Farming skills Where will the industry’s expert labour come from? p12 INSIDE • • • •
Global farming p4 Rating farmland p6 Innovation p10 AGM rule change p18
APPLICATION FORMS: • Ulster, Devon and Cornwall Shows • Chelsea Flower Show • Stowell Park visit • Royal Highland Show • Romeo and Juliet Opera
contents
CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS • Richard Holland
THE FARMERS CLUB Over 160 years of service to farming 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL Patron – Her Majesty The Queen
Can farming feed tough targets for
2 Chairman’s Comments Busy schedule provides insight into key issues for farmers
the public don’t want it.’ God help us if our agricultural policy is to be set by our generally well fed and fickle consumer! Surely we depend upon politicians to set policy and then educate the public.
4 New McCarthyism A focus on more efficient farming is sweeping the globe – is the UK being left behind? 6 Rateable values How Government could set the rateable value of farmland 8 Unilever’s vision City Food Lecturer Paul Polman explains Unilever’s view of sustainable food production 10 Innovation insight Continuing technical change will help farmers meet the challenges of the future 12 Fresh blood Attracting new blood into farming is the goal for this multiple awardwinning college in Kent 14 Under 30s Winter event report 16 Farm views Young voices speak out and rural shops back Big Society 18 All change Minutes of December’s AGM set course for new June AGM 20 A good read Books to interest members 20 Whitehall Court ramblings Forty room launched 22 Information and Diary Dates 24 Back cover U30 2011 events
FRONT COVER Farming Skills: Equipping new recruits with the right skills is a real priority. Hadlow College is setting the standard.
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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Richard Holland
WHAT a couple of months! December brought freezing temperatures and January was my first month of attending various events with the privilege of being Chairman of our Club. First off was the Oxford Conference, probably the best of the ten or so I have attended during the past sixteen years, with a great consistency of interesting papers. Throughout January the common theme was how to feed the world, reflected in conferences and speeches, and DEFRA’s Food and Farming Futures report. At Oxford Bill Clark, a director of Rothamsted Research, gave a paper showing quite conclusively that the targets for food production were unachievable given today’s level of research and development. The previous paper, Water scarcity – does technology hold the key?, showed science is essential to compensate for reduced moisture. Just how real that water stress is came home to me whilst in Israel last October. We were in the area of Jaffa, which gave its name to one of the best known brand names for oranges, and biscuits! But you won’t find oranges there now, they require too much water and have been replaced by avocado trees. So against a background of needing all the technology tools available to keep up with increasing food consumption, it was frightening when Dacian Ciolos, the European agricultural commissioner, was asked about genetic modification at Oxford. His response was ‘we can’t do that, because
Next stop was my first visit to the City Food Lecture and what a paper from Paul Polman, chief executive of Unilever (report page 9/10). A totally global overview, covering the same food shortage theme, but adding the caveat that extra food should be produced sustainably! And then to the LAMMA machinery show at Newark. As a cow cocky from the South West, on my first visit to LAMMA, I felt like an alien amongst all that vast machinery. The Club had a small stand in a perfect position where our chief executive Stephen Skinner and Mary Anne Salisbury did a great job catching up with existing members and talking to prospective new ones. The show has yielded three new members already and I am sure there will be more to follow. Amongst these visits I also went to a meeting of the Lyd Valley Farmers discussion group, set up by four of us from Seale Hayne nearly 40 years ago! It was good to see it still thriving and playing such a role in delivering the knowledge transfer that is being called for. There were 18 people present, some looking young enough to be the third generation! It was a very good evening, all credit to DairyCo which now runs the group, with Nick HoltMartin, a director of The Milk Group, presenting his forecast for milk and feed prices based on past trends, and the weather. He predicts a wet summer in this El Nina year. In my last notes I mentioned how good last summer was for us. The rainfall for our part of South Devon turned out to be 31 inches, 35% down on the previous three year average of 48 inches. It looks like Mr Holt-Martin could be right! The next day I had a very interesting visit to the Duchy College, which is over the border in Cornwall, but very close to us. What a success story. It started 25 years ago with 40 students and no milk quota. Last year 100 school children a week visited the College, 400 people attended advice days, 1500 students used the farm and they had 9000 enrolments on short courses. Dr
THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011 • www.thefarmersclub.com
CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS • Richard Holland
the world and meet its sustainability too.... Phil Le Grice, who invited me, has a great vision for the next 25 years, in which Duchy along with about eight other colleges around the country are key to providing the applied R&D that so many recent reports say is missing. As he puts it, he wants to be at the dirty end of R&D! More recently I was a guest at the Worshipful Company of Farmers annual Banquet. What a fabulous evening it was, with Lord Deben as the main speaker, better known to most of us as John Gummer. He delivered a brilliant speech, without a note. Again the theme was feeding the world, this time focussing on what an exciting time it should be, with a need for the world to work together like never before. And it can be exciting, as I experienced when visiting Europe last November in readiness for the EU R&D Collaboration Conference which The Farmers Club is supporting at 61, Whitehall on 23rd March. One memorable visit was to the Danish dairy sector’s trade body at the Agro Food Park, Aarhus, where we heard how it hopes to harness research and development to optimise the efficiency of milk production. When I produced the card of a contact in Sweden, the response was swift: “Don’t worry about Sweden, Norway or Finland,
Next delivery! Your May edition of The Farmers Club Journal is set to include a full report of the EU R&D Collaboration Conference in London, plus analysis of the barriers standing between UK farmers and more sustainable farming, two producers who go the extra mile to optimise farm output and insight into how new retirement laws could impact your business.
they all know you are here and we will be reporting back to them!” The Nordic countries are already working together, including the movement of R&D funds across national boundaries. A wonderful example of how cost can be taken out of the system with co-operation. And they are keen to extend that throughout Europe. The previous week I had visited France’s equivalent organisation, CNIEL, at its Maison du Lait in Paris. I was lucky to get in, since it had recently been occupied for four weeks by the Confederation Paysanne. I did say I hoped the director’s
inconvenience might result in a better milk price. No comment! It was another interesting meeting with a man dedicated to milk and adding value to it, using all of France’s different areas and breeds, with a view that milk should once again become the benchmark of nutrition. He too was eager to engage in greater pan-European co-operation. On that note I am pleased to read of the liaison between the NFU and Farmers for Action. Let’s hope their co-operation helps achieve a more sustainable milk price here in the UK!
