Winter 2010

CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS • Nicki Quayle

contents

THE FARMERS CLUB Over 160 years of service to farming 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL Patron – Her Majesty The Queen

2 Chairman’s Comments

Food waste is a travesty when farming has invested such a lot in top quality produce

4 A capital idea Is it time farming staged a major PR event in London?

if it is as cold as last year I suspect we will still get some.

5 Harvest festival The day the tractor came to central London

The Farmers Club trip to Cumbria in late September was blessed with good weather and although I am an ‘in-comer’ I was very proud to welcome nearly 100 members to this beautiful part of the world. We stayed in Glenridding, at the bottom of Lake Ullswater, and the scenery was spectacular.

There is a full report on pages 12 and 13, but I just want to place on record my thanks to all those who helped make this tour such a success – the warm welcome, generosity and time given from the farms, businesses and homes we visited was tremendous.

6 Oxford Conference A major political event in January, and more besides 8 Fish farming Harvesting the oceans, lakes and rivers of the UK 10 Farm computing The ever rising role of computers on the farm 11 New Club website New initiative brings benefits to members 12 Cumbria farm tour Magnificent farming insights from premier farming county 14 Commonwealth farming Meeting market needs, educating the public and improving rural communities 16 Food security Could cutting grain-fed livestock production ease global food security fears?

18 Under 30s Autumn Dinner with BBC’s Sarah Mukherjee and visits to Arundel Estate and Plumpton College vineyard in Sussex 21 On-line acumen How a Lincs farmer is cashing in through an on-line venture 22 Whitehall Court ramblings Room refurbishments and staff fundraising for charity 23 Information and Diary Dates Club events, including St David’s Day Dinner 24 Back cover 2011 Rhine Study Tour

FRONT COVER Chairman Nicki Quayle, St Martin’s Revd Nick Holtam (right) and former Bishop of Ely Rt Revd Dr Anthony Russell with the tractor that came to town courtesy of The Farmers Club, AGCO and Red Tractor Assurance p4

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.

2

CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS • Nicki Quayle

Club Chairman Nicki Quayle has everything under control during the Club farm tour to Cumbria

IT IS that time of year again – dark in the morning, dark at night – a time of year when at the end of the day you just want to come in, close the curtains and light the fire. I don’t often wish time away but I always look forward to New Year when I know the days will begin to lengthen and spring is around the corner.

Having said that, we had a good ‘back end’, as Cumbrians would say. The grass grew late into the season, although of questionable nutritional value, and the cattle stayed out longer, which should help silage stocks. In recent years wet weather forced us to use min-till to sow most of the arable crops, so this year’s more favourable conditions were very welcome, allowing all the arable land to be ploughed and sown to wheat or barley, dispensing with rape, which hasn’t really been a success. I feel for those in north Scotland who have experienced yet another year of bad weather.

David and I have also been re-lagging pipes in the farm buildings in an attempt to prevent burst frozen water pipes, although

In fact Cumbria featured large for the Club in September. Not only did we hold a successful and well attended Reception during the afternoon of the Westmorland Show, but that morning I had probably the hardest yet most enviable task of judging trade stands in one of the best food halls I have visited on my show circuit this year.

With a total of 59 food stands and all the produce from within a 50 mile radius the selection and quality was exceptional.

Thankfully I was assisted by co-judge Martin Campbell, who with his wife Cecilia produces ‘artisan-food’, Cumbria’s independent magazine for foodies. You can read their Westmorland blog at: http://ar tisan-food.com/DotNetNuke /readin/NewsandV iews/tabid/162/ EntryID/53/Default.aspx David and I also attended the RABI Harvest Festival at Carlisle Cathedral, and a Charity Fundraiser sponsored by Carr’s Milling PLC to celebrate its 150th Anniversary. On that fun and most enjoyable evening we were joined by RABI President Lord Plumb and Chairman Julian Sayers. Scratching my nose at an inopportune moment meant I helped in some small way towards the staggering £20,000 raised during the auction that evening.

With Christmas looming I wouldn’t exactly describe myself as a humbug, but I would like to think of it for the right reasons and for a chance to catch up with family and friends, rather than all the hype and commercialism. I am particularly struck by the madness that seems to take hold of the sanest people who enter into a ‘siege’

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010 • www.thefarmersclub.com

mentality, piling supermarket trolleys high and queuing down the aisles to pay, despite shops being open just a few days later.

Food waste However, what really gets me is the waste of food. I am not just talking about sell by and best before dates here, but the lack of education concerning the nutritional content of our food and how to produce a balanced diet for the family.

Sadly, we must now be entering into the third generation of those who just don’t know how to prepare a simple meal, and even those who can and do are so wasteful.

We throw away roughly a quarter of the food we buy. In fact 5.4m tonnes of edible food is thrown away by British households every year. Yet worryingly 84% of British householders think they don’t waste significant amounts of food. They also believe food is expensive. Little wonder!

sale advertised. I feel supermarkets are being short-sighted, and not just in the case of milk. Whether they like it or not they do have a responsibility towards society and the environment.

Turning back to the Club, I am pleased to say it continues to be busy and the summer opening was a great success. See Ramblings on p22 for further news of this, and January’s increase in VAT in particular.

A few weeks ago the Club celebrated Harvest Festival and hopefully raised the profile of British agriculture at the same time (see p4). We are also delighted that the Secretary of State is due to visit the Club in November to discuss the issues of the day – that hasn’t happened for many years and it is refreshing to have a DEFRA team that wants to engage with the agricultural industry.

So, my year of office is nearly over and as predicted by past-Chairmen it has flown by.

It has not only been a great privilege and honour to serve you but thoroughly enjoyable too. My sincere thanks go to my fellow committee members and office holders, as well as our tremendous staff, who work so hard to make our Club the success it is and for the support they have given me throughout the year.

I wish my successor Richard Holland, and his wife Caroline, the very best of luck for the year ahead and I hope they enjoy their time in office as much as David and I have.

A very big thank you for a wonderful year and I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Isn’t it about time we got back to basics, teaching people how to cook and what constitutes a healthy diet? The subject of food and food production taught in school could cover biology, chemistry, maths, geography and English, as well as creativity. And surely it would have the knock on effect of creating a fitter society, with fewer demands on our stretched health service, not to mention assisting with food supply as the world population increases.

