susan Shaw

in their guts to “open up” plant cell walls, without the need for steam, pressure or other such external energy sources.

arise, at whatever step in the supply chain, or real progress will be limited”, Professor Bowles warned.

“We can learn a lot from nature,” she added. “We’re surrounded by nature, and we’re surrounded by problems that nature has solved over millions of years.

“Good communication is essential. You can accumulate as much scientific evidence as you like, spend millions on R&D, but it will never translate into utility unless people can understand what you’re talking about.

“If we can understand how nature solves these problems, we have a real way into realising the full potential of the plant production system to drive the bio economy. And we will have a real opportunity for developing new bio-based products with a complexity and utility beyond simply their use as biofuels. “This is where I think the whole issue of bio-refining is extremely exciting, with the potential to provide us with multiple products from our agricultural feedstocks. But in order to make this work in a sustainable way, we will have to start thinking about using marginal land and about crops capable of growing with reasonable yields from low inputs.” The bio economy meant much more than bio energy. Through a world-class sciencebase working with the growers and users of agricultural feedstocks to maximise opportunities, the UK could very successfully over the next 10 - 20 years develop a system where its land and sunlight was developing food, feed, chemicals, materials and fuel. This success though, would need integrated supply chains and real communication and collaboration along those chains from research to end-use. “You’ve got to have the growers of the feedstocks - the farmers - working hand-inhand with the users of those feedstocks, and research has to solve problems as they

“In terms of sustainable development, you have to consider agricultural productivity on a global basis, as agricultural commodities are global. One must remember this when thinking about productivity for sustainable development, when thinking about water availability, population dynamics, natural resources and food security.”

Genetic resources Professor Bowles then changed tack to talk about her concerns for the livestock industry, given its place also in the bio economy. Through keeping Herdwicks for some 20 years and setting up Heritage Gene Bank and The Sheep Trust, she had become increasingly aware of the importance of genetic resources of farm animals. One livestock breed each month had become extinct over the past seven years, she said, with a recent FAO report highlighting Europe as a major danger zone for loss of resources, and traditional regional breeds as particularly high-risk. “I feel tremendously optimistic about the future of the arable sector. In one sense, all you have to do is grow agricultural feedstocks in a sustainable way and rely on the sun’s energy. For the livestock industry, I do not have that optimism, particularly in the UK, and I am really concerned about

With the tax year-end of 5 April approaching, Club member Susan Shaw, tax director and head of agriculture at accountants and investment management group Smith & Williamson, outlines a number of planning points for farmers to consider.

Your personal tax checklist prior to new year coming in Tony Pexton

the increasing risks on all fronts to our invaluable farm animal genetic resources. “To conclude, I think we have an extraordinary opportunity waiting for us in the bio economy. What we must do is respect the potential of living organisms and the benefits they offer. If we work with all the resources we have to hand, whether they’re plants or animals, we will have a very, very successful future. “But we have to think about sustainability, we have to think about using R&D to solve problems, and we have to think about how to raise the awareness of policy makers to prioritise on a sound evidence-base.” As Tony Pexton said in his summing up of her talk, “Dianna Bowles is one of those scientists who not only knows what she’s talking about, but she also has the great gift of being able to put it over in a way her audience understands”. The loud and prolonged applause showed the extent to which this Farmers Club audience agreed.

THE RECENT Pre-Budget Report proposed significant capital gains tax (CGT) changes from 6 April 2008. These were discussed in detail in the Autumn issue of The Farmers Club Journal and include: • A flat rate of 18% on all gains. • Abolishing taper relief. • Withdrawing indexation allowance (applicable to assets owned prior to April 1998).

General CGT planning • Look at utilising the annual CGT exemption (£9,200 for 2007/08). But remember that it is not possible to ‘bed and breakfast’ investments unless the repurchase is more than 30 days later. • If your spouse has unused capital losses or annual exemption, consider unconditionally transferring shares with in-built gains to him/her prior to a disposal. • Deferring disposals until after 5 April will defer the tax payment by a year. Note, however, that the tax rate for the next tax year may be higher. • Review investments to see if any are now of negligible value. If appropriate, a capital loss can be claimed to reduce current year gains. • Where subscribed shares in unquoted companies have become of negligible value, it may be possible to set the loss against income rather than gains. • For property purchases and share transfers (especially where the shares are in a property company) try to complete contracts before the Budget to avoid potential stamp duty increases. You will need to consider the stamp duty saving against the CGT position.

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THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008 • www.thefarmersclub.com

another individual who pays less tax. Review structures and arrangements in place for partnerships and ‘family’ companies.

Pensions • What are your current funding and investment strategies? • Where do you stand compared to the lifetime allowance on the value of funds (£1.6m in 2007/08)? • Make full use of the current year pension relief by 5 April 2008 (relief available for contributions of up to £3,600 or, if more, equal to 100% of earnings up to £225,000 in 2007/08). • Consider the opportunity to double up maximum premiums in one tax year. • Use stakeholder payments for nonearning spouses and children.

Investments/savings • Consider the use of tax-free investments through ISAs, National Savings, etc. • Use the annual £7,000 maximum ISA subscription. • Consider funding a cash-only ISA (maximum £3,000 for 2007/08) for children/grandchildren aged 16 to 18. • Consider a transfer of investments to your spouse, or hold them jointly, to use both personal allowances and lower tax bands.

Tax shelters Enterprise Investment Schemes (EISs) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) provide tax shelter/deferral benefits. Investments in them can enjoy income tax relief (VCT at 30% and EIS 20%) plus CGT deferral for EIS investments.

• Separate gifts of up to £250 can be made to any number of individuals in a tax year. • Consider lifetime gifts to mitigate IHT on death. Remember that business assets and agricultural property could enjoy up to 100% relief from IHT. • Life assurance should be written in trust to mitigate IHT exposure.

Review family trusts • Trustees of ‘accumulation and maintenance’ trusts need to decide before April 2008 when beneficiaries should become entitled to assets outright if they wish to retain the beneficial IHT status of such trusts. • Net gains in settlor-interested trusts are taxed on the settlor, with no separate annual CGT exemption and no CGT holdover relief available on transfers into these trusts.

Charitable giving • Consider making Gift Aid payments to charities before 6 April 2008. • Provide your charities with Gift Aid declarations to ensure ad hoc gifts get tax relief. • Giving charities quoted shares, quoted loan notes or units in authorised unit trusts rather than cash may be more tax efficient. Alternatively, sell shares to charities at less than market value. • Gifts of land, freehold and leasehold interests can also qualify for tax relief.

Child Trust Fund • If you have received a voucher, use it before the deadline, otherwise the Government will manage the funds.

Small businesses

Wealth protection and general IHT planning

• Income within a Child Trust Fund (CTF) account is tax exempt, so consider topping it up to the full £1,200.

New rules will come into effect on 6 April 2008 preventing ‘income shifting’ from an individual who can control the distribution of income via a company or a partnership to

• Consider gifts to utilise the annual IHT exemption of £3,000. If none of the £3,000 exemption was used in 2006/07, the IHT exemption for 2007/08 is £6,000.

• Susan Shaw can be contacted at Smith & Williamson by calling 01722 411881 or emailing susan.shaw@smith.williamson.co.uk

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION • Don Gomery

Andrew Densham is the new Chairman of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution. He and Chief Executive Paul Burrows tell Journal Editor Don Gomery how they see this most highly-respected of charities being of even more help to farmers and farming families in the future.