A cow on a bike! Yes, that’s the centrepiece of the Maison du Lait in Paris, where the French dairy industry association, CNIEL, is based. The Centre National Interprofessionnel de l’economie Laitiere aims to further French dairying, having been formed in 1973 through the collaboration of the national bodies representing French milk producers, dairy co-operatives and the wider dairy industry. Headed by president Henry Brichart and director general Benoit Mangenot it uses a statutory levy to finance generic promotion, R&D work, economic information gathering and human nutrition research. CNIEL will be represented at the Farmers Clubsupported EU R&D Collaboration Conference on March 23 in London. www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011
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WORLD FARMING • Charles Abel
Entrepreneurial Irish farmer Jim McCarthy enthused the Oxford Farming Conference with his straight talking
A new kind of McCarthyism? LET’S get one thing straight. New McCarthyism has nothing to do with the politically motivated machinations of a Republican senator bent on unveiling procommunist feelings in 1940s USA. It has everything to do with a new breed of farmer geared to producing at least cost on a prodigious scale. The original Irish meaning for the name McCarthy, the loving one, signals that this McCarthyism has everything to do with a love of farming and farming’s ability to meet the needs of a burgeoning global population and very little to do with witchhunting politics. From small beginnings in Co. Cork first generation farmer Jim McCarthy, whose father worked for Ford Motor Company, has grown to become a leading global producer, still farming 800ha in Ireland and involved in businesses spanning 12,300ha in Argentina, 10,000ha in Australia, and 12,000ha with 7000 cows expanding to 15,000 cows in Missouri, USA. He is also chief executive of global farming specialist Blue Yulan SA Luxembourg and a director of Agricultural Capital Partners. His elegant business model clashes with much that defines UK farming. For him least cost is the goal, but it is pursued with a ruthlessness rarely seen in the UK. That stems from operating in markets free from the shackles of an ill-informed public,
misguided policymakers and a restrictive support scheme. “Agriculture is evolving and changing at a quicker rate than ever, and Europe is fast becoming second class,” he says. CAP support is largely to blame, paying q 42bn to over 7m EU farmers annually, but demanding their compliance with increasingly restrictive edicts. “The European farmer, for his average of q 5,300/year, is the most regulated in the world. We have spawned a bureaucracy that is beyond belief, with its emphasis on the environment and the traditional appearance of the farming landscape.” In Argentina making money from farming is far easier, despite export and corporation taxes of up to 35% each. “That is because there is excellent freedom to farm, with a low level of regulation, and an efficiency driven industry, as there is no subsidy safety net, and we have the most up to date technology, GM crops.” Over the past two and a half years investors in the $56m Agro-Terra Argentina project saw returns of up to 60%. “When you farm in the free market without a safety net to support you the pressure for farm efficiencies is very different. You are productivity driven. The market is merciless. That is why the lowest cost producers will survive and the EU is not the
“A long time ago you traded your silence for your subsidies. Now your technology and farming is becoming unsustainable” Jim McCarthy
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lowest cost, because of all these subsidies and schemes.” Subsidies suppress innovation, he maintains. “New Zealand saw a 1% annual gain in productivity in the 20 years before its subsidies ended, but 5.3% since. That is the opposite to what the average European farmer would think.” Subsidies sustain artificially high costs too. “The difference in price between Europe and Argentina is absolutely disgraceful. The same tractor costs 30% less in Argentina than the EU,” he notes. Subsidies perpetuate the ‘have-to-have’ syndrome, encouraging the use of the newest and best equipment. In Argentina three high hours tractors typically run two seeders. If one tractor breaks down the third is brought in to keep the seeder running, while farm staff do the repairs, keeping output up and containing service costs. Big areas cut costs too, particularly when 80% of operations are undertaken by contractors travelling across the country with the seasons to maximise machine efficiency. “Our crop establishment costs £20/ha, for example. A 170hp tractor can tow a No-till seeder, hopper, mobile workshop/accommodation and diesel bowser between farms, providing a selfcontained establishment team, with seeders run in two eight hour shifts per day,” says Mr McCarthy. Combining goes a step further. “Our contractor’s combines travel 1000km, working from the end of October to July, putting 1000-plus hours on the clock each year. That’s equivalent to your combines being based in Lyon, working down to Seville and finishing in Oxford.” He urges farmers to think about the energy used to produce a kg of wheat, meat or milk. “That’s going to be more important than which environment scheme it is in. We use 6litres/ha to establish crops. That wouldn’t even bring a Quad-Trac to idle speed. Understanding how to do a proper energy audit should be taught at college.” Grain storage is a further area for savings. Eight combines harvest 40,000t of grain at off-take rates of 300-350t/hr. The McCarthy solution? Grain silo bags, loaded with 180t from chaser bins and stored beside farm roadways for just over £3/t ex-farm. A far cry from the £150/t capital cost for a UK grain store. Business scale means two of his farm managers are MBA-qualified. “These highly qualified people bring a standard to farming that leaves the vast majority of us
THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011 • www.thefarmersclub.com
WORLD FARMING • Charles Abel
Jim McCarthy – successfully embracing free-market farming in Argentina, New Zealand and Australia
Europeans looking like amateurs. We use web-based computerisation, with remote access, to capture all the information of the business. It means we can farm land in blocks of 20-400ha, according to soil type, eliminating the need for expensive variable rate technology.” Argentina also makes fulsome use of the latest technology. “You are being denied some of the most exciting technology, GM technology. On its own it may not solve food security issues, but it has a big part to play. “GM soya boosted our soya yield by 41% in two years, and it did it in an environmentally friendly way, with an enormous development of no-till. I can put corn on a boat at Rosaria docks for £55/t. That’s what GM crops can do. Or put it another way; my total fertiliser and spray costs are £17.50/t and I average 11t/ha.” He slams EU policymakers. “Politicians have abdicated responsibility for this
debate.” In their place environmentalists peddle the myth that farmers should wear white lab coats to handle GM. “They have hijacked the whole idea of farming with nature. But I can tell you our GM cropping has cut insecticide use and boosted the size of the wild flamingo flocks on our farms as a direct result.” Europe is now in the last-chance saloon. “You need GM oilseed rape very quickly. But you’re not making the case for what you need and you’ll be left behind,” he warns.
NEW McCARTHYISM • Markets rule • Lowest cost wins • Scale drives efficiency • Simple is best • GM essential tool • Audit energy use • Subsidy stifles innovation
Radical CAP reform is needed too. “A long time ago you traded your silence for your subsidies. Now your technology and farming is becoming unsustainable.” To halt that commercial farmers should seek a two tier CAP. “One policy for the 20% who produce the 80%, and a social and environmental set of schemes for the 80% who cannot survive without assistance.” And a science-based approach to future policies would help too.
www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011
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CHARITABLE TRUST
How to rate agricultural land Lucy Preston used a Farmers Club Charitable Trust award to visit Australia to study the valuation of farmland for rating purposes
valuation yet carried out, the actual value of agricultural land in the UK was, and still is, unknown.
Whilst there are many valid reasons for the exemption, what interested me was the recommendation that a valuation of agricultural land be undertaken to correctly assess the value of the exemption. In 2007 it was suggested this could amount to £450 million in forgone Government revenue. However, with no
As a rural practice chartered surveyor lecturing in valuation, I was intrigued as to how such a huge, daunting and undoubtedly costly exercise may be carried out. Having worked in Australia in 2004/5 I was aware that agricultural land was rateable there and wondered how they managed the valuation task. In 2010 I
THE 2007 L yons report into local government caused understandable concern and outrage in agricultural circles with its recommendation that Government look again at the exemption from business rates of agricultural land and buildings, which has been in place since 1929.
How simple would it be to assess the rateable value of UK farmland and buildings? Lucy Preston used a Farmers Club Charitable Trust bursary to learn from Australia’s experiences
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THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011 • www.thefarmersclub.com
CHARITABLE TRUST
used a Farmers Club Charitable Trust Research Bursary to visit Australia to find out more. Due to the federal and state government arrangement the system was not quite as simple as I had initially anticipated. The administration and methods of valuation used in each state vary considerably, as does the regulation of the valuers. I chose to study Western Australia (WA) and Victoria; two very contrasting states in terms of size, climate, geography and agricultural practice. Influences on the value of agricultural land are similar in the UK and Australia, in particular the shortage of sales evidence and the impact of ‘hobby/lifestyle’ purchasers on prices. However, Australia has no history of subsidies and farm support, and there are few environmental schemes and restrictions. There has been no official recession and there are fewer diversified farm enterprises and buildings. There is also very little let land and the investment market is very much in its infancy, with corporations expecting a 5% return. There is no specific agricultural tenancy law in place. Initially I travelled to Perth in WA where I spent time at the state Valuer General’s (VG’s) Office. The state is split into agricultural regions, with a significant majority of the area being desert. To the north there are areas of tropical horticulture and in the south west wineries and dairy land. The main source of income from agriculture in WA is, however, from the ‘wheat belt’ region. This is the main arable growing area of Australia, with wheat yields of around 2.4t/ha and a 2010 onfarm grain price of A$160/t (£100/t), generating gross margins of A$80-100/ha (£50-62/ha), including all costs/pre-tax. To be considered ‘viable’ a farm in this region is on average 4,000 ha. In WA rates are paid on the basis of Gross Rental Value (GRV) for both residential and business properties (as in the UK). However, agricultural properties are paid on the ‘Unimproved Value’ (UV) - unique to WA and Queensland. This basis was originally introduced to avoid penalising farmers who improved land, as the more they did the more it was worth, and in effect the more tax would have been payable!
‘improved value of the land’ minus buildings, discounted by a percentage according to the estimated costs of clearance. This still allows a degree of valuer’s discretion and therefore subjectivity. Amongst the valuers there is considerable disquiet about the continued use of UVs. But despite alternatives being proposed, the current system remains in place.
tendering for contracts were set up purely to do municipal valuation work and most are not local to the areas.
Most rating revaluations take place three yearly. However, for rural areas revaluations are annual and all work is carried out ‘in-house’ by a dedicated team, with three regional offices across the state. The valuation task is heavily reliant on sophisticated computer software, which maps land values.
This has caused considerable consternation, particularly with shireemployed valuers. But the aim is to cut the number of appeals, which currently amount to about 6,000 a year, with around 20 making it to court, costing up to A$200,000 (£124,000) per case.