Milk prices I can’t leave this subject without mentioning milk prices. How is it that large profits are being posted by supermarkets yet dairy farmers still receive less than the cost of production for their milk? Whilst I congratulate supermarkets for paying their dedicated suppliers a proper price, the cynical side of me wonders if this is just a publicity stunt, and that they are actually robbing Peter to pay Paul when they source milk elsewhere at prices below the cost of production.

The difference between the highest and lowest price is huge and is starting to pit producer against producer. Each week it saddens me to see yet another dispersal

Tread gently....

Now that’s a sight you don’t see every day! A brand new Massey Ferguson tractor picks its way through London’s bustling crowds ahead of The Farmers Club’s annual Harvest Festival at St-Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square. Having brought the machine down from AGCO’s Coventry base by low-loader, squeezing between black cabs and London red buses, driver George Mumford manoeuvred the 5t machine into pride of place in front of the church, drawing significant interest from the public. See p4 for more.

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010

3

HARVEST FESTIVAL

FARMING PR • Guy Smith

Farming comes to town for Harvest Festival

IN 1841 one William Shaw of the Strand wrote to the recently formed RASE suggesting there should be established in London: “a gathering place for farmers which could also serve as a platform from which would go out to England news of all that was good in farming.”

A capital idea

Thanks to strong commodity prices it was a time of prosperity. But there was also anxiety that the good times could end if the corn laws protecting farmers from cheap imports were repealed. So it is no coincidence that while Shaw’s vision took root and established itself beside the Thames as The Farmers Club, many other associations, including the Great Yorkshire (1838), Cheshire (1838), Royal Norfolk (1847) and Royal Bath and West (1850) show societies also formed.

Now, more than a century and half later, agriculture has transformed out of recognition. Yet the need for a platform in central London remains as strong as ever.

This occurred to me last spring when I witnessed French young farmers turn the Champs Elysees into a living farmscape.

The two day stunt attracted nearly two million Parisians and prompted a profarming speech from President Sarkozy. I asked myself: “Why not here, why not London, why not David Cameron?”

While agriculture has done much to polish its PR in the provinces, inner cities may have slipped beneath our radar. By staying out of the conurbations we miss key audiences. London, for example, represents not only millions of consumers, it is also the nerve centre for the nation’s media and it’s politics.

Food for the masses and environmental benefits too? Farming can deliver.

FARMING came to the heart of London when The Farmers Club held its annual Harvest Festival at St Martin-in-the-Fields, just off Trafalgar Square on Tuesday 5th October.

In a bid to raise farming’s profile a brand new Massey-Fergusson 5455 series tractor was parked at the north-west corner of the steps in St Martin’s Place. It caused quite a stir.

“It’s not often you see a brand new hi-tech tractor in central London, but we wanted to highlight the tremendous contribution British farmers are making to providing the nation with safe, affordable, wholesome food, produced sustainably and to the highest welfare standards,” commented chairman Nicki Quayle.

Inside the church was decorated with apples, eggs, loaves and bags of flour, bunches of oilseed rape, sugar beet and cheeses from around the UK. Pew ends were adorned with sheaves of corn and the pulpit surrounded with hops.

4

AGCO, which provided the MF 5455, uses tractors at events across the country to help consumers connect with how their food is produced, noted the firm’s David Sleath. The event was also backed by Red Tractor Assurance, which has 78,000 farmers committed to ensuring high standards of animal welfare, environmental protection and food safety.

So, maybe the time is right for farming to put on a show in central London. Cast your mind back to the 1989 Food and Farming Festival in Hyde Park, the pinnacle of a year’s worth of activity to mark the 150th anniversary of the RASE with seventy acres of Hyde Park occupied by a myriad of livestock, machinery and educational marquees.

The service was led by St Martin-in-theFields’ Revd Nicholas Holtam, with an address from the Rt. Revd. Dr Anthony Russell, former Bishop of Ely. Glorious singing from the church choir included John Rutter’s moving A Clare Benediction.

Club members enjoyed a buffet supper of fine British food at Whitehall Court afterwards.

Organisers expected half a million Londoners to turn up over the four days.

They were staggered when over a million arrived, plus royalty and leading politicians.

It was deemed a great success and exit polls showed it changed opinions of farming for the better.

Grateful thanks to...

Lorna Richardson; Teresa & Robin Wickham; Revd Nick Holtam , Lavinia Anderson and all at St Martin-in-the-Fields; Gemma Partridge; Clive Edmed, Kent; Gs Marketing; Heygates;

Cumbria RABI Committee; The Lakes Free Range Egg Company; Red Tractor Farm Assurance; Assured Food Standards; AGCO – Massey Ferguson.

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010 • www.thefarmersclub.com

With issues like food security and provenance very much to the fore, the time is right to seize such agendas and celebrate the strengths of our home agriculture in the capital.

Surely we could tap into the imagination

Could London emulate last year’s Paris farming event? © Xavier Defaix - Nature Capitale a Gad Weil creation

and resourcefulness of our county shows to collectively create a belter of an event in a Royal park. Could we not challenge every county to bring to town a 30m by 30m display that exemplifies the very best of food, farming and landscape in their patch?

If successful we could repeat something similar in other cities, such as Birmingham and Manchester.

As for timing, how about late September 2012 or 2013? Early autumn is a traditional time to give thanks for the harvest. It may not suit every farming calendar. But would any time outside the inclement months be

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010

universally popular? At the end of the day, such an event should be run round the potential audience.

Many farmers and organisations I have spoken to like the idea, including farming minister Jim Paice and London Mayor Boris Johnson. So, I leave this question: Is William Shaw’s zeal to create a platform in central London, from where would go out news of all that is good in farming, still alive and well in the Farmers Club?

• Guy Smith, farmer, commentator and Club member, gsmith2692@aol.com 5

OXFORD CONFERENCE • Jane Craigie

OXFORD CONFERENCE • Jane Craigie

What future for farming, Mr Ciolos?

January’s Oxford Farming Conference provides a powerful insight into farming’s future

HOW does EU farm commissioner Dacian Ciolos view progress towards reform of the CAP in 2013? What role does he see for larger farms? And does he think the UK gold-plates EU rules?

Those are just some of the questions Christine Tacon, 2011 Oxford Farming Conference chairman and managing director of the Co-operative Farms, wants answered when commissioner Ciolos addresses the 2011 event in Oxford.