Ready to steer RABI into an even more beneficial future “services to agriculture” in 2000 and became a Trustee of RABI in 2003. Joining Andrew at the head of RABI are joint Deputy Chairmen Bob Forster - past NFU regional director for the West Midlands - and Julian Sayers - Chartered Surveyor, Director of Adkin Rural & Commercial, and 2008 Chairman of both The Farmers Club and the Oxford Farming Conference - who will be responsible for the north and south of England and Wales, respectively.

Andrew Densham

Paul Burrows

ANDREW DENSHAM was elected Chairman of national farming charity RABI - The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution - at the beginning of September 2007.

support was very high. This year, as there were so few outbreaks and they were contained in one small area of the country, there was not the same public sympathy swell.”

He succeeded Rosemary Nash, who for four years had steered the charity from strength-to-strength, during a time which saw increasing pressure put on farming incomes due to poor commodity prices, as well as pressures brought by floods, footand-mouth and, later, bluetongue disease.

He and Paul Burrows see their main task as well as that of the trustees and full- and part-time staff - as maintaining income at a level which will enable RABI to be of maximum help to those in need in the farming community.

Both Andrew and RABI Chief Executive Paul Burrows admit that one of the charity’s biggest difficulties - though perfectly understandable - is dealing with the mercurial fluctuation in donations from the general public, in particular. “Disease outbreaks, such as foot-andmouth, will bring calls for financial help from those affected,” says Andrew. “But they can also bring an influx of donations from a sympathetic public. “However, public sympathy doesn’t last, and it’s not long before it has shifted elsewhere and donations to the likes of RABI become just a trickle. Meanwhile, though, our payments to affected farmers remain at a high level. “This was particularly true during the 2001 FMD outbreak, when public feeling and 8

“RABI is not that well known,” Andrew says, “particularly outside of farming itself. One main job of our 52 voluntary committees, seven full-time field officers and 12 regional welfare officers is to spread the word… and this is working. “We commissioned a DVD sponsored by Norfork Bacon Producers Association this year, explaining what RABI does, to help get our message across.” An agricultural lawyer by background, Andrew Densham was a senior partner of Burgess Salmon, Bristol, until his retirement in 2003. He is a past member of the Law Society’s Land and Conveyancing Committee, author of Scammell & Densham’s Law of Agricultural Holdings and a contributor to Halsbury’s Laws of England on the subject of agricultural holdings. He was awarded the CBE for

Chief Executive Paul Burrows was an agricultural manager with NatWest Bank, leaving in 2002 to do barn conversions, and then meeting Rosemary Nash who persuaded him to join RABI as Regional Officer for the South-West. He became Chief Executive in January 2006. “We have a good business and geographic spread of Trustees at RABI, who, along with all the officers, work very hard on behalf of the charity,” says Andrew. “We all bring different skills, with me fitting in as an ex-lawyer and land manager. “Rosemary Nash had colossal commitment and tremendous PR skills, as well as being exceptionally popular. My time will be better spent on the land side, and in tackling such legal things as the need to rewrite the RABI Royal Charter. “Heading us still, as President, after some 17 years, is that master of politics and public relations, the ever-popular Lord Plumb. “Between all of us, our role is to use our individual skills to best advantage in ensuring that RABI is able to generate sufficient income and come forward with the means necessary to enable it to be of maximum benefit to farmers and farming families, both now and in the future.” The year 2007 was a bad one for livestock farmers in particular, with floods, foot-andmouth, bluetongue and avian flu, plus the threat of high winter feed prices, combining to put many under severe

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008 • www.thefarmersclub.com

financial pressure. Small surprise, then, that the number of calls to the RABI helpline was some ten times higher in the second half of the year than it had been in the first six months. By late November, RABI had paid out more than £700,000 in grants to 380-plus farming families facing severe financial hardship, particularly in the predominantly livestock upland areas of the country. It was expected that this sum could well exceed £1 million by the year end. “Obviously, we can’t expect the hard-hit farming industry alone to come up with the donations necessary to meet this sort of expenditure,” says Paul Burrows. “Consequently, what we would like is more corporate support, such as that which we receive from companies like Dairy Crest.” One very positive occasion was the strengthening in summer 2007 of the Farming Help Partnership, between RABI, Farm Crisis Network and the ARCAddington Fund. This has attracted individual donations of £100,000 from both HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Westminster, with HRH persuading several leading food producers and retailers to increase his donation to more than £600,000.

those skills into other income-generating ventures beyond the farm. Examples include using the skills obtained as a tractor driver, say, to get an HGV licence; machinery servicing skills to become a motor mechanic; farm accountancy skills to become a bookkeeper; or cooking skills to enable a move into catering… to name but a few. The Gateway Project has been run as a pilot scheme in the RABI central region and is being launched nationally this year. Thanks to support from Barclays Community Relations, which has invested £26,350 in the development and first year running costs of the project, all of the funding provided by RABI will go directly in grants to assist those in need of help. “People who work on the land have a vast range of skills that they could use to generate an income from outside of farming,” explains Andrew Densham. “Very often, though, a lack of money prevents them from gaining the

qualifications needed to take their skills to a wider market and achieve a more stable financial future. “The RABI Gateway Project will enable them to do just that. An individual could be a plumber, say, during the day, enabling him to earn the extra money needed to support his family. There’s the added bonus that, if things look up for farming, he could always give up the other job. “RABI staff are only a phone call away and are happy to discuss, informally and confidentially, whether an application is likely to fit the required criteria. For low income farming families, there’s nothing to lose and much to gain by giving us a call.” • For further information about the work of RABI - or to volunteer to be of help or to request help - write to RABI, Shaw House, 27 West Way, Oxford OX2 0QH, email info@rabi.org.uk or visit www.rabi.org.uk To discuss the RABI Gateway Project, call 01865 727888.

In addition, Defra Secretary of State Hilary Benn announced that up to £1 million would be made available to the charities to help farmers hit by financial crisis, while Farmers Weekly launched an appeal in October on behalf of Farming Help. “Beyond this, what we’re striving to achieve is to make everyone out there aware of the existence and on-going need of farming charities, such as RABI, so that those willing to contribute to worthwhile causes will take us into consideration also,” says Andrew Densham. Both he and Paul Burrows are very aware that raising funds is only half of RABI’s task and that the fair and sensible distribution of help is at least as equally important. “We recognise that there’s little point in propping up a failing farm business,” Andrew says. “The debt could be there again - even bigger, perhaps - the following year. “Consequently, we are constantly looking at other ways to be of help.” One such is the RABI Gateway Project, a funding scheme that aims to unlock the potential of farming families on low incomes. By providing them with the support to build on their skills and acquire formal qualifications, they can transfer www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008

WORLD JERSEY CONFERENCE • Roger Trewhella

Following the article by Henry Lewis in the Winter 2007 Journal about the efforts of British Livestock Genetics to sell UK genetics abroad, Club member Roger Trewhella looks at the reverse side of the coin… bringing potential customers to the UK. He focuses here on the role of the forthcoming World Jersey Bureau Conference in helping achieve this.

Island set to host conference for world’s Jersey breeders

A breakfast debate, on the opportunities for Jersey milk and products, will kick-off the pre-conference programme, where love/hate figure, Professor Sean Rickard, will despatch any jetlag in quick-fire time. One thing is certain… no-one will leave the breakfast indifferent to the views of Professor Rickard, and we look to him to set the tone for robust debate throughout the tour. Emotions will run high, no doubt, as other topics - such as the use of DNA genotyping in breeding policies - feature in the conference programme. Such developments add to the knowledge and skill of breeders… and it is an important objective of the Jersey Cattle Society of the UK that breeders should have as much information as possible about their stock and the breed. During the Conference period on the Island, the inaugural Jersey Cheese Show will be staged, where up to 200 cheeses from around the world, made exclusively from Jersey milk, will be judged. This is a significant development for the WJCB. Consumer assessment of product quality is higher where Jersey milk has been included.