Areas are split into SMAs (sub-market areas) to reflect key valuation criteria, including rainfall, soil type, and proximity to urban areas. The system includes all relevant land sales data and satellite images and calculates values for each holding, on a cleared hectare excluding buildings (CHAxB) basis, with larger areas of land reduced in value on a p/ha basis. The percentage reductions for improvements are ‘gazetted’ every year and vary depending on the shire (similar to UK counties). Reductions may be up to 50% of the improved value. In Melbourne I visited both the Australian Valuation Office (AVO) and VG’s offices and also travelled to Wodonga and Albany in the North Country on the New South Wales/Victoria border. Each shire within the state can decide which valuation methods to use, with VGs overseeing the process and issuing Valuation Best Practice criteria and shires issuing contracts to Municipal Valuers to work on their behalf. Four of the 78 shires carry out valuations in-house, but most sub-contract all valuation work. Some companies
Whilst I was visiting proposals were underway to change the system, so the shires would no longer have control of how valuation work was carried out. This is to be brought back under the control of the state government, which will then tender contracts and outsource work.
Within Victoria rating re-valuation work is carried out biennially. As in WA, sophisticated computer programmes are used, though these vary depending on the shire/contract valuer. Similarly, submarket groups (SMGs) are created. However, the following valuation methods are used depending on the shire: 1. Site Value (SV): the capital value of land including improvements but no buildings. 2. Capital Improved Value (CIV): capital value of land including all buildings and improvements. 3. Net Annual Value (NAV): a ‘fair rent’ calculated for residential and farm property at 5% of CIV. Most shires use CIV and some councils use a combination of methods – referred to as a “shandy”! It is clear that the systems in place in both states visited would not be appropriate in the UK. However, there are lessons to be learned from Australia’s experience with valuations, which could help to streamline any such future task in the UK. • Lucy Preston is Senior Lecturer & Senior Tutor in Rural Enterprise & Land Management at Harper Adams University College.
“The 2007 Lyons report recommended that Government look again at the exemption from business rates of agricultural land and buildings, which has been in place since 1929”
In reality there is very little unimproved land now. So, UVs are calculated using the www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011
Lucy Preston
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SUSTAINABILITY
Unilever steps up to su Food security in a changing climate was Unilever CEO Paul Polman’s theme for the 2011 City Food Lecture Food security is the central issue confronting the food industry, and one of the biggest challenges facing the world. As Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank, says, it is a threat to global growth and social stability. Indeed, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that by 2050 an extra 3 billion mouths will require 70% more food than is produced today. For Unilever, with brands present in 7 out of every 10 households on the planet, the problems of food supply, poverty, and sustainability are daily issues. More than half the company’s raw materials come from agriculture and forestry. It buys millions of tonnes of agricultural crops from hundreds of thousands of farmers, in virtually every country in the world. It purchases 12% of the world’s black tea, 6% of its tomatoes and 3% of its palm oil. The stable environment and continuous supply of raw materials needed for businesses to survive and grow is now in jeopardy. Natural resources are being consumed at a rate faster than the planet’s capacity to replenish them. For everyone to consume at the level of the UK would require the resources of three planets, not just the one we have, says the WWF. We are living off the earth’s capital, not the interest. We can’t go on this way, it is like a farmer eating his seeds. In 2008 the world experienced worrying shortages of certain staple crops, which brought price spikes and food riots in over 40 countries. Two years later stresses and strains are evident again, with Russia banning grain exports after the country’s
worst drought for a century, devastating floods hitting grain output in Pakistan, Canada suffering substantial crop losses to heavy rains and Australia battling both floods and droughts. In November the FAO’s Food Price Index for the wholesale cost of commodities such as wheat, rice, oil seeds and sugar, reached an historic high. In January the US Department of Agriculture said the ratio of global stocks to demand would drop to levels unseen since the mid 1970s. We are back in dangerous territory. There are already ominous signs with recent unrest in Algeria, Tunisia and Mozambique. The resilience of the global food system is, once again, looking increasingly fragile. The trouble is that food security is not only vulnerable to shocks, ranging from small scale supply disruptions to extreme weather events, but also longer-term stresses, such as population growth and rising GDP, the former driving absolute food demand and the latter pushing up calories consumed and meat and dairy product consumption. Declining soil quality, reducing water tables and accelerating climate change are further stresses. The latter affects what can be grown where, and when, and Unilever is already having to face up to this. Changing rainfall patterns in Kenya and India are impacting both the yields and quality of tea. Concerns are also growing that Greece and Spain may not have adequate water in the coming decade to guarantee the tomato harvest.
“In November the FAO’s Food Price Index for the wholesale cost of commodities such as wheat, rice, oil seeds and sugar, reached an historic high.” Paul Polman
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Climate change also brings unstable weather, leading to more shocks from droughts, floods, storms and temperature extremes. In short, climate change creates a ‘double whammy’ of shocks and stresses, one our food system is not well designed to withstand. These challenges would matter less if productivity were still rising fast. But it appears to have reached a plateau. After two decades averaging around 2% a year, growth has fallen to 1.3% per annum over the last decade. The Economist has coined the term ‘agropessimism’ to describe the growing worry that food security and sustainability are now in direct opposition, and that we will only be able to feed the world by destroying the planet. If we complacently carry on with ‘business-as-usual’ farming, the Economist may prove to be right. So, how is Unilever responding? It has set a challenge to double its size while reducing its environmental footprint, by decoupling its growth from its environmental impacts whilst at the same time increasing the social benefits of its activities. Now, more than ever, companies must reconnect business success with social progress. Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan sets three key goals for 2020: • to source 100% of agricultural materials from sustainable sources. • to halve the environmental impact of its products; • to help one billion people take action to improve their health and well-being; This is a completely new way of managing the company: one where sustainability is embedded in every business function and process. It means a long term focus, which is why Unilever has stopped giving guidance to the markets; stopped giving quarterly profit updates; and stopped reacting to the short termism of so much of the financial community. Globally four key strategies can improve food security: 1. Sustainable farming By increasing farmers’ yields, whilst reducing inputs of fertiliser, pesticides and water, farmers can secure a “win win” through higher yields and lower input
THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011 • www.thefarmersclub.com
SUSTAINABILITY
ustainable food agenda costs. In India drip-irrigation trials have lifted gherkin yields by up to 84%, cut water use by 70% and more than doubled profit per kilo. Similar successes have been seen with Californian tomato growers. But new approaches involve transition costs, hence proposal number two, a step change in funding. 2. Investment in agriculture The FAO estimates that spending on agricultural development must reach around $83 billion a year to meet future food needs, 50% up on today. In the 1970s and 1980s Asian governments achieved their ‘green revolution’ by spending up to 14% of national budgets on agriculture. Today many sub-Saharan African governments spend just 4%. However, there are promising signs. There have been rapid falls in hunger in countries such as Vietnam and Ghana because of high investment. Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia and Malawi are all now spending over 10% of their budgets on agriculture.
and Porsches with energy sources that are not only more greenhouse gas intensive than their fossil fuel alternatives but which contribute to high food prices for the poorest members of society. 4. Freeing trade Even governments in Europe and the US that vocally support free trade are often lukewarm about liberalising their own agricultural sectors. The OECD calculates that agricultural support in 2009 was around $120 billion in the EU and $30 billion in the US. Global free trade could lift as many as 500 million people out of poverty and expand developing economies by $200 billion each year the World Bank estimates. At the same time the creation of a multilateral system that allows agricultural trade without barriers would do much to
improve food security. It is imperative that we complete the stalled Doha Trade Round. Other food security issues include the role of biotechnology, the rising role of commodity speculators in market prices, and the impact of mono-culture on biodiversity. But the bottom line, as Oliver James points out in his book Affluenza, is that business as usual is not an option. In the battle to avert major food security problems we have everything we need to win – technology, money and political will. But as the old Chinese proverb says: ‘Unless we change direction, we are likely to end up where we are going’.” • The City Food Lecture was delivered at Guildhall, London on 18 January 2011.
3. Market distorting subsidies Well-meaning but ill conceived state interventions, such as first generation biofuel policies in the EU and the US, are producing perverse outcomes. Their subsidies distort the market, more than doubling biofuel cropping since 2003 to 25 million hectares, with 30% of the US maize crop and two-thirds of EU rapeseed now used for fuel. Governments must apply rigorous sustainability screens to all feedstock crops. Otherwise we will find ourselves in the absurd situation of powering Mercedes
Unilever CEO Paul Polman pulled no punches as he laid out this global food giant’s plan for producing food more sustainably
www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011
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TECHNOLOGY
Innovation drives farm success Innovation is a key ingredient in farming’s future, explains Nick Rainsley WITHOUT a doubt, innovation sits right at the heart of farming’s future. If we aren’t innovating we’re standing still. And in a changing market that means you’re going backwards. Farming needs to produce more food and more energy, from less land, whilst taking proper account of environmental and social issues. Striking the right balance is one of the hardest things we now face. It is what makes innovation so important. In reality innovation boils down to the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat. That may sound trite, but by harnessing innovation to help solve tomorrow’s problems we believe we can add value to UK farming. There are plenty of examples. Growing oilseed rape in wide-spaced rows, so herbicides and nutrients can be targeted more effectively, is a case in point. Working with generic chemical manufacturers to reintroduce products to the UK market, harnessing computer technology to
improve pest and disease forecasting, and partnering with experts to make the most of renewable energy production are others. The bottom line is that innovation drives success. But this only works if the three spheres of applied research and development, knowledge transfer and product knowledge are fully exploited. And that is where the specialist advisor comes in. By looking at the availability, price and quality of a product or service, applying an innovation focus to take account of environmental, regulatory and commercial objectives, and delivering through a close client relationship to a specific farm situation, advisors make innovation real.