Adding to a heavyweight political line-up opening speaker Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for Defra, plus Brendan Smith, the Irish Minister for Agriculture, and George Lyon MEP, who produced the Future of the Common Agricultural Policy after 2013 report.

“Plans are being formed in Brussels now for 2013 and by the time industry hears about them they will have been through

many committees and it may be too late to make a significant difference,” notes Ms Tacon. “Therefore to hear firsthand from Dacian Ciolos this early is helpful and gives us time to raise our concerns or challenge their thinking if we see the need.

“I would also like to hear Mr Ciolos’ position on food price stability and security as well as environmental protection, and to ensure he recognises that we are able to deliver both on all sizes of farms given the right incentives.”

“I also want to know if the EU is going to drive changes targeting climate protection, for example, encouraging production to move to where the water is,” says Ms Tacon. “As an adjunct to this, how important is it to him that the policy is ‘Common’; and is he going to limit the ability of governments strapped for cash from interfering with policy, thereby

making their farmers less competitive? I would also be interested in hearing his views on ‘land grabs’ in developing countries.

“If there were time for wider questioning, it would be good to hear his views on super dairies, the fairness of the penalty regime and also the extent to which we in the UK gold plate, or misinterpret the objectives of EU rules.

“And finally two questions close to my heart are how important is co-operation to the policy makers and what is the future of the Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, has it done its job?”

Year round But the Oxford Farming Conference is more than just a two-day event in January.

In 2010 its activities, reach and direction took a marked step forward, with a new logo including the words “Inform, Challenge and Inspire” to encapsulate what the organisation is all about.

In June 2010, OFC teamed up with the

Cereals Event to establish a summer conference in a bespoke marquee in the heart of the showground. The OFC’s charitable and educational remit has also expanded beyond encouraging scholars and young people to attend the annual Conference, to including young farmers in the Oxford Union Debate. The Young Advocates for Agriculture competition at the Cereals Event, which OFC supported, produced one of the young farmers for the 2011 debate.

The OFC is also launching an Oxford Farming Conference Science Award to recognise the contribution that researchers make to practical and valuable applied science. Furthermore, the Oxford Farming Conference Research, sponsored by Volac and Syngenta, is now in its third year, focusing on the ‘Value and Viability OF UK Farming’ as seen by 80+ key influencers and opinion formers.

So, join the OFC at Oxford for an inspirational event, but keep an eye open for it throughout the year too.

OXFORD 2011 From 4-6 January at Oxford University Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford. Full two-day tickets are priced £290 (inc VAT), as last year. Bed and breakfast accommodation is available at St. Edmund Hall, Christ Church, Oriel, Worcester and Merton Colleges. Special rates have also been negotiated at the Eastgate, Randolph and Old Bank Hotels. Registration starts at 16.00 on Tuesday 4th January, followed by a Defra and Natural England Fringe Meeting at 17.15. The Pre-Conference Dinner, sponsored by Co-operative Farms, is at 19.30, with the BBC’s John Humphrys as after-dinner speaker.

Full details at www.ofc.org.uk

OFC chairman Christine Tacon is seeking answers aplenty from EU farm commissioner Dacian Ciolos at this year’s OFC event

OXFORD INSIGHT

Three regular Oxford-goers explain why they return year-on-year:

Campbell Tweed – farmer, Northern Ireland “I’m looking forward to the Oxford Farming Conference; it’s an ideal time to take stock of where we are, all in magnificent surroundings. A few reflections: what’s behind us, where we are now in business and what lies ahead of us is shaped by politics, science and technology.

A significant part of the value of Oxford is meeting and exchanging views with other farmers and with people who have key roles in the industry. In common with most conference events, the most valuable input is gleaned around the edges and from the papers that are not reported in the media coverage.

6

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010 • www.thefarmersclub.com

Matthew Naylor – farmer, Lincs Everyone has a strong opinion about the correct way to produce food these days. It is perhaps ironic, therefore, that there are very few forums where farmers from all sectors can come together for an informed discussion about their future. This is why Oxford Farming Conference is of unique importance. After the winter break, you can approach the subject matter with a clear and open mind. The venue lends the event a degree of gravitas and helps maintain the high level of discussion. Oxford consistently attracts the right calibre of speakers: the people that you want to hear rather than those who simply wish to be heard. As a farmer and a businessman, I cannot think of a more stimulating way to start the year ahead.

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010

Julian Sayers – land agent, Oxon Attending the Oxford Farming Conference at the beginning of January, as I have since 1988, is always rewarding. The event provides an opportunity to take time out to consider what is happening in the world of agriculture on a UK, EU and global scale.

The focus ranges from the political to the scientific dimension and from multinational companies to individual farm businesses.

The political element of the 2011 programme provides an opportunity to consider the new Government’s farming and rural policies and to look towards the next round of CAP reform. These topics, combined with new technology and global markets, will doubtless make for another fascinating conference. You never know who you will end up sitting next to at any stage during the two days, but one thing is for certain there will be no shortage of matters to discuss!

7

FISH FARMING • Phil Thomas

FISH FARMING • Phil Thomas

Phil Thomas, chairman of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, explains why marine aquaculture is important to Scotland, the UK and the EU.

Aquaculture – a harvest from the seas Viewed overall, the global fishery catch is static, and there would already be severe fish shortages if global aquaculture production had not been increasing strongly since the early 1990s. It may come as a surprise that aquaculture provides about half of the global supply of fish for human consumption. Moreover, this share is confidently predicted to increase.

EU Position Almost 90% of global aquaculture takes place in China and the Far East, with just 3.3% in Europe and 1.25% within the EU. Moreover, whilst EU fish consumption is rising and its fisheries are under severe pressure, EU aquaculture is growing at a rate of only 0.3% per annum, a small fraction of the global rate of development.

Prof Phil Thomas, chairman of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation

GLOBAL demand for fish is increasing as a result of population growth and an increase in average consumption of fish per person.

The 1990s global population was around 6 billion people, today it tops 7 billion and by 2050 it is expected to exceed 9 billion. At the same time consumer demand for fish as a healthy and tasty source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids has pushed consumption higher at a rate of about 0.15kg per person per year.

However, this inexorable rise in demand is not supported by the state of the world’s fisheries, which have little capacity to increase sustainable yields. The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation estimates that about one quarter of the world’s fish stocks are overexploited, depleted or recovering from depletion; a further half are being fully exploited or fished close to their sustainable limit; and only about one quarter of stocks are not fully exploited and could perhaps produce more.