Our Government’s BCMS records show that there were more than 85,000 Jersey animals in Great Britain in 2006 - an increase of eight percent since 2003 - and demand for the breed is not slowing, either at home or from overseas inquiries. Middle Eastern countries, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine, all wish to import breeding stock from the UK, while the US and Central American farmers have already imported semen from Island bulls as a source of out-cross genetics. We look forward to welcoming breeders and officials from these countries, as well as those with established Jersey numbers, such as Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and South Africa.

beyond the official proceedings. For host nation breeders, such a result is just reward for the years of planning and all the effort put in to clipping and washing stock, grouping them by family, editing of herd performance brochures and a million and one other points of detail which places an elite pedigree breeder above the rest of the herd. • For an application form to attend the WJB Conference, call 01534 629800. Alternatively, a copy can be downloaded from www.worldjerseycattle.com

While visitors cannot see every herd in the host countries, it as an important principle that they can at least view stock from any breeder who wishes to display. To that end, a Jersey Show will be held within the Devon County Show, where Brian Sayles, leading Canadian breeder of Bridon Jerseys and Holsteins, has been invited to judge the inter-breed competitions. At Jersey conferences, sleep is for the fainthearted, with many a good deal brokered as the hospitality flows, well

Young breeders are the focus of the visits in England. The Hillside herd of the Harrison family, in the Yorkshire Dales, is one example.

The island of Jersey will host the World Jersey Cattle Bureau Conference in May.

THE ISLAND of Jersey plays host to the 18th World Jersey Bureau Conference between the 18 and 25 May, with a preconference visit to mainland Britain and a post-conference tour to France as optional add-ons for delegates. A combination of staging the event at the home of the breed, heady demand for Jersey cattle in many countries of the world, and much improved dairy commodity prices, makes for an explosive cocktail, with a large gathering anticipated by the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society. Such events combine business with pleasure, visiting leading herds in the host countries, meetings to debate technical and industry specific issues, and the opportunity to take in the sights and culture of a country as well as meet old friends and strike-up new acquaintances. They provide an opportunity for others in the industry to access customers, too, and sponsorship packages from multi-nationals help make the event that little bit extra special. Merial, for example, is a principal sponsor of the pre-conference leg, and the 10

company’s Igenity investment in genome research is compatible with a major theme of the conference. Conference venues are agreed several years in advance, with New Zealand already booked for the WJCB in 2011; bids for 2014 will be settled in Jersey. The last conference in the UK was in 1992, and with the increase in the number of countries farming Jersey cattle - it is likely to be longer before the next triennial event returns. Consequently, this is an important and prestigious opportunity for the host breeders, many of whom will plan their breeding programme at least three years in advance, so that the herd is at ‘12 o’clock’ during the tour.

World attraction Elite pedigree herds, even in the dairy sector, raise more annual income from sales of their genetics – breeding females, sires, embryos and semen – than from sales of milk or meat. Recent increases in breeding female values suggest that even the improved milk price will not change

this fact in herds at the pinnacle of the breed. Jersey breeders visiting England always want to view the ‘Windsor’ herd of HM The Queen. The first foundation cow was recorded in the Windsor herd in 1871, although there were some Jerseys on the estate before that. The current herd of 240 cows includes the ‘Pretty Polly’ family which can be traced back to the reign of Queen Victoria. No female bloodlines from this family have ever been sold out of the herd; nowadays embryo transfer technology means that fertilised eggs can be frozen and stored, indefinitely, as a method of preserving such families. While at Windsor, the party will see the farm shop, which is a supreme example of high quality marketing. And milk marketing is an important global issue for Jersey breeders. In the UK, the Jersey Cattle Society’s goal is to position Jerseys as the ‘Waitrose of dairy breeds,’ a move which is being assisted by the Milk Development Council’s ‘Taste of Goodness’ campaign.

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008 • www.thefarmersclub.com

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008

ST ANDREW’S DAY LUNCH • Don Gomery

Fascinating history lessons at Club’s inaugural St Andrew’s Day Lunch bell from HM Yacht Britannia, by Club Deputy Secretary Robert Buckolt, summoning all to lunch in the magnificent Library; the leading in of the ‘Top Table’ by now well-known Piper Michael Coutts; Grace by long-time member Robert Bruce; and a delicious lunch of Scottish smoked salmon, fillet of Aberdeen Angus beef, and pears poached in lavender, washed down with the best of wines; it was time for Chairman Tony Pexton to introduce the Guest Speaker… The Rt Hon the Countess of Mar, holder of the premier Earldom of Scotland, the oldest peerage in the realm. And what a fantastic history she had to tell, both about Scotland’s Patron Saint and her own ancestry. Space here, alas, leaves room for only a scant outline of this absorbing talk. “Andrew,” she told us, “is believed to be, with John, the first of Jesus’ disciples. Perhaps disappointingly for us, he was neither a farmer nor a golfer, but the next best thing… he and his brother, Simon Peter, were fishermen.

Piper Michael Coutts and the Court Room ceiling

HOW FITTING that the first ever St Andrew’s Day Lunch to be held by The Farmers Club should have, as its venue, that most majestic and historic of buildings, Trinity House. Set within the boundaries of the City and overlooked by the Tower of London, this is the headquarters of the Trinity House Corporation, responsible for protecting and guiding shipping from all nations safely to our shores. Here, a permitted maximum of 120 Club members and their guests were hosted by Chairman Tony Pexton and his wife Liz to a most glittering of occasions, that will, surely, set the standard for Saint Day celebrations to come. Many took advantage of the invitation to start at 11am with a look around this magnificent building, before gathering for drinks in the Court Room at noon and hearing a potted, frequently amusing, history of Trinity House from its Manager, Edgar King. A young Henry VIII, we learned, had granted a Charitable Guild of Mariners, 12

later to be known as The Corporation of Trinity House, with authority to regulate pilotage on the River Thames. Elizabeth I extended these powers to include buoyage and beaconage along the length of the English coastline… and thus it remains to this day, with Trinity House the General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar, maintaining 71 lighthouses, nine light vessels and more than 500 aids to navigation.

“He features in all the gospels and is attributed to leading people to Jesus. It was Andrew who found the lad with the loaves and fishes for the feeding of the 5,000. “After the crucifixion, he became a missionary, travelling in Asia Minor, Greece, and probably going as far as modern Russia and Poland. While in Greece, during the reign of Nero, the Roman Governor Aegeas took against him and ordered him to be crucified.

Countess Mar was guest speaker

Robert Bruce said Grace

Tony Pexton welcomed members

“Unlike Jesus, who was nailed to a vertical cross, poor Andrew was tied to an X-shaped cross, to prolong his suffering, dying three days later. Beyond these snippets, we know very little about him.”

promoting St Andrew’s choice of Scotland, the Scots acquired a top-rank Patron Saint and a separate identity from England, as well as a date for the supposed foundation of the Scottish Church, predating the conversion of England and Ireland.”

Andrew,” Countess Mar said. “Following Bruce’s victory at Bannockburn in 1314, the declaration of Arbroath officially named St Andrew as the Patron Saint of Scotland, the Saltire becoming the Scots’ national flag in 1385.”

Turning to her own family history, Countess Mar said that her predecessor, Gartney, the 8th Earl of Mar, was brotherin-law to Robert Bruce in two directions, having married Bruce’s sister, Christian, and Bruce marrying Gartney’s sister, Isabel, both ladies later becoming prisoners of England’s Edward I and suspended in a metal cage against the walls of the Tower of London.

Countess Mar went on to list the many other things of which Andrew is patron saint, including anglers, fish dealers, fishmongers, spinsters, maidens, old maids, gout sufferers, singers and sore throats.