OSR Our work on oilseed rape husbandry shows this well. There is strong demand for rape oil, driven by its healthy, natural properties. But crop yields have been inconsistent over the years, with new varieties failing to perform as well as they should. To improve consistency we are
Nick Rainsley – head of marketing at Agrovista
looking at using standard farm machinery to drill the crop in wider rows, to a stand, very much like maize or sugar beet. This provides the opportunity to control weeds within rows using today’s significantly reduced herbicide armoury, whilst weeds between rows are controlled with glyphosate. The approach gave good results last year, so we are examining it on seven of our UK trials sites this year. It throws up the issue of nutrition too. By applying nitrogen to the rows, not the soil between them, we could supply the crop’s optimum fertiliser input where it is needed, without breaching environmentally-led maximum application rates across the field as a whole. The targeted use of soil polymers to aid establishment could become economic too. A big driver towards such an approach has been the shrinking chemistry set available to farmers. The huge cost of meeting increasingly strict regulatory pressures has made it prohibitively expensive for manufacturers to support many active
Technology can drive farming forward
New forecasting model aims to cut spray use, save money and improve quality of UK apples and pears 10
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TECHNOLOGY
ingredients. An added pressure is that 80% of all active ingredients will be off-patent in the next two years and 90% in five years. Consequently many cornerstone chemicals have disappeared. It is a fundamental shift for UK agriculture, reducing the entire chemical armoury, forcing us to look at different ways of approaching crop protection.
GCI Computer technology can help. This spring we have launched a new pest and disease forecasting service for apple and pear growers, to help them improve control, use less chemical and reduce residues. A network of 31 Agrovista weather stations in Kent, Hereford & Worcester, and around Wisbech provides data to a sophisticated computer model, alerting growers to scab infection risks (primary and secondary season) and codling moth flight, mating, egg deposition and larval emergence. The model is updated every 60 minutes, so sprays can be better timed and costs minimised, while still producing quality crops. The service even sends a text message to your mobile phone alerting you to major scab events in the primary season. Last year over 60 producers used Growers Choice Interactive and with crop bodies pushing for its uptake we expect many more subscribers this year. It is a move towards a more holistic and integrated approach, which is the direction we expect crop protection to increasingly move in.
goal is to get products registered with the Chemicals Registration Directorate. How products are best used is then largely down to the industry. Ensuring such trials have real scientific rigour is essential. Our trials adhere to standards acceptable to CRD, and have supported product registrations. So farmers can use them with confidence. What’s more we are now working with a European registration company, combing our UK trials data with generic manufacturing facilities in the Far East and China, operated to European standards, to return key products to the farmer’s armoury.
projects. Our Agrogate business team is working with energy specialists E4Environment to ensure plans take full account of the site, planning, renewable energy issues and how they might best benefit the overall farm business. These examples, and many others, show innovation will continue to underpin UK farming. Just as importantly advice is on tap to help farmers exploit those innovations to the full. • Nick Rainsley is head of marketing at Agrovista, a leading provider of agronomy services to UK farming.
A strategic partnership with registration specialists Life Scientific, a company with years of specialist registration, IP and patent expertise in generic formulation and product registration, will help to defend and keep some of the older, more useful active ingredients within the UK market when they face re-registration. In 2011 we expect to see several new products brought to market through this channel. Our parent company, Marubeni Corporation of Japan, has an innovationdriven mentality, with activities elsewhere in Europe and North America, so this is a familiar approach.
ENERGY
CHEMISTRY
Integrating innovative new enterprises into the overall farm mix is another challenge. Feed in tariffs for renewable energy offer farmers great opportunities, but need applying with skill to avoid costly mistakes.
Making the most of existing chemistry is a goal too. Today we have just a handful of R&D-led manufacturers, whose primary
Farms use plenty of energy, for heating, drying and cooling, and often occupy sites well suited to wind, water, solar or biogas
www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011
Harvesting wind energy efficiently on-farm demands a good understanding of the farm business
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EDUCATION
Gearing up to equip tomorrow’s farms Where will farming’s future labour force come from? Pat Crawford explains what Hadlow College in Kent is doing ARGUMENTS around population growth and climate change are well rehearsed. The bottom line is that by 2050 we probably need to feed around 50% more mouths, using more sustainable techniques on less land. That is daunting. But every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case, at least as far as the UK is concerned, farmers and growers can expect to play a major role. But that will only happen if the right new entrants can be attracted into the industry in sufficient numbers. DEFRA has indicated a skills shortage of 60,000 jobs in the sector over the next ten years. That is assumed to include both hands-on farming and the support industries. So why, with unemployment so high, aren’t more young people considering a farmrelated career? Two reasons spring to mind. First, for years farming was generally perceived as a failing industry and media
attention was almost entirely negative. Second, careers advisors are by and large incredibly uninformed about the opportunities available in the land based sector and farming in particular. Despite this, there are reassuring signs of improvement. Seven years ago, Hadlow had just two students studying agriculture. Now there are well over a hundred. A big driver behind that turnaround has been the college’s active programme of linking with prospective employers to ensure courses provide skills that are in demand. Another indication of growing interest and awareness in farming stems from the Government’s Fresh Start Academies. Hadlow launched its first such scheme in 2005. All who enrolled completed the course and now work in the sector. Participants in the second Academy, now underway, either work in the industry already or intend to.
At the end of 2009, recognising that everyone who wanted to get back into farming had probably done so, the college’s director of finance and resources, Mark Lumsdon-Taylor, introduced Fresh Start – New Entrants to target those beyond the industry. A diverse audience was invited to an open evening to stimulate awareness and awaken a greater interest in farming. It was attended by over 100 people, including some still at school, Young Farmers, some looking for direction changes mid-career and others who had been made redundant. A total of 42 signed up for the New Entrants’ programme. This successful approach is being repeated this spring. As Mr Lumsdon-Taylor explains; “It gives people the opportunity to talk directly to farmers specialising in dairy, beef, arable, sheep, fruit, poultry and other sectors. This way they can get a real insight. We also provide a follow-up service for any subsequent questions.” Such events are vitally important to introduce new blood into farming, he enthuses. “The formula is proving successful and I believe we are making a contribution that other land-based colleges, and the various bodies associated with farming, may wish to use as a blueprint.” Charles Tassell, NFU county chairman for Kent and an ex-Hadlow student agrees: “As we face up to Professor Beddington’s Perfect Storm, needing to produce more food from less land, less water and less energy, the UK farming industry will be ideally situated to deliver the Sustainable Intensification called for in the 2009 Royal Society Report – provided we get the right numbers and quality of new entrants.”
“Outstanding” education in agricultural skills was the Ofsted verdict for Kent’s Hadlow College last summer 12
Farming was once the UK’s most important industry. For various reasons it declined. That decline has now halted and there are real signs of revival. The challenge the education sector has is to ensure the industry can flourish and grow in the future.
THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011 • www.thefarmersclub.com
EDUCATION
HADLOW COLLEGE A forward looking agenda has seen over £16m invested in facilities since 2003, with more developments planned, including updated sports and library facilities, partly financed by commercial income amounting to 30% of the college budget. The strategy seems to be paying off, with student numbers doubling in Further Education and tripling in Higher Education since 2003, an “Outstanding” grading from Ofsted inspectors last June and the Learning and Skills Improvement Service’s Beacon Status awarded in December, a plaudit given to 15 top performing colleges or training providers out of a total of 4,500 educational and training organisations across the UK. Hadlow offers degree, further education and recreational courses in agriculture, horticulture, landscape, fisheries, countryside and equine. www.hadlow.ac.uk
Defra forecasts that UK farming needs 60,000 new employees over the next ten years. Equipping enthusiasts from outside the industry is a priority
London walks HAVE you ever stayed at the Club and longed to learn a little more about the local area? If so, one of this spring’s guided London Walks, organised by The Farmers Club, could be of real interest to you. Shaughan Seymour, a thespian and Blue Badge guide will be available on Friday 15 April and Friday 15 July to conduct a walk around Westminster. Entitled “Palaces and Power” and taking around 2 hours, it starts with one of the most evocative sights in the world - The Westminster Clock, and from there explores the most historic corner of Britain. Within 20 acres you will see buildings that have shaped our destiny over 1000 years: Parliament, the Abbey, and the backstreets of power and influence. Then on to St James’ Park, the Mall and Trafalgar Square before returning to the Club for lunch. The price per person is £30, inclusive of morning coffee, guided walk and lunch (wine not included). From Westminster Clock the guided London walk takes in all the main sites local to The Farmers Club, with lunch to follow
www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011
To make a booking, contact Lynne Wilson, email: meetings@thefarmersclub.comor tel. 020 7925 7100.