8

This led in 2009 to an EU Strategy for the Sustainable Development of European Aquaculture which was part of the ongoing Common Fisheries Policy review. The EU is a massive consumer of fish and sea food, but is only about 40% self-sufficient, a significant concern that must be addressed.

sea. Subsequently, it was recognised that the salmon’s large and sturdy eggs facilitated hatchery breeding.

By the mid-1970s R&D and pilot production were well established in Scotland, including initiatives by Unilever and BP, and a number of emerging but enthusiastic salmon farmers.

The first recorded yield was 658 tonnes of Scottish farmed salmon in 1980. That has grown to around 130,000 tonnes, and is projected to rise by a further 30,000 tonnes by 2015. Scotland is currently the second largest farmed salmon producer in the world, after Norway.

The on-growing industry is located exclusively on the north-west coast of mainland Scotland, in the Hebrides, and in the Orkney and Shetland Islands, where very high water quality and a distinctive marine environment are ideal for salmon.

The technology of salmon farming essentially follows the natural life-cycle of the salmon. Eggs taken from selected broodstock hens are fertilised with milt from selected breeding cocks, and cultivated under hatchery and freshwater conditions through the alevin, parr, fry and smolt stages, until the smolts are ready to be put to sea.

The early freshwater stages are undertaken in tanks with flow-through or re-circulation water systems, but smolt growing may also be undertaken in net pens in freshwater lochs. These early

stages of growth can be manipulated by varying the growth conditions to produce sea-ready smolts 10-24 months after egg fertilisation.

Smolts are typically put to sea in the September – November or March – May periods and may be on-grown for 14-20 months depending on feeding and management. Harvesting takes place in the later phases of the growth period as fish reach their market size.

Modern fish farms are commonly based on a cluster of circular net pens with the feed stores and ancillary support on a feed barge. Feed delivery to the pens and feeding systems is typically computer controlled, and fish management is assisted by closed circuit cameras mounted in the pens themselves.

Value Added As with livestock and poultry production, retailer and processor specifications for the weight, characteristics and composition of harvested fish are key considerations.

Many salmon producers supply fresh fish products direct to supermarkets and there is a growing trend for producers to have a significant part of their operation fully integrated into value-added processing and manufacturing.

Although its global growth over the past three decades has been spectacular, aquaculture is still in its relative infancy and its technology continues to develop.

Exciting new concepts include pen structures that will allow farms to move offshore and operate in more exposed locations, and Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture systems which will achieve nutrient-cycling by combining the farming of finfish, shellfish and seaweed for biochemical extraction or energy-biomass.

But changes are afoot in the basic technologies too. For example, salmon receiving a specially formulated isonitrogenous diet containing 7.5% fishmeal have recently been shown to have similar growth rates to controls receiving a conventional 30% fish meal diet. This highlights the scope to circumvent any situation where fishmeal supply might become a limiting factor in aquaculture expansion. Furthermore, studies with genetically distinctive salmon families have indicated sea lice resistance may have a genetic basis, opening up the possibility for breeding for resistance to the most common salmon ectoparasite.

Worth £400m at farm gate (2009) – similar to Scottish fishing industry and about 85% of the size of the Scottish beef industry.

Scotland’s single largest food export.

6,200 employees Very consumer-focused: Scottish Farmed Salmon has Protected Geographical Indication status and the industry has adopted the comprehensive, independently audited Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture. 60% of production is in the RSPCA’s stringent Freedom Food animal welfare scheme.

Aquaculture technology has come a long way in a very short time. There is no sign that its pace of development has slowed.

In 2008, the EU aquaculture sector produced some 0.64 million tonnes of finfish covering a wide variety of species, including catfish, eels, flatfish, sturgeon, halibut, turbot and tilapias. However, salmon, trout, carp, sea bass and sea bream account for 96% of the fish grown.

The UK supplies just under a quarter of all EU production, and its species distribution is approximately 90% salmon, 9% trout and 1% other species. About half the trout production and 98% of the salmon production is in Scotland, where salmon farming is overwhelmingly dominant.

Scottish salmon farming Salmon farming is suggested to have originated in the 1960s at Hitra in Norway, where two enterprising brothers caught half-grown salmon and found they adapted well to being on-grown in net cages in the

Farmed salmon - Scotland’s single largest food export.

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010 • www.thefarmersclub.com

Fish farming has become a £400m industry

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010

9

FARM COMPUTING • Charles Abel

FARM COMPUTING • Charles Abel

Computers are an integral part of modern farming and estate management. Charles Abel talks to a long-time Club member to find out how their role is evolving

Farm computing – where next?

COMPUTING plays a pivotal role in modern farming and is set to do much more to ease the daily workload of farmers.

But don’t imagine a fully-integrated future in which applications seamlessly talk to each other and regulatory requirements are met at the touch of a button.

“Yes, our target market is farmers, who want to get on with their farming. So our aim is to make the office side of things as simple, straightforward and functional as possible,” says Nigel Parsons, managing director of Landmark, an established business providing farm office computing to over 2000 farms across the UK. In future mobile computing, modern software exploiting the latest programming, and greater functionality, including multi-currency operation to facilitate Euro/Sterling trading, will give farmers and estate managers extra help with their enterprises, and ensure time spent in the office is more effective, with less duplication and more information to drive management decisions.

But for software packages to all share common data is unlikely, he warns.

“Expecting all systems to run off a single data entry is just not realistic. Different products serve different needs, so need different depths of data.”

Crop and livestock recording highlights the point. Field and animal data is recorded to meet regulatory and farm management

needs. It is typically recorded in the field, and is mainly physical data, concerning product rates, dates of use and conditions treated.

By contrast accounting software waits for actual invoices and payments, to record the true costs, revenues and quantities involved. Unlike performance recording data, entries must comply with accounting standards.

Fortunately, some data can be shared, commodity purchasing being a case in point. “When an invoice is logged into our KEY Accounting software our unique Gatekeeper link automatically updates the crop recording package with the quantity and pricing details, ensuring accuracy and saving dual entry,” Mr Parsons notes.

But in other cases the depth of data just varies too much. Indeed, that is a weakness of the Government’s much vaunted Whole Farm Approach, which aspires to simplify regulatory form-filling by using onceentered data to populate a range of official forms.