Countess Mar went on to give two legendary propositions about how Andrew came to be the Patron Saint of Scotland, both involving a few of his bones falling into the hands of the Pictish King Hungus, or Angus, in the 7th or 8th century. Some time later, Angus, faced by a huge invading army, prayed for guidance, saw a white saltire cross in the sky, won a decisive victory and, in consequence, decreed that Andrew would be Patron Saint of his country. “Documents in the National Archives of Scotland show how spin served to authenticate the apostle Andrew as Scotland’s Patron saint,” she said. “By

Gartney and Christian’s son, Donald, the 9th Earl of Mar, was held prisoner in Bristol as a boy from 1305 and not released until after the Battle of Bannockburn.

“He was noted for his generosity and warmth, and for his ability to bring people together… just like my home-from-home, The Farmers Club. So, please, on this St Andrew’s Day, be upstanding and raise your glasses to the memory of St Andrew and The Farmers Club.”

“This is where we come back to St

All present most proudly did so.

Trinity House, the building, has had a somewhat complex history, starting life in Deptford, and then at Ratcliff and Stepney, in the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1660, it moved to Water Lane, off Eastcheap, only to be destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and subsequently rebuilt, before being destroyed again by fire in 1715. It moved to its present site in 1795, was partly destroyed by enemy action in 1940 and rebuilt in 1953. As though all of this wasn’t fascinating history enough, there was yet more to come. Following the ringing of the ship’s THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008 • www.thefarmersclub.com

Edgar King (right) gave a history of Trinity House www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008

Top Table 13

HAZARDOUS RURAL LAND ACTIVITIES • Carrie de Silva

Beware risks involved in running rural activities that could be classified as ‘potentially dangerous’ Carrie de Silva, Senior Lecturer in Law and Taxation at Harper Adams University College, used a Farmers Club Charitable Trust bursary to study the liability towards visitors of those engaged in potentially hazardous rural land activities here and in the United States, with particular reference to the effects on commercial land use and farm diversification. Here is a précis of her report. I WAS prompted to apply for a Farmers Club study bursary to delve deeper into the law of occupiers’ liability in this country, and to compare the development and operation of such law in a comparable legal system in the USA, due to a number of events which had lead to the increasing concern of land owners and occupiers about their potential level of liability. These included the implementation of the so called ‘right to roam’ legislation in 2000 (the Countryside and Rights of Way Act), some significant cases making it to the House of Lords… operating favourably for land owners in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 case of Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council [2003] and unfavourably in the Animals Act 1971 case of Mirvahedy v Henley [2003]. In the light of general concern I particularly wanted to see if the existing law, and the level of liability it ascribed, operated to the detriment of land use and any diversification plans. The US was the comparable of choice, because it is a common law jurisdiction with a parallel system of negligence, occupiers’ liability and liability for things brought to and kept on land, be that livestock or other potential hazards. In addition, the US has, in certain areas, a comparable rural economy, where family farms are seeking to diversify, as income solely from agriculture is no long sufficient.

confinements) many modest land holdings with acreages in the tens and hundreds rather than the thousands, with an average farm size of 355 acres. Bed and breakfast, farm shops, equine businesses and pickyour-own operations (or ‘U pick’ as they call them) are common adjuncts to the traditional farming activities, which in Iowa were referred to as ‘sows, plows and cows’… ie, pig farming, beef, some dairy cattle, and arable (maize or soya).

Tender beef No huge grassland ranges here - instead, small ‘feed lots’, which were maybe quarter acre fenced areas of mud - no grazing and the cattle fed on maize, resulting in incredibly tender beef… although the range farmers of the cowboy country out in Wyoming, Montana and Texas insist midwestern corn-fed cattle lack flavour. In my opening paragraph I mentioned an Animals Act case and the reader may wonder how this fits in to occupiers’ liability. My main concern with this area of law was, as stated above, whether concerns

and the perceived potential liabilities affect the business development plans of farms. Research in this country revealed that a growing area of farm diversification is into equine activities, be that livery, teaching, opening farm rides, pay-as-you-go cross country courses, or equine bed and breakfast. I found this paralleled in the US. My studies, and growing concerns about liability in a number of areas coincided with the fall out from the House of Lords decision in Mirvahedy v Henley. In that case, horses escaped from a field onto the road late at night, causing a serious traffic accident. It was found that the occupiers of the field (who were also, but need not have been, the horse owners) were in no way negligent. They were, however, liable under s2(2)(b) of the Animals Act in that the horses were acting in a way which, while not typical of horses in general, was typical for horses ‘in particular circumstances’… ie, when frightened or spooked, horses may well bolt.

A couple near Sumner in northern rural Iowa who have diversified into a bric-a-brac store and pick-your-own melons.

The earliest experimental crop field in the US at the University of Illinois.

Did this case affect farm diversification plans in this popular and potentially lucrative area? Yes, in that insurance premiums rose dramatically in a direct response. Yes, in that advisers will indicate the potential civil actions which could ensue from both accidents and escapes.

Recreational Use Statutes and/or Equine Liability Statutes. Recreational Use Statutes relate to persons taking part in ‘risk’ sports such as - to quote some of the items given in the statute for New York State - “hunting, fishing, canoeing, boating, trapping, hiking, cross-country skiing, tobogganing, sledding, speleological activities (the study of caves), horseback riding, bicycle riding, hand gliding, motorized vehicle operation for recreational purposes, snowmobile operation, cutting or gathering of wood for non-commercial purposes or the training of dogs”.

Insurers are active in trying to both reduce clients’ exposure to liability by their daily practices (eg, by the use of disclaimer and risk assessment forms) and also in supporting moves for a change in the law.

Equine activities Against the background of concern regarding occupiers’ liabilities with regard to animals (and, indeed, other potentially hazardous activities, such as assault courses), I concentrated my US studies largely, but not exclusively, on occupiers’ liability with regard to animals in general and horses in particular. As said above, equine activities are gaining in popularity in the US and are a popular farm / rural land owner diversification project. It need not be spelled out that the US leads the field in terms of civil litigation, and that negligence actions abound for injuries sustained while riding, coming into contact with farm animals and otherwise sustained by visiting members of the public.

Contrary to what may be popular opinion, the US is not solely comprised of huge agribusinesses and enormous land holdings. As part of my study I visited Illinois, Arkansas and Texas, but conducted my main studies in Iowa, centering my academic studies at the Agricultural Law Center of Drake University in Des Moines and the Department of Iowa State University. Iowa, in particular, has (along with the large arable operators and hog

element of negligence. The statutes for each state also have precisely worded disclaimers and signage which are of the nature being adopted by British insurers.

This fear of litigation has certainly been operative in deterring the small, family farmer from certain diversification projects. However, the cycle of on-farm projects and litigation against land occupiers is a couple of decades ahead in the USA, which makes for such a useful comparison. Maize-fed cattle near Des Moines, Iowa. THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008 • www.thefarmersclub.com

The exposure led to the introduction in many, although not all, states of

Different states have different named activities and vary as to whether they relate to persons using the land for a fee. Equine Liability Statutes have an obvious remit and normally encompass virtually all equine activities. Such statutes essentially preclude litigation regarding injuries sustained as a result of the ‘inherent’ risks of the activity. They do not preclude litigation where the defendant is alleged to have been negligent. This has not resulted in the cessation of all court actions, clearly. However, it does give occupiers of land far greater comfort in developing their businesses to use land for ‘adventurous’ sports or equine. For example, if conducting a hack and a horse shies, at a canter, throwing the rider, in this country the business could be faced with an Animals Act issue (a horse shying being normal for horses in ‘particular circumstances’, such as when startled). In the US, an Equine Liability Statute would protect the business, assuming the ride was well run, the horse was correctly matched with the rider’s ability, etc, and there was no

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008

How is this matter developing? Governments, both here and in the US, purport to encourage farm diversification in sustaining rural economies and communities. Very real concerns about additional liabilities which may result from such developments are clearly detrimental to that end. In the US it was seen as an unjustified fetter on business development to ascribe liability in the absence of negligence for activities which do hold some very real risks but which persons of sound mind enter at their own volition.