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U30S • Patrick Durnford, Chairman; Rhydian Scurlock-Jones, Vice Chairman; MaryAnne Salisbury, Secretary
Chairman’s Jottings mantle of Chairman and I am very much looking forward to the year ahead. Congratulations to Rhydian Scurlock-Jones for his appointment U30s Vice Chairman, I am most grateful to both him and the U30s Committee for their support.
ON BEHALF of the Under 30s, I would like to convey tremendous thanks to Gemma Partridge for her sterling work as 2010 Under 30s Chairman. Gemma’s energy and organisational talent have been instrumental in making the previous year the success that it was. It is a great pleasure and honour to be taking up the
By way of short introduction of myself, I live and work in Dorset as a resident land agent. I became a Farmers Club member four years ago and through the U30s I have met very interesting people and had a lot of fun along the way. I have found it particularly rewarding to be involved with an organisation whose members are so often operating at the forefront of the industry. This was particularly apparent to me when talking to a number of delegates, who were also Club members, at the
recent and thought provoking Oxford Farming Conference. I am delighted to publish an outline schedule of the events and occasions that are being planned for the forthcoming months (see back cover). The Spring Dining Evening is set for Friday 25th March at The Farmers Club and Devon is the destination for the Spring Farm Walk in May! I do hope that you and your friends may be able to join us for any of the events we have planned over the coming 12 months. In the meantime please do feel free to contact me about any matter. Patrick Durnford patrick.durnford@lulworth.com 07967 822892
Winter Event Weekend a real success THE WINTER Event Weekend, which was held at The Farmers Club on 4th – 6th February, was well attended with 50 under thirties members and their guests present for dinner at the Club on Friday evening. Chef John Viveiros produced three delicious courses with an exquisitely prepared rack of Lamb for the main course. It was all very well received by everybody. After dinner refreshments were taken in the bar before the group relocated to ‘Opal’ nightclub to ‘cut some shapes’ and enjoy the Friday evening buzz. Our 2011 Farmers Club Chairman Richard Holland kindly attended the dinner and even
The venue for dinner that evening was the trendy ‘Living Room’ Restaurant and bar near Leicester Square. It proved to be a perfect place in which to finish the weekend, with an imaginative menu, a live pianist throughout the evening and a welcoming dance floor too.
Lizzie Benson and Tim Chilcott
heroically ventured into the night club afterwards!
The event was a roaring success and I’m sure all those who attended had a very jolly time. It was especially fun to meet many new Members and formally welcome them to The Farmers Club. A special thank you goes to Gemma and MaryAnne Salisbury for organising a really splendid weekend. Patrick Durnford
Following a leisurely breakfast on Saturday morning, the Under 30s AGM was held, at which Gemma Partridge delivered a report on the year and the activities undertaken.
Edward Reynolds and Charlotte Courtney
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The group then enjoyed a light lunch before heading off for the afternoon showing of the West End hit musical ‘Jersey Boys’ at the Prince Edward theatre. It was a lively performance and more than a couple of members were seen to be ‘tapping along’ to the well known music of the 1950s and 60s.
Rhydian Scurlock-Jones and Jeremy Dyas
THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011 • www.thefarmersclub.com
U30S • Patrick Durnford, Chairman; Rhydian Scurlock-Jones, Vice Chairman; MaryAnne Salisbury, Secretary
Pig sector faces tough times
January 2013. But it is doubtful if this will actually happen, judging by the number of sow stalls on sale at the recent Eurotier Show in Hanover. Indeed, there are moves afoot to try to introduce a further derogation to delay the EU ban on sow stalls. This will clearly be unfair on UK pig producers who were made to remove their sow stalls and have had to compete against the cheaper imported pork produced at much lower welfare standards. Such pig meat would be illegal for a UK producer to sell. But food labelling has been both vague and disregarded, allowing imported pork that had its final processing in this country to be labelled as if it had actually been produced in the UK. Many consumers believing they are buying British pork, produced to our high welfare standards, are being duped by cynically misleading labels. In response to this loophole the pig meat supply chain taskforce announced a voluntary code of practice in June 2010 for the labelling of pork and pork products. The code calls for the country of origin to be clearly displayed. Sadly this is only a voluntary scheme and, although better than nothing, mandatory country of origin labelling is what is really needed, so the purchaser can make a definite choice without all the current confusion.
Pig farmers are under pressure, squeezed by expensive feed and the iniquity of a ban on sow stalls that is unenforced elsewhere in the EU
The pig industry has always been cyclical with typically short periods of boom then years of near bust. This has resulted, for the UK in particular, in a dramatic decline in the size of the herd. Between 1997-2007 the UK pig herd declined by 40% as the smaller and certainly the least efficient gave up in the face of the severe financial pressures they regularly faced. Recently pigs were more profitable, certainly when grain prices plunged. But quite unexpectedly this has now completely reversed and the industry is in real trouble. Few people could have predicted that grain and soya prices would increase so dramatically. This was driven not only by a world shortage due to weather and the recent introduction of bio-ethanol production, but also by speculators encouraged into the commodity markets by the crisis in the financial markets. Economists calculate that pigs are losing
ÂŁ20 a head at present. Clearly, that is a situation that cannot continue. Feed represents more than half the cost of producing a pig and many pig farmers have been caught out by failing to forward buy their inputs on contract, because all the signs were that prices would dip rather than increase. The result is that more than usual are having to buy on the spot market, which under present circumstances is not a good situation. In the UK pig producers are simply not receiving a price that reflects anywhere near the true cost of production. Continental producers have also been losing money in recent years, although their costs are lower than the UK, partly helped by lower welfare standards. Across the EU 80% of sows are still kept in stalls, which have been illegal in the UK since 1999. This huge number of sows will have to be rehoused in new accommodation from
www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011
In the near future, if feed prices remain so high without any price increase to the producer, the future looks bleak for pig meat worldwide. Producers cannot continue to lose such vast amounts of money and EU producers will not be able to justify additional cost to comply with the sow stall ban. Larger numbers of producers than ever will be forced to leave the industry, resulting in a desperate shortage, leading to much higher prices for consumers and potentially an inferior product produced to a much lower welfare standard. Such a scenario would boost the case for large-scale intensive units that could theoretically be much more efficient in terms of cost of production. However, as the proposed massive dairy units are discovering, there are enormous environmental and welfare hurdles to overcome. I suppose that ultimately the public will decide how it wants its food to be produced. In the meantime it is to be hoped that our pig industry is not in terminal decline. Jeremy Dyas Farms in partnership with his father in Shropshire jezzajones@hotmail.co.uk 15
FARMING VIEWS • Charles Abel
Farming Figures $40bn Global investment in new fertiliser manufacturing capacity since 2008 food crisis, almost all in N & S America, N Africa and W, S and SE Asia
20t/ha
Theoretical wheat yield, toward which Rothamsted Research scientists are working at Brooms’s Barn in Suffolk
£1.9bn
Grants to third-world farmers by the Gates Foundation since 2006
10%
China’s share of global oil use, despite having 25% of world’s population. USA has 4% of world’s population, but 25% of its oil use
10,000 years
Time taken to date for farmers to produce the amount of food the world will need in next 50 years
6kg/day Average first lactation milk yield boost from calving at 25 months rather than 32 months, in a Spanish study of 3129 cows in 65 herds
6000 German biogas plants, of which 1200 were installed last year. The UK has under 50
Youth speak out Angharad Evans presents a persuasive case at the Oxford Union
“This house believes unrestrained population growth and food security are incompatible.” That was the motion put forward at the popular Oxford Farming Conference Debate at the Oxford Union earlier this year. But whilst proposer Sir Jonathon Porritt, cofounder of Forum for the Future, and opposer Sir Paul Judge, chairman of Schroder Income Growth Fund, grappled with the intricacies of Malthusian population dynamics, education, contraception and global food demand, two brand new speakers provided a breath of fresh air, speaking as representatives of the younger generation to a packed audience of over 370 farming enthusiasts. Seconding the motion Angharad Evans spoke with candour and conviction, passionately encouraging the audience to step beyond wishful thinking and acknowledge the realities of the situation the world now faced. Producing more food whilst at the same time protecting the environment was going to be tough, she said (see www.rac.ac.uk/alumni/alumnusof-the-month January). It was her first time on such a high profile platform. Her performance suggested it would not be the last. Currently in the final stages of an MSc in International Rural Development at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, she won her place in the debate through an initiative sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Farmers – the three-round X-factor style National Debating Competition to decide the Young Advocates in Agriculture 2010. The challenge, conceived by David Bolton of David Bolton Partners and Jim Williams
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of market research firm National Farm Research Unit, saw teams from farming colleges and the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs vie for top honours. “Farming issues are regularly discussed in the mainstream media, too often by people who understand little of what happens on a farm, or who fail to have the best interests of British farmers at heart,” explains Mr Williams. “This competition gives teams a wonderful opportunity to raise their profile in front of industry leaders and gain invaluable experience in developing their communication skills.” The contest culminated in a battle of oratorical skills at Cereals 2010 in Cambridgeshire last June, where Cirencester’s Ms Evans and Jess Saunders triumphed over runners-up Kate Ockelton and Philip Banham of Easton College, Norfolk. Whilst completing her under-graduate degree in medical science at Sheffield University Ms Evans was vice-chair of the Union Council and president of debating. But speaking at the Oxford Union was in a different league. “It was a fantastic experience, if a little nerve wracking,” she admits. “It was a huge opportunity, just to be there and to hear how farming is looking at the whole issue of gearing up for Prof Beddington’s Perfect Storm.” Speaking against her, and seconding Sir Paul, was Richard Thomas, a Harper Adams graduate, Herefordshire farmer and NFYFC West Midlands Area chairman. The result of the debate? The ayes took it, with 204 votes in favour of the motion and 167 against.
THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011 • www.thefarmersclub.com
FARMING VIEWS • Charles Abel
Shops aid Big Society RURAL shops are spearheading the countryside’s commitment to deliver on the coalition government’s plan for a Big Society approach to delivering local services. At the beginning of 2011 there were 251 community-owned shops, with new ones opening at an unprecedented rate each month, according to the latest Plunkett Foundation research. “Community ownership not only ensures vital lifelines continue in rural communities, it utilises 1 million hours of volunteer time per year,” comments James Alcock, community retail manager at Plunkett Foundation.
succeeding where commercial ventures have not are: 1. Communities are usually keener to support a venture in which they have an economic and social interest, knowing there is no single individual that is profiteering. 2. Volunteers cut staff costs, a typical community shop having around 30 volunteers, each working 2-4 hours a week. 3. Co-locating within existing community buildings, such as the village hall, pub or church, cuts overheads. 4. Relief on rates and favourable tax conditions help.
“Only 8 of the 259 community shops to open have ever closed, giving them a 97% success rate; it’s clear how resilient the community ownership model is.”
5. Knowledge and expertise provided inkind by residents, plus free of charge second-hand goods and services from other retail stores.
Founded in 1919, Plunkett (www.plunkett.co.uk) supports communities looking to set up and run communityowned rural shops, wider communityowned rural services and community food and farming enterprises as a way of improving the lives of rural people. It manages the Community Shops Network (www.plunkett.uk.net), the only national networking site for community-owned rural shops.
“Communities want to take more control of their own shops, pubs and other vital services, and our report is a clear indication that the community-ownership model works,” says Plunkett’s chief executive Peter Couchman.
Five key reasons for community shops
“But they are still facing barriers in many cases, and our hope is that through legislation like the Right to Buy the Government will help to remove such barriers, ensuring communities can deliver the Big Society vision.”
Club Comments In the Farmers Club Journal....
10 YEARS AGO How distressing it is to see newspaper headlines such as Rural Chaos and Farmers Looking into the Abyss, and how sad it is that it takes a foot and mouth outbreak for the Prime Minister to say the ‘whole structure of British Agriculture requires to be examined,’ wrote Club chairman Iain McCrone. He went on to reflect how Prime Minister Blair had condemned the ‘arm-lock’ supermarkets had farmers in when buying their goods. March 2001
50 YEARS AGO “I do not think there is a greater problem confronting farmers today than the various metabolic diseases of livestock,” commented Club chairman Harold Thompson in introducing Mr S Hignett, a former president of the British Veterinary Association, to speak on the topic Hypomagnesaemia and other metabolic disorders of the grazing animal. Attendance at the event was curtailed by a national outbreak of influenza. March 1961
150 YEARS AGO
Since opening in January 2009 Feckenham Community Shop and Cafe has been 100% run and managed by volunteers from the local community. With an impressive 90 volunteers on the rota, the shop is far exceeding the average of 30 volunteers per community-owned shop in the UK. The high level of community engagement has ensured the shop is always staffed and able to open 60 hours per week. Its exemplary service to its local community helped it secure the award for Britain’s Best Village Shop in the Countryside Alliance Awards 2009.
www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011
Day rates or piece work? Such was the debate in 1861. “Labour has ever formed an important item in the cost of farm operations; but at the present day, when so much stock is reared, such large crops are produced, and so much machinery is employed, the balance sheet shows labour forms the largest item of expenditure,” noted chairman Mr Skelton. Mr Hudson of Castle Acre explained the high output merits of piece work: “The man who leads the horse, and the man who guides the drill, are paid 3d an acre, if the work is done well. They earn about 3s a-day each.” That’s 12 acres drilled per day! February 1861
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AGM
Report on the 2010 Annual General Meeting The 168th Annual General Meeting, chaired by Nicki Quayle, was held at The Farmers Club on Wednesday 8 December 2010. The following is a summary of the Minutes, full copies of which can be obtained by email from the Secretary Minutes, Annual Reports and the Club Accounts The Minutes of the 167th General Meeting were approved and the Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 June 2010 were adopted unanimously.
Election of the Club Chairman and the Vice-Chairman Richard Holland and Paul Heygate were elected unanimously as Chairman and ViceChairman for 2010.
Replying, Richard Holland thanked all present for their support. “Agriculture has given me an incredible life, but to end up with this position is like the cherry on the cake. My Mother came from a London family and in fact was born within the sound of Bow Bells. It does actually make it quite relevant and all the more amazing for me that I end up in this position in Whitehall Court. I really look forward to doing as good a job as I possibly can for the Club. Proposing the election of Paul Heygate as Vice-Chairman, Barclay Forrest commended him for his very successful four-year tenure as the Club’s Honorary Treasurer. Paul attended Arundel School before going on to Moulton Agricultural College. He is now joint chairman and joint managing director of the family business, Heygates, one of the UK’s leading feed and flour millers and bakers, employing over 850 people.
Honorary Treasurer Richard Butler was elected as Honorary Treasurer. Proposing his election Susan Kilpatrick said Richard had done an excellent job as chairman of the House Committee and she had no hesitation in knowing he would make a most excellent Honorary Treasurer. Julian Sayers seconded the proposal.
Change to Year End The Chairman explained that the Committee believed it would be prudent for financial and subscription years to coincide, with both running from 1 January to 31 December. Previously financial years ran from 1 July to 30 June. The change would start from January 2011, with six month’s accounts from July to 31 December 2010 considered at the next AGM, in June 2011. To facilitate this change in year end the Committee proposed an amendment to Club Rule 24: “The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held on a date to be fixed by the Committee within 6 months of the audited accounts being made available for the previous financial year. Not less than twenty-eight days’ notice of the meeting shall be posted on the Club notice board and sent by post to all members.”
New Club Chairman Richard Holland
Proposing the election of Richard Holland, as the Chairman of the Club, Mark Hudson explained how he has been a “great contributor to the agricultural industry”. Born in Liverpool to a non-farming family, he was brought up in North Wales and Cheshire and read farm management at Seale Hayne before joining NAAS in Derbyshire. His farming started when the family acquired a dairy unit in Devon in 1970, initially milking 100 cows, but soon expanding far beyond that. He is married to Caroline, and son James now manages the farm. Richard served on the Milk Development Council for six years, has chaired the Nuffield Scholarship Trust, served as Chairman of Dartington Cattle Breeders and Chairman of Supersires, and continues to chair his parish council. John Kerr seconded the nomination.
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Vice Chairman Paul Heygate
He has been president of the Bakers Benevolent Society, the British Society of Bakers and nabim, chairman of the Flour Advisory Bureau, a board member at NIAB and governor of Moulton College. He is also Under-Warden of the Worshipful Company of Bakers. He has been married to Sally for 38 years. Peter Jackson seconded the nomination.