Of greater value to users is the potential for computer systems to be integrated into farm businesses more effectively, so farmers reap their maximum potential.

Service key “Don’t think of software as off-the-shelf.

The service that goes with it, to ensure it

fits into the business and generates the desired information, really is key to realising its potential.

Indeed, software consulting is where Landmark started 23 years ago. “Initially we aimed to help farms integrate franchised software products into their businesses for the best effect, before we started writing our own software.”

The company now provides its own accounting and property management software, KEY Accounts and KEY Property, alongside proprietary sector-specific recording packages, and still prides itself on integrating them all into the farm business.

“Service can all too easily be over-looked in the rush to buy a product at the right price, but incorporating software into the farm properly can make a real difference, particularly given today’s increasingly diversified farms and rural estates. We did a survey a few years ago and found our clients had an average of 2.1 businesses each, with contracting, bed and breakfast, livery, upholstery and a whole range of diversification enterprises running alongside core farming. Ensuring software can make sense of all that is absolutely essential.”

He also highlights the importance of using rural-focused software. Generic products meet the needs of the accountant, but lack the management information and rich

functionality rural businesses need to move forward. “A specialist product puts an end to re-entering data into separate spreadsheets for cashflows, budgets and what-if scenarios, which just provides room for errors and is such a waste of time.”

Rural Broadband The availability of broadband has accelerated the use of IT dramatically in the rural sector, but the current infrastructure means web based applications are still a way off. “The delayed roll-out of fast rural broadband is frustrating and I think the CLA is doing a good job of pushing the issue. I think in time we will get it, via satellite or some other work-arounds, but it does need to be uniformly available, and that certainly isn’t the case now.”

In future more computing and data capture will be done on mobile devices, particularly mobile phones, he adds. Gatekeeper crop recording and Cattledata and Sheepdata livestock recording packages, produced by Farmade and Farmdata respectively, and marketed by Landmark, already allow data input into portable devices in the field to update farm records.

Cattledata Mobile is a new mobile-phone version, automatically sending statutory reports to the British Cattle Movement Service. Other, similar applications, can be expected in future, Mr Parsons concludes.

Are you making the most of your on-farm computing, asks Landmark’s Nigel Parsons (inset).

New Club website

Farmers Club web supremo – Hamid Khaldi 10

WELCOME to the new Farmers Club website, due to be launched early this winter, offering members extra information and even easier event booking.

Your special members-only section is then easily accessed by entering your username, usually your initial and surname, followed by your password. Confirmation of usernames and passwords will be sent to members over the coming weeks.

Alternatively, contact Hamid (e-mail: accommodationmanager@thefarmersclub. com 020 7930 3557).

Created by Canadian web consultancy Jonas, in conjunction with the Club’s own Hamid Khaldi, the new site presents a fresh, clean, professional image, using the latest technology to ease member communications across the world.

Once in the members area you can register for upcoming events, maintain a calendar of Club bookings and check your Club account. On-line booking of bedrooms, meeting rooms and restaurant tables is planned for the future.

The web address remains unchanged – www.thefarmersclub.com – with the opening pages giving members and nonmembers alike a clear view of the Club’s role and its excellent facilities. There will also be Club news, contacts, back issues of the Farmers Club Journal and a Secretary’s blog.

Developing the site was a challenge Hamid rose to admirably, even if it meant some late night trans-Atlantic work with developers in another time zone. “It is fair to say my wife was not too happy to find me still e-mailing Jonas at 11pm some evenings. But we’ve achieved a great result, and that makes it all seem well worthwhile.”

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010 • www.thefarmersclub.com

New website boasts improved features

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010

11

CUMBRIA TOUR • David Richardson

CUMBRIA TOUR • David Richardson

Cumbria provides an autumn treat Cumbria was the destination for the Club’s autumn farm visit.

David Richardson reports A FEW days away after harvest is an attractive proposition for many. This year’s frustrating, rain interrupted operation made it even more so for the almost one hundred Club members who headed to Cumbria in mid-September.

The programme, arranged by Club Chairman, Nicky Quayle and husband David, took us to some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside. Based at “The Inn on the Lake” beside Ullswater we had magnificent views of some of the fells that make up the Lake District National Park.

Just down the road was the spot that inspired Wordsworth’s poem “Daffodils”. A little further away was the hill farm where Beatrix Potter wrote her children’s stories.

But this was not just a cultural visit. Like most Club events, it was a busman’s holiday and the Quayle’s, who farm in Cumbria, had chosen some outstanding farms for us to visit. They didn’t say as much but I suspect they were keen to show off their county and how it had coped with a drought this summer, a flood last November, and

Foot & Mouth disease nine years ago that led to the slaughter of one third of the county’s sheep.

They had persuaded two friends to help guide us: Nick Utting, recently retired Senior Group Secretary for Cumbria NFU, and Alan Bowe, current chairman of Carlisle auctioneers Harrison & Hetherington.

An outstanding visit was to what I will inadequately call a farm diversification.

Trading under the name A W Jenkinson Forest Products it’s a business that deals with 90% of the UK’s waste timber products.

Situated on a seventeen acre site near Penrith the firm handles 2.2 million tonnes of wood fibre, bark, paper products, shavings and recyclables. It owns 300 vehicles to collect and deliver products to and from sites all over the country. And it all started almost as an accident.

passion. One day in the late 1960s when he was short of bedding for his cattle he decided to try sawdust and finding that it worked, began collecting supplies from local sawmills on his tractor and trailer.

Pretty soon, other farmers asked him to collect some for them and the waste wood products business was born. Today it’s much bigger than the farming operation, but Alan still loves farming and profits from his “secondary” business have enabled him to expand to 1,700 acres. Of this one 1,000 acres is down to grass supporting 3,250 Texel/North Country Mule ewe’s producing 6,000 lambs per year, plus 170 pedigree Limousin breeding cows and heifers. Arable cropping includes winter wheat, winter barley and oilseed rape.

The farm was immaculate, with beautiful buildings and tarmac roads everywhere, never mind the quality of the livestock.

Alan Jenkinson, the owner, left school and started his own business when he was fourteen. Farming was, and still is, his

Nearer our hotel and in the heart of The National Park was the very different but even more picturesque Glencoyne farm; 3,500 acres of hill and fell, owned by the National Trust and tenanted and run by husband and wife team, Sam and Candida Hodgson. The high fell rises to 2,500ft and the land runs down to the shores of Ullswater.