Industry push In the UK, the insurers, with a prudent use of documentation, seek to replicate the recreational use and equine liability statutes of North America, and there is an industry push from both equine interests (such as the British Horse Society), business interests (notably the insurance industry) and rural land and farming groups (such as the Country Land and Business Association) to develop such legislation over here. In the meantime, there is clear evidence, from research conducted, that both insurance costs and the fear of litigation halt, or at least constrain, many diversification projects which involve public access to land and, particularly, potentially hazardous activities such as those involving horses and ponies, but that the USA has legislated a way through this and that, in England and Wales, careful management can help regarding supervised activities, such as rides or adventure sports. None of this will, of course help with escaping animals as seen in Mirvahedy v Henley, where the occupier who chooses to keep animals must, in certain circumstances, bear the risk of damage they may cause. • Carrie de Silva can be contacted at Harper Adams University College by emailing cdesilva@harper-adams.ac.uk or by calling 01952 815304. 15

AGM

LADIES LUNCH • Liz Pexton

The Annual General Meeting The 165th Annual General Meeting, Chaired by Tony Pexton, was held at The Farmers Club on Wednesday 12 December 2007. The following is a summary of the Minutes, full copies of which can be obtained by email from the Secretary. Minutes, Annual Report and the Club Accounts The Minutes of the 164th Annual General Meeting were approved, and the Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 June 2006 were adopted unanimously.

Election of Club Chairman and the Vice-Chairman Julian Sayers and John Reynolds were elected unanimously as Chairman and ViceChairman for 2008. Proposing the election of Julian Sayers, Mark Hudson described him as “a man of huge energy”; a Trustee of RABI, a Trustee of FWAG, a Governor of the Royal Agricultural College, and Chairman of the 2008 Oxford Farming Conference. “Julian is a true professional; a Chartered Surveyor held in high regard by that profession and running his own very successful company.” He also ran marathons at regular intervals, and his wife, Sarah, a recruitment consultant, was most helpful in helping find a successor for Grieve Carson. Peter Jackson seconded the nomination. Replying, Julian Sayers thanked all present for bestowing on him the honour of being made Chairman of the Club. “2008 will be a slightly different year, in that we will start by saying goodbye to Grieve Carson, who is leaving the Club in extremely good hands, with a wonderful team of staff, and in a strong financial position. I shall be very busy in handing over the reins to Stephen Skinner, when he becomes our new Chief Executive in March.

Proposing the election of John Reynolds as Vice-Chairman, Barclay Forrest described him as a leading member of the bio fuel industry. “He is the current Chairman of the North East Bio Fuels Cluster Group, whose reputation in the North goes in front of him.” Roddy Loder-Symonds nomination.

seconded

the

Honorary Treasurer Paul Heygate was re-elected as Honorary Treasurer. Proposing him, Susan Kilpatrick said that “this year’s set of accounts were pretty good, in no small part due to the wonderful team that look after us and of which the Honorary Treasurer is an integral part”. Eric Wilson seconded the nomination, with Paul Heygate replying that he could not have done without his fantastic team.

Committee Members The Chairman announced the re-election of Nicki Quayle and Charles Notcutt, and the election of the Rev Dr Gordon Gatward, Jimmy McLean, David Richardson and John Wilson. “I would like to add my personal thanks for the work the Committees do,” the Chairman said, adding that Teresa Wickham and Stewart Houston would be taking over the chair of the Journal and Communications and the House Committees respectively.

Auditors The Chairman said the Committee recommended the re-appointment of haysmacintyre, which was agreed unanimously.

Any Other Business “My theme for the year will be food and farming. I am sure we can help the education process and show the next generation how food is produced and how farmers manage and look after the countryside.”

Tony Pexton. Julian Sayers thanked Tony Pexton, on behalf of all present, for his Chairmanship of the Club over the past year. “He has been outstanding, leading from the

front and delivering a fantastic programme of events, always superbly supported by Liz.” Grieve Carson. Ken Young recorded the thanks of all to “our very excellent” Chief Executive and Secretary, Grieve Carson. “The Club has moved forward immensely in the past 14 years and this is in no small way due to Grieve’s efforts. His countenance has been marvellous and he has always had a smile on his face, even when under pressure.” Grieve replied saying that “working at the Club has been a wonderful experience and I have loved every minute of it”. “I am sure that Stephen Skinner will do you proud.” Stephen Skinner. Mark Hudson said that, although the name had been mentioned, he wanted to tell the AGM formally that Air Commodore Stephen Skinner, 53, would take over from Grieve Carson as Club Chief Executive and Secretary in March 2008, following a distinguished career in the RAF. “Although Grieve will be a nigh impossible act to follow, I am sure Stephen will be up to it.” He went on to praise Robert Buckolt for the amount of time he had spent showing the seven candidates for the position around the Club during Grieve’s absence on holiday. All had found Robert “extremely helpful” and had been deeply impressed by the Club and the friendliness of its staff.

Thirteenth Ladies Lunch is a most glittering occasion CASUAL observers passing the Cumber Room on 22 November could have been forgiven for blinking twice, for the room had been transformed with a glittering display of flowers, ‘fascinators’ and semiprecious stones. The collection was the work of Annaliitta Stretch who was the guest speaker at the l3th Ladies Lunch for wives of Committee Members and Past Chairmen. This was attended by more than 30 guests. As the group met for a pre-lunch reception, Annaliitta explained a little of how her business - Tsuru Flowers and Accessories had evolved from floristry to providing a personalised wedding service for brides wishing to design their own flower arrangements and jewellery. Don Irwin provided a superb lunch for the occasion;… a delightful salmon starter followed by noisettes of venison with wild mushrooms and quince tart. A threeflavoured chocolate terrine with spiced plums was the outstanding dessert. Annaliitta then spoke about her experiences of setting up a new business in

Annaliitta Stretch was guest speaker.

a rural location… a converted former inn, The Old Plume of Feathers, in Everdon, Northamptonshire. She explained how a background in art and design – she’s a sculptor who somehow managed to fit teaching students with brain injuries into an impressively full workload – had led to her seeing the potential of combining her love of flowers and jewellery into offering brides a personalised wedding service.

Liz Pexton hosted the lunch

Following a Paula Pryke floristry course, she now also hand-makes wedding accessories using Thai silver settings wrought by villagers in Chang Mai working on a government initiative, as well as semiprecious and vintage stones. Annaliitta also finds time to run courses at her base in Everdon, where brides-to-be can create their own tiaras, bridesmaids’ jewellery, and learn how to create their own wedding bouquets and table arrangements.

Club Journal. Roy Walker praised the people who produce the Journal. “It is of particularly high quality and I would like to congratulate the Chairman, the Journal Committee and Editor Don Gomery for all the good work he does in producing it.”

The Forty Club Forty Club Past Secretary Peter Bown, standing in for his Chairman, reiterated “how much the Forty Club treasures the special relationship which exists between our two great clubs, which has gone on for a number of years”.