The proposal was agreed unanimously. The Chairman went on to explain that revision of Rules 16 and 18 was also required, linking the periods in office of elected Committee members to the date of the annual general meeting. The amendment was proposed by Peter Jackson, and seconded by Susan Kilpatrick, that as from 1 January 2011 Committee members would be elected in much the same way as before, but their term of office would start on 1 January rather than at the time of the AGM, as at present, which would in fact be in June in 2011. The resolution was agreed.
THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011 • www.thefarmersclub.com
AGM
Denis Chamberlain, who continues as Captain of Golf, explained that events would now be managed by a Golf Committee within the Golf Section.
Auditors The Chairman and Committee recommended the re-appointment of haysmacintyre, which was seconded by John Reynolds and agreed unanimously.
advised that the current accounts were the last time it would appear. The Chairman went on to thank her fellow committee members, trustees, office holders and Club staff, particularly Stephen Skinner and Robert Buckolt, and husband David, for all their support and help during the year, before wishing Richard Holland, his wife Caroline, and the whole Club the very best for 2011 and beyond.
Any Other Business
Membership Committee chairman Campbell Tweed
Committee Members The Chairman announced the election to the Committee of Andrew Brown and Micheal Summers for an initial three-year term, plus the re-election for a second term of three years of the Reverend Gordon Gatward, Jimmy McLean, David Richardson and John Wilson. Andrew Brown runs a 250ha arable unit with 200 breeding sheep and 100 beef cattle. He is currently chairman of the NFU East Midlands Region and a member of the Worshipful Company of Farmers and the Institute of Agricultural Management. Micheal Summers runs the family tenanted arable farm and undertakes independent specialist consulting following a 13-year career with HSBC. Stepping down from the Committee were Charles Notcutt, who had completed his term of office, and John Reynolds, having completed his year as Immediate Past Chairman. The chairman went on to announce that retiring House Committee chairman Richard Butler was being replaced by Tim Bennett, and retiring Membership Committee chairman Jimmy McLean was being replaced by Campbell Tweed. Anne Chamberlain was continuing as Journal & Communications Committee, while current chairman of the Under 30s Dr Gemma Partridge was set to be followed by Under 30s vice-chairman Patrick Durnford. chairman of the trustees remains Mark Hudson, who paid tribute to Norman Shaw who was retiring as a trustee, to be replaced by Julian Sayers.
Commenting on the 12-month room booking system Robert Metcalfe explained that a lot of working farmers found it very difficult planning so far ahead. The Chairman acknowledged the problem and agreed it needed reviewing. She also noted that rooms can become available at quite short notice and that the Club had reciprocal booking arrangements with other London clubs. Ken Young asked how much longer the Club would be liable for costs at Stoneleigh, now the Royal Show had ceased. He was Journal & Communications Committee chairman Anne Chamberlain
Notice of the Annual General Meeting 2011 NOTICE is hereby given that the One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Annual General Meeting of The Farmers Club will be held at 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL on Tuesday 28 June 2011 at 12 noon. AGENDA 1. Minutes
3. Officers
To approve the Minutes of the One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Annual General Meeting of the Club.
To elect the following Officers of the Club for 2012: Chairman, Vice Chairman and Honorary Treasurer.
2. Accounts
4. Auditors
To present the audited Accounts of the Club for the period ended 31 December 2010.
To appoint the Auditors for 2012. The Committee recommends that Haysmacintyre continue in office.
www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011
S N SKINNER Secretary by Order of the Committee March 2011
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RAMBLINGS • Stephen Skinner
Opera interest rockets at Club THE SUCCESS of events held from the Club never ceases to amaze me. Our evening at the Albert Hall for the opera Madam Butterfly was a sell out the moment members heard about it and we very quickly had to purchase more tickets. Given the success of such events, we will endeavour to arrange others on a regular basis.
A good read IN C’est la folie Michael Wright gently taps into the humorous trials and tribulations of rural life as a Londoner bored with his comfortable existence seeks a new life in provincial France.
The first such venture is a performance of Romeo and Juliet at the O2 Arena on Saturday 18th June (see coupon right). Do strike quickly to avoid disappointment! Naturally, it is good to see the weekend social side of the Club so buoyant and of course, good that room occupancy at the weekends is busy too. Talking of which…., as many of you know, we continue to enjoy phenomenal success with regard to room bookings, which I
wholly appreciate can make getting a room difficult on occasions. Part of this success, I like to think, is due to the bathroom refurbishments we have been carrying out and this year’s programme is more ambitious than last. Our intent is to refurbish nine bathrooms as soon as we can, as well as create en-suite bathrooms for two more bedrooms where previously they had none. We are also pursuing a programme of replacing mattresses and, where we can, putting, larger beds in the bedrooms too. Finally, we are examining the best way (and the cost), of providing WiFi wireless connectivity to the internet in each and every bedroom. This will not be easy given the age of the building and the thickness of the walls; however, we must at least examine the options.
For Henry Worsley childhood fascination becomes reality as In Shackleton’s footsteps tells a gritty story of preparation, determination and adventure as he retrace Ernest Shackleton’s heroic trek towards the South Pole. Practical solutions for the global food crisis are rare. State of the World 2011, from US-based Worldwatch Institute, scopes the problem and cites a plethora of examples of how sub-Saharan Africa is responding. The bottom line? Farmers are innovators, so help them help themselves. Sound familiar? In Extract Value from Consultants Gordon Perchthold and Jenny Sutton take a no-nonsense approach to hiring, controlling and firing consultants – just what every entrepreneurial businessman needs to know. For Land Rover lovers Haynes Enthusiast Guide: Land Rover Defender tells the story, revels in its capabilities and advises on buying, running, modifying and enjoying these iconic vehicles – all in glorious colour. Farming has crafted the look of the land across much of the globe. Values of Agrarian Landscapes takes a closer look at their benefits to society, the challenges they face, some of the policies and incentives impacting upon them and the role of private initiatives pursued by landowners, farmers and businesses in sustaining them. Charles Abel 20
Equipped for business – the new Forty Room
New Forty Room ready for business Business facilities at your Club have benefited recently from the complete refurbishment of the Forty Room. This good sized room is now fully equipped to meet today’s business needs, with a very smart boardroom table and chairs; new lighting; WiFi wireless access to the internet; teleconference facilities; a large plasma screen which allows users to playback presentations from a laptop; and a very smart Blu-ray/DVD player too. I hope the picture gives a fair idea of what is on
offer. We now need members and their guests to come and use this excellent facility. Do call Mrs Lynne Wilson, our meetings manager, should you wish to make a booking (020 7925 7100). Please also note that we can now take bookings for specific times, not just a morning/afternoon or evening. If you know of people who might be interested in using such excellent facilities in the heart of London, then do give me a call.
THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011 • www.thefarmersclub.com
RAMBLINGS • Stephen Skinner
Website access – logon now OUR WEBSITE is up and running and seemingly much appreciated by those who have used it. If you haven’t visited the site yet do go to www.thefarmersclub.com, or search for The Farmers Club, and let us have your feedback on what you find. To access the Members’ Area, which contains a number of added features, you will need your individual log-in details, which we did e-mail to all members for whom we had an email address. However, if you have not received such details, or have mislaid them, fear not. Simply visit the site and click on the “Members” tab on the drop down menu, where you will find links to send e-mails requesting registration details from either membership@thefarmersclub.com or secretariat@thefarmersclub.com This is but the first step with this website. We hope members will soon be able to book events and eventually, book bedrooms. But one step at a time is my philosophy on this.
ROMEO and JULIET at THE 02 ARENA SATURDAY 18 JUNE 2011 The Chairman, Mr Richard Holland invites Club members to join him for a performance of Kenneth MacMillan’s timeless classic, Romeo and Juliet by the Royal Ballet at The O2 in Greenwich. This is the first time the world-renowned ballet company has performed in a UK arena and promises to be a spectacle to remember. A stellar cast will dance the roles of the famous star-crossed lovers with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the Royal Ballet Music Director, Barry Wordsworth. The programme for the evening will be as follows: 4.50pm Supper at the Club 5.45pm Depart by Thames Clipper from Embankment Pier 7.30pm Performance starts 10.45pm Return to the Club The cost per person is £150.00, including 2 course supper with wine, ticket for the ballet, return journey on the Thames Clipper and overnight accommodation at the Club. Tickets are limited to two per member and if oversubscribed, a ballot for places will be held on Tuesday 3 May.