Here the stocking was a more modest 1,200 breeding ewes, split between Swaledales, Herdwicks and Whitefaced Woodlands.

There are virtually no buildings, so lambing is on the hill where foxes, buzzards and even badgers take their toll. The Hodgson’s are happy if they can achieve one lamb per ewe reared. They also run twenty two Limousin cows.

The farm is signed up to every possible environmental scheme and ticks all the boxes, for beauty, diversity, habitat and so on. And it attracts hoards of hill walkers, some of whom came through the farmyard during our visit. But you can’t live on the view. And Sam admitted to me that 80% of their gross income comes from government schemes, with only 20% from the beef and lamb they produce.

As Candida explained the sheep are hefted to the land. In other words they stay where they are put and seldom stray, even if there’s a shortage of grazing and no fences.

“I suppose you could say we’re hefted too,” she said. “But we can only stay here to manage the place and keep it beautiful if we continue to get support.”

That fact was reinforced by Eric Robson, BBC broadcaster and Chairman of the Cumbria Tourist Board, who has a small farm in the county. As guest speaker at dinner one evening he reminded us of the interdependence of farming and tourism.

“By far the biggest of the two is tourism,” he said. “It generates £2billion a year for the county. But if the hills and fells weren’t managed the tourists wouldn’t come.

“Aid to hill farmers should not therefore be regarded as subsidies to them, but as investments in the wider community and as the only viable means of maintaining a beautiful area for future generations.”

HISTORIC HUTTON On day one we were royally entertained for lunch in the impressive courtyard of Hutton-in-theForest, home of Lord & Lady Inglewood. During the glorious sunny afternoon we explored this historic house, originally built as a stronghold against the Border Raiders, as well as beautiful walled gardens and Victorian topiary, surrounded by the magnificent medieval Forest of Inglewood (England’s second largest Royal forest). Intriguingly clippings from the yew hedges are used by a pharmaceutical firm to make a cancer-inhibiting drug. Hutton hosts BBC One’s Antiques Roadshow this autumn.

RHEGED CENTRE A W Jenkinson’ s Limousin ca ttle

AW estate manager at Nick Scholefield, Jenkinson

Glencoyne Farm Candida Hodgson, Sarah Dunni ng,

Westmorland CEO

d Rosie Carne Helen Bates an

Photo: Margaret O’Donnell

12

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010 • www.thefarmersclub.com

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010

Club members John, Barbara and daughter Sarah Dunning hosted our final visit at their award winning Rheged centre, part of Westmorland Limited. This multi-sited operation, employing 500 people and turning over more than £35m, grew from humble beginnings when the M6 motorway cut through their farm at Tebay. The UK’s only private motorway service area was opened in the 1960s, followed by southbound services, and other sites are now planned for the M5 in Gloucestershire. Westmorland Services won Which? Holiday’s Best Motorway Services in Britain award in 2006 and Egon Ronay’s Grand Prix of Gastronomy in 2009. Lunch was delicious!

13

INTERNATIONAL • Philip Bolam

INTERNATIONAL • Philip Bolam

In the same year as the Commonwealth Games, the 24th Commonwealth Agricultural Conference in Edinburgh considered cooperation and collaboration, as Philip Bolam reports

Commonwealth bid to boost co-operation delegates from 40 Show Societies in 21 countries. He posed a simple question.

“There are six billion people worldwide of which one billion go to bed hungry. How do we feed 50% more in 40 years’ time?”

With agriculture forming the bedrock of so many Commonwealth countries, he saw six key areas of concern: • food security, • decreasing areas of agricultural production, • degradation of natural resources, His Excellency Mr Kamalash Sharma, the Commonwealth Secretary General, warned of the pressures on farming around the world.

The Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth represents 51 agricultural societies in 24 countries across the world.

Every two years it meets to discuss key issues. This year’s event in Edinburgh revealed a wealth of good work being done and some common challenges.

His Excellency Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary-General, set the scene in a keynote address delivered to 180

• climate change, • lack of investment in agriculture, • the urgent need for artificial trade barriers to end.

Collaboration and cooperation are the key to tackling those concerns, he asserted.

“We must work together in this most ancient and contemporary of challenges – feeding ourselves and the world” Lord Selborne, a former RASE president and current chair of the council of the Foundation for Science and Technology, reinforced the need for joint effort,

highlighting the pressures from environmental change, droughts, floods and temperature change. Against this backdrop the challenge is to produce 50% more food with fewer resources, he stressed.

THE FUTURE So what of the future? Co-operation amongst farmers and collaboration along market chains is essential. Sarah Mackie, Tesco’s senior Scottish buyer, said farming needed to be very focussed and forward thinking. It was imperative to understand the customer. Customers liked to buy local, which presented both challenges and opportunities.

Frazer Scott, head of farming operations at the Co-operative Group explained it’s philosophy of farming 60,000 acres, producing for Co-Op shops. By 2011 it aims to have 35% of fresh produce with the label “Grown by Us”.

James Graham, chief executive of the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society was upbeat about the progress of the 75 Scottish producer co-operatives, providing figures to justify his claims.

International issues are to the fore as HRH The Princess Royal discusses global farming with Bradford Machilla, Zambian Minister of Agriculture, and Dr Elizabeth Nkumbula, President of the Agricultural and Commercial Society of Zambia.

Robert Graham, managing director of First Milk, whilst still milking 600 Jersey cows at Bridge of Allan, also had 609 supply farms selling 70 million litres/year, with diversifications into a wide variety of businesses and latterly supermarkets.

Jim McClaren, President, NFU for Scotland, outlined the complexity of dealing with three Governments, Scotland, UK and EU, sometimes with legislations in conflict.

The expensive growth of regulations must be reversed, he asserted.

Prof. Julie Fitzpatrick, Director Moredun Research Institute said the world faced a storm of food insecurity, exacerbated by climate change. It is important to improve biological efficiency and welfare of animals, improve yields and quality, and reduce waste. But at the same time more livestock movement meant more disease risk.

John Campbell, chairman of Glenrath Farms, described his early beginnings, running the family farm at age 16, moving on his own into egg production, which has now grown to be Scotland’s largest independent egg producer selling 1.3 million eggs/day with a £24 million turnover. His final comment: “The Only Thing You Need to Sell is Yourself”.