Liz Pexton (seated centre) with her lady guests on the club balcony 16

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008 • www.thefarmersclub.com

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008

DIVERSIFICATION • Kevin Jay

U30S • Philip Hoare, Chairman; Lizzie Benson, Vice-Chairman; MaryAnne Salisbury, Secretary

Two new key areas for financing conversion of old farm buildings

Chairman’s Jottings… These three events were thoroughly enjoyable for all who attended but, importantly, highlighted the great opportunities available to Under 30s members through The Farmers Club… and long may such events continue.

permission, but the planning authority may apply specific conditions to any permission. Another species that planning authorities must take into account is the Great Crested Newt. Individual newts can move between populations in and around different ponds, and it is therefore necessary to survey not only the development site itself but also the surrounding area. The potential for this species being present can be gauged during an initial Scoping Survey (also known as extended Phase 1).

An 18th Century barn complex with planning permission to be converted into holiday lets in the Arun Valley, West Sussex.

FUNDING for diversification projects has been hard to find since the England Rural Development Plan finished in 2006. However, the new Rural Development Programme for England is gradually taking shape, with two key areas of funding likely to come on line in early 2008: Axis 1. Improving competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sectors. Axis 3. Improving rural quality of life and diversification of the rural economy. For those familiar with the previous system of funding, Axis 1 equates to the Processing and Marketing Grant and the Vocational Training Scheme. Axis 3 covers the funding gap left by the ending of the Rural Enterprise Scheme. Obviously these new funding streams have been tweaked and fiddled slightly, but the general goal posts are still the same. Managed by the Regional Development Agencies, these pots of gold are not to be sniffed at, as anyone who has benefited from funding towards the conversion of an unused farm building to, say, a bottling plant will tell you. These grants can be used to add considerably to a business, whether by diversifying into activities outside agriculture or by adding value to farm products. Successful applications for these grant schemes require well-structured preparation, be it a solid business plan or a planning application. 18

Until recently it has been common practice for planning authorities to grant planning permission with ecological surveys as a condition. However, following recent case law, planning authorities are more likely to request these in advance. Indeed Planning Policy Statement 9 sets out planning policies on protection of biodiversity, and these polices should be taken into account by planning authorities. It is also prudent for a developer to undertake an ecological assessment prior to commencing any development. Should a protected species be unexpectedly encountered during development, works have to be put on hold, leading to costly delays.

If necessary detailed surveys can be carried out to assess population size and devise mitigation measures. These can then be incorporated into the development proposals. Now is an opportune time to consolidate your ideas for that redundant cart shed or pole barn and put the wheels in motion on a diversification project that could add considerably to the critical mass of your business. Complete Land Management, based in East Sussex, manages farms and estates in the south east, specializing in diversification projects and the environmental surveys and reports required by the planning authorities. www.c-l-m.co.uk • Kevin Jay can be contacted at Complete Land Management, Hale Court Farm, Withyham, Hartfield, East Sussex TN7 4DD, by telephoning 01892 770339, or by emailing Kevin@c-l-m.co.uk For more information visit www.c-l-m.co.uk

Various layers of wildlife legislation exist in Britain and these must be taken into consideration when planning any development project. As an example, all bat species and their roosts are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. They are also included in the Habitats Directive.

It’s hard to pick a highlight to our year, as there have been so many, but events that have stood out for me were the Under 30s weekends in Cornwall and Nottinghamshire and, more recently, Peter Kendall, President of the NFU, talking at our Annual Dinner.

The CLM team (from left): Anthony Weston, Matthew Berryman, Sharon Isles, Mark Weaver, Kevin Jay.

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008 • www.thefarmersclub.com

This renewed interest, along with the varied events that we hold, has resulted in increased membership, from which the full age range of 18 to 30-years-old is now well represented. This is a fantastic success, and would not have been achieved without the hard work of my predecessor, Georgina Payne, and the Under 30s Committee as a whole.

I would like to thank the Under 30s committee for all their support throughout my year at Chairman, especially Lizzie Benson, my Vice-Chairman, and MaryAnne Salisbury, the Under 30s’ highly-efficient secretary. Jill Willows’ guidance as the main Club Committee representative has been invaluable, as has that of 2007 Club Chairman Tony Pexton. It has been a huge privilege to have had the opportunity to be Chairman of the Under 30s and I wish Lizzie Benson the best of luck when she takes over the role in February. Philip Hoare

Annual Dinner speakers fill us with enthusiasm for the future THE UNDER 30s Annual Dinner, held at the Farmers and Fletchers Livery Hall, Cloth Street, London (home of the Worshipful Company of Farmers), on the last day of November, was a well attended event, with everyone already in full Christmas party spirit. It was the first time that the Under 30s have held a dinner at the Livery Hall. After a delightful meal of salmon, guinea fowl and chocolate moose, Liverymen Rosie Carne and Jeremy Courtney explained the role of the Worshipful Company of Farmers and its continuing association with the agricultural industry. Our main speaker for the evening, NFU President Peter Kendall, talked of his great optimism for the future of British farming and shared with us some of his experiences of dealing with the personalities and policies at Westminster.

As a result, it is an offence to kill, injure, capture or disturb bats or obstruct access to, damage or destroy bat roosts. If a species that is protected by law - for example the Wildlife and Countryside Act, Badgers Act, or Habitats Directive - is encountered on site then they must be taken into account during the planning process. This does not usually mean that the development will be refused planning

MY YEAR as Chairman of the Under 30s has flown by and I find it hard to believe that I am already writing my final Jottings.

The Under 30s has changed for the better in recent years, with greater attendance at events and a more pro-active membership. Indeed, we have seen nearly half of our members at the various events held in the past 18 months.

With an enthusiastic team running the Under 30s and a busy and exciting diary of events planned for 2008, this is set to continue.

Under 30s members were eager to question Mr Kendall afterwards on topical issues such as set-aside and the importance of the public’s perception of farming. It was fantastic to hear his optimism about the future of the industry, and everyone went away from the evening

enthused about British agriculture and the opportunities that will arise in the future. After dinner, many of the Under 30s headed back to The Farmers Club for drinks in the Bar, our evening ending in the usual way with most people continuing the socialising at Motion nightclub until the early hours.

Peter Kendall

Sadly, Mr Kendall turned down our invitation to join us at the nightclub, with the excuse that he had to appear on GMTV Today early the next morning! Sam Cooper

Future Events

Lizzie Benson, Jane Nixey and Sam Cooper

Friday 4 April Spring Dining Evening Wednesday 16 April Club British Produce Dinner at The Farmers Club Friday 30 May - Sunday 1 June Spring Farm Walk Norfolk

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008

James Badger, Rhydian Scurlock-Jones, Gemma Partridge and John Barker 19

RAMBLINGS • Grieve Carson

Congratulations as members receive deserved recognition CONGRATULATIONS to Professor Wynne Jones, Principal of Harper Adams University College, on being named 2007 winner of The Farmers Club Cup, awarded annually on the recommendation of the Club Chairman and Committee to a person or organisation that has made an outstanding contribution to British agriculture. There could be no more appropriate or more deserving winner than Professor Jones. Wynne joined Harper Adams in 1988 as Vice-Principal and Director of Research, becoming Principal and Chief Executive in 1996. As well as heading a college that employs some 400 people and has a turnover of £23 million, Wynne is involved at senior level with organisations right across the agricultural spectrum, including the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust, Lantra, BASIS, the Dairy Science Forum and the Trehane Trust. Not surprisingly, his hard work and dedication have gained him many honours, ranging from Fellowship of the Royal Agricultural Societies and the Institute of Agricultural Engineering, to an honorary Doctorate of Science from Cranfield University. Our picture shows a surprised Wynne Jones immediately after being presented with the Club Cup by then Chairman Tony Pexton at a House of Lords lunch in late November.