Please complete in CAPITALS WITH FIRST NAME and return to MaryAnne Salisbury, Events Manager, The Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, LONDON, SW1A 2EL. Tel: 020-7930 3751 Email: events@thefarmersclub.com
LAMMA show a great success The Chairman, together with MaryAnne Salisbury and myself, set up shop at the LAMMA Show at the Newark Showground in January and what a success it proved to be. About 60,000 visitors flocked to the event which has grown to become one of the UK’s leading agricultural events, with just under 700 stall-holders. We talked to a lot of people about the Club, met many members who provided a lot of invaluable feedback and very pleasingly, we have had 6 applications for membership since our visit. We will return!
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I would like to reserve ………….... ticket (s) @ £150.00 per person. (Maximum 2 per member) (Delete as applicable) I would like to reserve a Twin/Double/or Single room at the Club for Saturday 18 June 2011. Please make a cheque payable to The Farmers Club or you can also pay by Debit or Credit Card – Visa/Mastercard or Maestro acceptable (delete as applicable) Card Holder Card No. Start Date
Expiry Date
Security No
Signature Member Guest Address Post Code Tel (Home) Email MaryAnne Salisbury and Richard Holland man the stand at LAMMA www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011
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THE FARMERS CLUB
Club Information 020 7930 3751
Further information is available on The Farmers Club Website www.thefarmersclub.com There was an insert in the Autumn Journal providing full details of the Club facilities and other information for members. Spare copies can be obtained by forwarding a s.a.e. to the Club Secretary.
Obituaries It is with regret that we announce the death of the following members: S Brazier J Cossins CBE J Crawford E Dunn H Gough A Higgins J Howson P Kershaw J Lyall W McKeever G Stanton J Taylor J Thomas The Hon E Turner OBE R Watts J Willis
Hertfordshire Dorset Cumberland Somerset Wiltshire Somerset Northumberland Yorkshire Cornwall Kent Norfolk Kent Cornwall Yorkshire Lincolnshire Yorkshire
Honours and Awards The Chairman and Members of the Club congratulate the following members whose names appeared in the New Year Honours List: MBE Dr Lydia Brown Miss Dorothy Fairburn Timothy Key
Wiltshire Yorkshire Devon
New Members The following were elected: Dr Y Ball Mrs R Baxter R Bennett M Brown Ms G Bussell J Corbett T Davies Mrs R Gilman N Gray A Harris I Hartley M Higgs M Lake Mrs P Maitland T Morrell Mrs N Murray J Nichols The Hon I Paisley MP G Parker 22
Lancashire Middlesex Overseas Northamptonshire Pembrokeshire Suffolk Caernarfonshire London Nottinghamshire Worcestershire Yorkshire Leicestershire Suffolk Kirkcudbrightshire Yorkshire Berkshire Somerset Antrim Essex
Miss J Raven Mrs S Rowley-Williams C Setter J Walker JP B Wessely
Midlothian Oxfordshire Devon Somerset Wiltshire
Under 30s B Beazley Miss A Day L Derry Miss C Geddes Miss B Hockham Miss S Hyde Parker F Langdale
Chelsea Flower Show
Bedfordshire Lincolnshire Buckinghamshire Ayrshire Wiltshire Suffolk Hampshire
Whitehall Court D Chikohora
London
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.
Where better to enjoy an English summer day out than the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show? This year’s Farmers Club visit, led by Club member and expert horticulturalist Charles Notcutt, is on 24th June. Full details are provided on the insert included with this issue of the Farmers Club Journal.
Business Suite
Reciprocal Clubs
This facility 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 use of a laptop is therefore no longer allowed in a public room and is restricted to the Business Suite only.
UK Royal Overseas League, Edinburgh The New Club, Edinburgh
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.
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.
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 The Muthaiga Country Club, Nairobi, Kenya The Harare Club, Harare, Zimbabwe The Christchurch Club, Christchurch, New Zealand The Canterbury Club, Christchurch, New Zealand (Bedrooms not reciprocated) Members wishing to visit any of the above Clubs must obtain an introductory card from the Secretariat.
THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011 • www.thefarmersclub.com
Club Information & Diary Dates The Secretariat 020 7930 3751
THE FARMERS CLUB Over 160 years of service to farming 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL
Patron – Her Majesty The Queen
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.
VICE PRESIDENTS Peter Jackson CBE, Roddy Loder-Symonds Sir David Naish DL, John Parker 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
April
LEAF Open Farm Sunday Sunday 12th
London Walk and Lunch at the Club Friday 15th
Breakfast at Cereals, Boothby Graffoe, Lincs. Thursday 16th Application Form in this Journal
St. George’s Day Lunch at the Club Thursday 21st Application Form was in the New Year Journal
FULL
Royal Highland Show Dinner Wednesday 22nd Application Form in this Journal
May
Annual General Meeting Tuesday 28 June at 12 noon at the Club
Rhineland Tour Sunday 8th – Thursday 12th
July
Ulster Show Dinner Tuesday 10th Application Form in this Journal
Breakfast at the Great Yorkshire Show Tuesday 12th
Devon County Show Reception Friday 20th Application Form in this Journal
London Walk and Lunch at the Club Friday 15th
Visit to RHS Chelsea Flower Show Tuesday 24th Application Form in this Journal
Royal Welsh Show Dinner Sunday 17th CLA Game Fair Reception, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire Saturday 23rd
June Visit to Stowell Park Estate, the Cotswolds Wednesday 1st Application Form in this Journal
September Dairy Event & Livestock Show, NEC Birmingham Tuesday 6th & Wednesday 7th
Royal Cornwall Show Dinner Friday 10th Application Form in this Journal
Visit to the West Country Tuesday 20th & Wednesday 21st
CLUB GOLF CALENDAR
SEPTEMBER
MAY
Fri 2 RABI Golf Challenge
Fri 6 East India Club, New Zealand GC
TBC Worshipful Company of Farmers, Badgemore Park, Henley on Thames
Wed 18 British Veterinary Association, Cirencester GC Mon 23 XL Club, Rye GC JUNE
Mixed Autumn Meeting Wed 28 & Thu 29 Coxmoor GC & Lindrick GC, Notts.
Thur 2 The New Club, Edinburgh, Luffness New GC
OCTOBER
Fri 3 Farmer members of the HCEG, Muirfield
Please contact Robert Buckolt, Deputy Secretary, if you would like further details on any of the golf fixtures and competitions.
Wed 8 N.F.U., Oswestry GC JULY Wed 6 Club Golf Championships, Blackwell GC, nr. Bromsgrove, Worcs
COMMITTEE MEETINGS General Committee Tuesday 12 April, Tuesday 28 June and Tuesday 15 November F & G P Committee Wednesday 12 October
Tue 4 Bath Club Cup, Woking GC
CLUB CLOSURES 6.00pm Thursday 21 April to 8.00am Tuesday 26 April 11.00pm Thursday 28 April to 8.00am Tuesday 3 May 11.00pm Friday 27 May to 8.00am Tuesday 31 May 3.00pm Friday 23 December to 3.00pm Wednesday 4 January 2012
www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Spring 2011
VICE-CHAIRMAN Paul Heygate HONORARY TREASURER Richard Butler IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN Mrs Nicki Quayle COMMITTEE Elected 2006 Stewart Houston CBE, Meurig Raymond MBE 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) 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 Club Chaplain The Reverend Nicholas Holtam 020-7766 1121 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 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 Printed by Pureprint Group, Brambleside, Bellbrook Park Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 1PL 23 Tel: 01825 768811
Under 30s 2011 Diary Dates Spring Dining Evening Friday 25 March The Farmers Club
Drinks Reception at the Game Fair Saturday 23 July Blenheim Palace, Oxford
Spring Farm Walk Friday-Sunday in May - date tbc Devon
Social Evening Friday 9 September The Farmers Club
Cricket Match v XL Club Tuesday 7 June Hampshire Hogs Cricket Ground, Warnford
Autumn Farm Walk Friday 14 - Sunday 16 October Venue tbc
Inter-Club British Produce Dinner Friday 10 June The Farmers Club
Autumn Dining Evening Friday 12 November The Farmers Club
Pimms and Supper Wednesday 20 July The Farmers Club
New Members Dinner Friday in February 2012 – date tbc The Farmers Club
Winter Event Saturday & Sunday in February 2012 – date tbc The Farmers Club For further information contact U30s Secretary MaryAnne Salisbury on 020 7930 3751 or by emailing u30s@thefarmersclub.com
s, y, Edward Reywanoyld William Dochert llo Ho es am J Jeremy Dyas and Under 30s farm walk in West Sussex in autumn 2010
Lucy Hollick and
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se ElMembers liot Main picture: U30suiNew Weekend outside the Royal Albert Hall