PUTTING SOMETHING BACK Commonwealth Agricultural Societies spend a lot of time seeking to improve lives in developing rural communities.

Next Generation delegates (l-r) David from India, Chelsea from Singapore, Abraham from Ethiopia and Nani from Papua New Guinea.

14

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010 • www.thefarmersclub.com

Norah Ebukalin, an early Next Generation delegate from Uganda, started the Popular Kumi Women’s Initiative (P’KWI) for women badly affected by the 10 year war.

They began improving poultry production, a vital source of food, and helping HIV orphans. Now 40 groups of 25 women work as small farmers, growing oil seed crops for the first motorised mill, financed by a UK

Common ground: Eric Wilson in conversation with Crown Estate Commissioner Gareth Baird and Ray Jones CEO of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland.

charity. Opened by Uganda’s president the operation now sells bottled vegetable oil, thus helping the livelihoods of those primary producers.

Still with the developing world, Andrew Baker outlined the Bhumi Vaarden Sustainable Agricultural Initiative, started

by HRH Prince of Wales following the failure of the “Green Revolution” and the despair of those involved. It seeks to find a sustainable solution to producing urgently required food using more traditional methods.

David & Lynda Mills from Norfolk have worked in Malawi amongst the elderly, disabled, Aids-affected and small children.

Their projects affect many lives, by helping communities and individuals to store grain better and milk goats to feed very young undernourished children.

Faith Brown of the Waitrose Foundation South Africa described how they, working

with their fruit and wine supply farms, successfully improved the lives of the workers and their families through education, creating places to learn, play and meet, with crèches and medical centres.

PRINCESS ROYAL In closing the Conference, RASC Deputy President, HRH The Princess Royal, said she was encouraged by the number of delegates, with so many Societies and countries represented and the enthusiasm of the Next Generation delegates, particularly those who were part of the 2009 Mission to Papua New Guinea. That boded well for a similar mission to Singapore and India next year.

“When you get home, think which ideas you’ve gathered you can put into practice?

Don’t forget to tell others who weren’t there,” she urged delegates.

NEXT EVENT Dr Elizabeth Nkumbula President of the Agricultural Society of Zambia announced the 25th Commonwealth Agricultural Conference in Zambia in 2012. As a confederation of leading national agricultural show societies, agricultural organisations and interested friends, the RASC is the only non-governmental organisation to represent agriculture across the Commonwealth. See www.commagshow.org for more information.

Scottish Focus Peter Russell, Director of Rural & Environment, Scottish Government explained to delegates how important the food and drink industries were to the economy, with a strong emphasis on quality. The whole supply chain involved 75,000 businesses and 360,000 jobs. He drew attention to the richness of wild life, saying Scotland had one of the most ambitious Climate Change programmes in the world. Delegates visited south-west Scotland, Airdrie and the Stirling area, plus the Borders and North East Scotland, and the Royal Highland Show, which drew a host of compliments for the RHASS, the host Society.

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010

15

LETTER • OIiver Dowding

ECO-LABELS • Debbie Crossan

Feeding the World is easy – but not as we know it, Ben. Responding to Sir Ben Gill’s recent global food shortages article, OIiver Dowding writes to suggest a dramatic reduction in feed grain cropping. Radical thinking, heresy or a glimpse of the future? initially approved by 57 governments.

Then, some might say reluctantly, our own government approved it two months later.

The report concluded that business as usual was not an option.

Let’s be radical. The only realistic solution capable of delivering all the essential objectives is eventual cessation of feeding grains and proteins to livestock. Perhaps not total removal, and maybe gradual, but starting now. The days of the feedlot beef producer, and enormous scale poultry and pig production units are surely numbered?

Somerset farmer Oliver Dowding

EVERYBODY, within and beyond agriculture, appreciates that we need to increase productivity and output if we’re going to feed all the people on this planet, fairly and nutritiously. Just as we would no more over-stock our farms without having realistic plans to feed the extra mouths, so we should treat the planet and its population.

Simultaneously, we face chronic wealth and health disparity, and the finite supply of three key natural resources; oil, water and phosphorus. Doing nothing to address these issues risks far worse consequences than the admittedly significant impacts for agricultural businesses of radically changing the way we produce the world’s food.

Delaying change is not an option. It simply means our children having to take the hit, which will be bigger and more painful, for which they will not thank us. We can either implement change voluntarily, soon, and have some degree of control, or have it imposed upon us by political diktats later.

16

While there is an apparent shortage of food, half the world eats significantly more than its fair share, with obesity at record levels. Even farmers are often overweight!

We wouldn’t profligately over-feed our livestock, so why do we do it to ourselves?

We clearly need to address the waste of edible food, currently in excess of 20% of all farmers’ produce. And we need to change diets, so everybody eats healthily, rather than some eating increasingly unhealthily, while others go without.

Agriculture, the only industry capable of producing the key ingredient for a healthy life, must implement truly sustainable longterm policies. Some might think it’s a cliché, but it would be praiseworthy if the right policies were implemented.

We should embrace the findings of the unprecedented report on this topic, the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). IAASTD summaries and reports, which were produced by 400 scientists from all over the world, over a period of four years, were

raised grass-fed livestock, but overall lesser numbers. Chicken and egg production would encounter large reductions.

Those considering themselves meat addicts will likely find the switch from quantity to quality of meat very positive, for both their health and the nation’s. That in turn would pay huge dividends through reducing NHS costs.

Third, land could produce other raw materials needed by society, including energy from photovoltaic, solar, or wind power, and alternative crops.

They claim to be efficient. I disagree. It takes 7kg of grain to deliver 1kg of feedlot beef and 3-4kg of grain for 1kg of pig or poultry meat. And we need to take account of all the other facets involved in production, and their side-effects.

Cutting grain production would greatly reduce water, oil and nutrient use, and would cut soil erosion too, saving this precious, irreplaceable resource, which we’re allowing to disappear at a ridiculous and unbelievably wasteful rate.

So what would happen to me and you, as farmers, and our land? Currently the proportion of soya used for non-human consumption is over 90%, and for wheat and maize over 50%. A reduction in such utilisation would lead to huge changes in land use!

Delivering radical change is difficult.