Professor Stansfield ANOTHER academic to be congratulated is well-known Club member Malcolm Stansfield, who has been made a Visiting Professor in the School of Agriculture at the Royal Agricultural College. This, he says, will involve the occasional lecture, advice on curricula and research, and consulting opportunities. Well done, Malcolm. It’s much-deserved recognition of your outstanding contribution to agriculture

Club golf in 2008 IN JANUARY I will be sending out details of the Club’s 2008 fixtures to all members currently registered with us to receive this information. If you are a golfer, and wish to become involved, please do let me know and I’ll be delighted to include you on the distribution list. 20

John Geldard

Don Gomery, ARAgS

Landed estates

SMALL surprise that Cumbrian John Geldard was given a standing ovation when named as Farmer of the Year at the Farmers Weekly Awards 2007 presentation dinner at London’s Grosvenor House. John’s achievements since setting up his Plumgarths hub in 2001 are an inspiration to us in what can be done given the necessary imagination and dedication. His group now supplies more than 100 local hotels and restaurants, 18 ASDA stores and Penrith Center Parcs with high-quality, locally-reared and branded beef and lamb.

JOURNAL Editor Don Gomery, as Honorary Secretary of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists, was invited to represent farming journalism as one of 370 people, mostly members of the media, attending a Service of Thanksgiving held in the presence of Club Patron HM The Queen and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in late November to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Rededication of St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street. The Royal couple had attended the original Rededication of St Bride’s in 1957, after it was bombed in the Second World War.

ANOTHER fascinating book, launched at the Club, is England’s Rural Realms: Landholding and the Agricultural Revolution, by Edward Bujak. Focussing on Suffolk, a county at the forefront of agricultural improvement and, thus, hardest hit by the agricultural depression, this book challenges many previously-held views by demonstrating the durability of the great estate system across the English countryside.

My congratulations go, also, to the several other Club members featuring among the class winners at this prestigious event.

The Guild has held it’s annual Harvest Service at St Bride’s - and what a fantastic Service it is - since the original rededication, organised by Don since becoming Guild Secretary 22 years ago and by his predecessor (and Club member) Peter Bell for the 18 years before that.

David Walker

I was delighted - but not at all surprised - to learn that Don has been made an Associate of the Royal Agricultural Societies. This is a well deserved recognition of an outstanding career in agricultural journalism.

I WAS delighted to hear that Club member David Walker has been presented with the prestigious British Potato Industry Award, given annually to acknowledge the outstanding contribution made by a person to the potato sector. As Founder Chairman of the British Potato Council in 1997, and Chairman for the past 10 years, David previously MD of Cyanamid Agriculture has been a inspirational champion of the potato industry. Our picture shows David Walker receiving the winner’s cup from Club member and past WFU Chairman Janet Godfrey at BPC’s premier event, BP2007, in Harrogate.

Forty Club Big Six SIX Honorary Fellows of the Forty Club had lunch at Whitehall Court in late November. As always, it was a delight to see them. Our association with the Forty Club remains as solid as ever and we greatly value the support their members give to The Farmers Club.

Honorary Fellowship is bestowed on those who, over a period, have given devoted service to the Forty Club. Our picture here shows, from left, David Laudy (past Treasurer), Bob Munn (past Chairman of Cricket), Fred Imms (past Chairman Dinner), Michael Barton (past Executive Chairman), Chris Bazalgette (past Chairman of Cricket) and Peter Bown (past Secretary).

Eventually training as a fixed-wing and helicopter pilot, his wonderful book, Copter Pilot, goes on to describe some of his many adventures in Malaysia, Rhodesia and South Africa, where he again saw active service. Paddy’s life has certainly been action packed and I commend his story to you. ISBN 07041 04156, price £12.95, published by George Mann Books.

That’s not all. Members will also get a 35% discount on the £52.50 cover price. Copies can be obtained from publisher I B Tauris, 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU. Telephone 01207 243 1225.

Special event? WE RECENTLY organised a wedding reception and then a golden wedding dinner in the Club, both of which were hugely successful. If you have a special event coming up, and you are planning a lunch or dinner, why not contact Chris Burden or Lynne Wilson on 0207 925 7100 and see if we can meet your expectations? They would very much like to hear from you.

‘Paddy’ Jones writes his autobiography CLUB member Paddy Jones has recently written a most interesting autobiography. During WWII he was a Deck Officer in the Dutch Merchant Marine, running the gauntlet of U Boats in the North Atlantic, before joining the RAF as a rear gunner in Bomber Command and flying 32 operations.

Many Club members will find a personal connection with this book in terms of their own family history, as well as coming across the names of many famous Club names of yesteryear. As well as recognising familiar names, members will get a thorough understanding of their predecessors’ role in shaping the fortunes of England’s rural land as we know it.

Poppy Appeal I HAVE received a letter from the British Legion thanking the Club for the £316.21 collected for the 2007 Poppy Appeal. My thanks to all who contributed by buying poppies at the Club on behalf of this most worthwhile of causes.

Smithfield Fair I WAS saddened to hear that, due to movement restrictions imposed on livestock as the result of FMD, the Royal Smithfield Club had no option but to cancel its 2007 Christmas Fair. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the RSC and to the Royal Bath & West of England Society, as host of the event. What a terrible year 2007 was for agricultural shows. Let’s hope for a better 2008.

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008 • www.thefarmersclub.com

RASE Annual Lecture

St David’s Day Dinner

The Annual Lecture of the Royal Agricultural Society of England is to return. It will be held on 8 April at the Butchers’ Hall, London, and be given by Norman Bagley, Policy Director for the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) and winner of the RASE National Agricultural Award in 2007. He will speak on the topic of bio-security.

A St David’s Day Dinner will be held at the Club on Friday 29 February at 7 for 7.30pm. Members wishing to apply for this dinner - cost £65 - should contact the secretariat on 0207 930 3751 for an application form

The lecture will be combined with a seminar to be hosted by the Society’s President, Lord Salisbury. Further details will be available from the RASE shortly, as well as at www.rase.org.uk and on the Club notice board. www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008

If necessary, a ballot will take place on Friday 8 February. Members will be limited to one guest. 21

Club Information & Diary Dates

THE FARMERS CLUB

The Secretariat 020 7930 3751

3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL Patron – Her Majesty The Queen

Diary Dates 2008 These diary dates are reviewed for every Journal. Please read them on each occasion, as they are sometimes revised and additional dates included. Details of events circulated in the previous issues are available from the Secretariat at the telephone number shown above.

Club Information 020 7930 3751

THE FARMERS CLUB Over 160 years of service to farming

VICE PRESIDENTS John N Harris OBE MC, Peter Jackson CBE Roddy Loder-Symonds, Sir David Naish DL John Parker THE COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT OF THE CLUB FOR 2008 PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN Julian Sayers TRUSTEES Mark Hudson (Chairman), Barclay Forrest OBE Mrs Susan Kilpatrick OBE, Norman Shaw CBE

Further information is available on The Farmers Club Website: www.thefarmersclub.com

Congratulations go also to the following two members who received awards in the Queen’s New Year Honours List:

To register for the Members’ Area enter your membership number as shown at the top of the address label on your Journal envelope.

MBE

There was an insert in the Autumn 2007 Journal providing full details of the Club facilities and other information for members to retain. Spare copies can be obtained by forwarding a s.a.e. to the Club Secretary.

Timothy Brigstocke Robert Fiddaman

Herefordshire Herefordshire

New Members Details of those accepting our offer of membership following the December election will be given in the next Journal.

Obituaries

Envelopes Sponsorship

It is with regret that we announce the death of the following members:

The Farmers Club would like to thank Monsanto for its kind sponsorship of the Journal envelopes. Monsanto is an agricultural company focused on applying innovation and technology to assist farmers around the world to be more successful. For information about the company, visit www.monsanto.co.uk.

M C Bletsoe J F Brown G W Christie MBE G T Colsell R W Dinnis D N Hill M E Hutchinson P A Kennedy M A Kerr Mrs D H Mills W Patterson A P Pritchard R J Wainwright Mrs J N Waters

Northamptonshire Wiltshire Morayshire Sussex Kent Shropshire Somerset Aberdeenshire Devon Devon Yorkshire Kent Sussex Sussex

Honours and Awards

Dress Code Members are requested to advise their guests of the following: • Gentlemen must wear formal jackets and ties. Polo-neck jerseys, jeans and trainer shoes are not acceptable. (between 1 June to end of September, Gentlemen will not have to wear jackets at breakfast).

The Chairman and Members of the Club congratulate the following member whose name appeared in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and was omitted from the previous list published in the Harvest Journal:

• There is a Club jacket and a selection of ties at Reception which may be borrowed in an emergency.

OBE

• Weekends: smart casual but no jeans, t-shirts, rugby shirts or trainers.

Dr S R Dowbiggin

Hertfordshire

• Ladies should be dressed conventionally. Trousers are permitted but not casual slacks, jeans or trainer shoes.

B & B on Magical Mull Jim and Mary van Heerden invite fellow Club members to their beautiful and comfortable bed-and-breakfast on the magical Isle of Mull. • • • • •

Lovely manse in Craignure, Isle of Mull Stunning sea views, white-tailed sea eagles and otters Breathtaking walks galore (but wet-weather gear advised!) Great pub nearby for evening meals More information at www.linnheview.co.uk

Linnhe View, Craignure, Isle of Mull, Scotland PA65 6AY. Tel: 01680 812007 Email: info@linnheview.co.uk

• Children should conform with the above guidelines. • Members must advise their guests of the dress regulations.

VICE-CHAIRMAN John Reynolds

St. David’s Day Dinner in the Club Friday 29 February 2008 Details in Ramblings

Mobile Phones, Briefcases, Laptops, Business Meetings Mobile phones, briefcases and laptops must not be used in the Public Rooms. Business meetings must be conducted in a private room.

Club Committee members Eight members competed to fill six vacancies on the Club General Committee. Elected to join the Committee are: The Rev’d Dr Gordon Gatward (Warwickshire) - Director of Arthur Rank Centre; Chaplain to RASE; Board member of Farm Crisis Network and LEAF; Chairman of ARC-Addington Fund; FIAgM; and Chairman of National Care Farming Initiative. Member of a number of Defra working parties. Jimmy McLean (Midlothian) - Head of Agricultural Services at Royal Bank of Scotland. Member of Scottish Executive’s Agricultural Strategy Implementation Group. Director of FAF and past Director of Oxford Farming Conference. Fellow Royal Agricultural Societies. MIAgM. Member of management board of Royal Highland Education Trust. ‘Elder’ in Church of Scotland. Co-opted to Committee in 2007, serving on Journal & Communications Sub Committee. David Richardson (Norfolk) - Senior partner in family farm. Trustee of Sentry Ltd. Columnist for Farmers Weekly. Founder Chairman of LEAF. Fellow Royal Agricultural Societies. Previously served on Journal and Communications, House and Membership Sub Committees. John Wilson (Ayrshire) - Consultant and adviser. Farmed 300 acres producing milk and beef. Roy Watherston Scholar. Liveryman, Worshipful Company of Farmers. Active with Royal Highland Agricultural Society, Scottish Game Conservancy Trust, National trust for Scotland and Ayrshire FWAG. Previously served on Memebership and Journal & Communications Sub Committees. Returning for a further term are: Charles Notcutt (Suffolk) Nicki Quayle (Cumbria).

St. George’s Day Lunch in Painters’ Hall, London Wednesday 23 April 2008 Application form in this Journal Visit to Bowood Estate and Wiltshire Farms Wednesday 7 to Thursday 8 May Application form in this Journal Royal Ulster Show Dinner Tuesday 13 May Details in the Spring Ramblings Royal Bath and West Show Dinner Wednesday 28 May Details in the Spring Ramblings

CLA Game Fair Reception, Blenheim Palace Saturday 26 July Details in the Summer Ramblings Royal County of Berkshire Show Reception Saturday 20 September Details in the Summer Ramblings Harvest Festival Service at St Martin-in-the-Fields followed by Buffet Supper at the Club Tuesday 7 October at 5pm Preacher: The Rt. Rev’d. Stephen Venner, Bishop of Canterbury Details in Harvest Ramblings Annual General Meeting Wednesday 10 December at 12 noon in the Club

Cheshire County Show Dinner Monday 16 June Details in the Spring Ramblings

Royal Welsh Show Dinner Sunday 20 July Details in the Summer Ramblings

5.00pm Thursday 20 March to 8.00am Tuesday 25 March 12 noon Sunday 4 May to 8.00am Tuesday 6 May 11.00pm Friday 23 May to 8.00am Tuesday 27 May 3.00pm Friday 8 August to 3.00pm Tuesday 26 August Monday 22 December – no afternoon tea, bar or dinner 3.00pm Tuesday 23 December to 3.00pm Monday 5 January 2009

and

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008 • www.thefarmersclub.com

COMMITTEE Elected 2003 Richard Holland (Chairman Membership SubCommittee), Julian Madeley Elected 2004 Ian Lindsay, Mrs Jill Willows Elected 2005 Charles Notcutt OBE, Mrs Nicki Quayle Elected 2006 Stewart Houston CBE (Chairman House Sub Committee), Meurig Raymond MBE Elected 2007 Tim Bennett, Mrs Anne Chamberlain, James Cross Richard Harrison, Campbell Tweed OBE Mrs Teresa Wickham (Chairman Journal & Communications Sub Committee) Elected 2008 The Reverend Dr Gordon Gatward OBE Jimmy McLean, David Richardson OBE, John Wilson Co-opted Philip Hoare (Chairman Under 30s) Miss Lizzie Benson (Vice Chairman Under 30s) THE FARMERS CLUB CHARITABLE TRUST TRUSTEES John Kerr MBE JP DL (Chairman), James Cross Stephen Fletcher, Dr Tony Harris CBE Mrs Stella Muddiman JP, The Chairman and Immediate Past Chairman of the Club (ex officio)

Deputy Secretary Robert Buckolt

CLUB CLOSURES 2008

Visit to the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show Date to be confirmed (Show dates - Tuesday 8 to Sunday 13 July) Application form in the Spring Journal

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN Tony Pexton OBE

Chief Executive and Secretary Group Captain Grieve Carson (retiring 28 March 2008) Air Commodore Stephen Skinner (wef 29 March 2008)

Royal Highland Show Dinner Wednesday 18 June Details in the Spring Ramblings Royal Show Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 July Flyer with details in the Summer Journal

HONORARY TREASURER Paul Heygate

Club Chaplain The Reverend Nicholas Holtam 020-7766 1121 Secretariat 020-7930 3751 Accounts 020-7925 7101 Membership 020-7925 7102 Bedroom & Dining Room Reservations 020-7930 3557 Private Function & Meeting Room Reservations 020-7925 7100 Personal calls for members only 020-7930 4730 Fax 020-7839 7864 E-mails secretariat@thefarmersclub.com accounts@thefarmersclub.com membership@thefarmersclub.com functions@thefarmersclub.com meetings@thefarmersclub.com reception@thefarmersclub.com u30s@thefarmersclub.com Website www.thefarmersclub.com THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Editor and Advertisement Manager Don Gomery 01892 610628 Email: don.gomery@btinternet.com

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL New Year 2008

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