Nobody suggests otherwise. But if we accept the need to be radical, we have a fair chance that people will look back and lavish praise on a farming generation who made it possible. Nettles have to be grasped, egos put aside, perhaps even dented. For the sake of everybody a new paradigm is unavoidable. It’s that stark. But at least we’d be feeding everyone and making them healthier too!

Three potential alternatives come to the fore. First, we should create massive areas of woodland to regenerate the global lungs that we’ve spent two or three generations demolishing.

Second, large areas of arable land could be returned to grassland, supported by legumes to remove the need for oil derived fertility. This would support extensively

Oliver Dowding Shepton Farms Ltd, Wincanton, Somerset oliver.dowding@sheptonfarms.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Farmers Club Journal is delighted to receive letters for publication.

Send to: editor@thefarmersclub.com or post to Editor, The Farmers Club Journal, The Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL. Submissions may be edited. Please include a contact telephone number.

Time to end eco-label chaos IS the spate of so-called eco-labels confusing consumers and hampering the farming industry?

US environmental research organisations The World Resources Institute and Big Room Inc. recently quizzed 340 eco-labels across 42 countries, asking them about everything from certification to funding sources. Fewer than half were prepared to comment.

“Some eco-labels are regional while others are global and some have stricter criteria than others,” notes Trevor Bowden of Big Room Inc. That all makes for confusion.

“There is a real need for improved transparency and accountability.”

With so many factors to account for in evaluating sustainability, labels addressing limited attributes tend to proliferate and there is incentive for brands to choose just one side of the debate.

Websites such as www.truthinlabeling.org reveal a growing level of distrust. “I look and really care about food labels,” says consumer and mother Fiona Hackman.

“However, there are too many legal loopholes for things I am trying to avoid. I really dislike the feeling that I am being fobbed off.”

“The true number of independent, externally verified labels is few,” admits LEAF’s Caroline Drummond. “The Red Tractor symbol is now considered to be a good food safety standard by consumers and the Leaf Marque, a leading eco-label, has already accredited 18% of the fruit and veg produced in the UK.” But greater awareness of the truth behind labels is needed if farmers who meet new standards for sustainable food production are to derive the market premiums they deserve, she concludes.

Debbie Crossan

LABEL SURVEY Of those labels that responded to the WRI/BigRoom survey: • 92% require certification before an eco-label can be used. Of those, 66% use third-party certification.

• Average time to obtain a certification is 4 months, but there was wide variation in this. Average certificate duration is 2 years.

• Most schemes were run by non-profit organisations (58%). For-profit organisations accounted for 18% and government run schemes 8%.

• 44% of labels had measured the environmental or social impacts of their labelling programme. 21% plan to do so.

• 17% used tiers (eg gold, silver, bronze).

71% used a pass/fail system, some used both.

• 88% make who or what they have certified public. 87% make their certification criteria public.

• Funding constraints for operations and marketing are the biggest hindrance to expansion and rigor. There is a wide range in both the sources of funding and pricing of licensing fees.

• Non-profit eco-labels tended to use more rigorous conformity assessment techniques (such as requiring follow-up audits) and standards development processes.

• Almost half the labels (47%) are currently developing new standards.

Better used to feed humans than livestock?

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010 • www.thefarmersclub.com

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010

17

U30S • Gemma Partridge, Chairman; Patrick Durnford, Vice Chairman; MaryAnne Salisbury, Secretary

Chairman’s Jottings

NOVEMBER is here and I am nearing the end of my year as Chairman of the Under 30s. And what a busy year it has been! As you will see from the reports included in this edition of the Journal the Under 30s have continued their busy schedule, with the Autumn Dining Evening at the Club in September and a thoroughly enjoyable Autumn Farm Walk in Arundel, hosted by Tristram Van Lawick.

As you peruse this edition we will once again be at the Club for the Winter Dining Evening, and with Christmas fast approaching and the New Year just around the corner thoughts turn to what 2011 has in store for the Under 30s. I am delighted that Patrick Durnford will be stepping into my shoes as Chairman, and having heard musings about the year ahead I am sure he, along with the support of the committee, will do a fantastic job.

The next date for your diaries is the New Members Dinner and Winter Event in London on 4-6 February. The New Members Dinner provides an excellent opportunity for those of you who perhaps read about the Under 30s in your parents’ copy of the journal, but aren’t quite sure what to expect. There will be the usual

We were delighted to welcome Sarah Mukherjee as our guest speaker for the evening. Sarah has recently left the BBC after 20 years with the organisation, including 8 years as Environment Correspondent with regular features on

18

Following a picnic on the sunny banks of the River Arun we spent a most pleasant afternoon touring the gardens and vast interior of Arundel Castle. Founded on Christmas Day 1067 it is one of the longest inhabited country houses in England.

An enjoyable evening at The Muse Restaurant was followed on Sunday morning by a visit to Plumpton College, where the principal gave us a warm welcome and brief introduction to this landbase college with 1,000 full-time and 1,000 part-time students.

I hope you have all found our increasing use of e-mails for communicating details of our events helpful. In addition the new Farmers Club website is nearing completion and will feature a dedicated Under 30s page – watch this space!

Gemma Partridge gem.partridge@hotmail.co.uk 07769 930389

James Holloway and Stuart Southall

Radio 4’s Today programme, so was a familiar voice to many in attendance.

surroundings, and of difficult and at times cantankerous interviewees. Those of us who had the opportunity of talking with Sarah over dinner and in the bar enjoyed hearing about her new ventures as director of environment at Water UK and her work in trying to provide a sustainable future for the water industry, whilst protecting the environment – all very topical.

The discussions and revelry continued in the bar, with many planning their journeys to West Sussex for the forthcoming Autumn Farm Walk. When the bar shutter finally came down the group enjoyed an extended opportunity for socialising at a London nightclub.

Rhydian Scurlock Jones and Sarah Mukherjee

certainly see that was the case in Arundel.

In addition we have a theatre trip planned for Saturday afternoon and dinner at a London restaurant in the evening, with details to follow in due course.

Holly Adams and Lizzie Benson

We were all thoroughly entertained by Sarah’s recollections of early mornings standing in dark fields describing the

Autumn farm walk in Sussex

selection of well seasoned members and we would welcome anyone who is interested in joining the Club to come and see what we get up to.

BBC’s Sarah Mukherjee entertains FOLLOWING the success of the recent mid-week Pimm’s and Supper evening at the Club, the Under 30s reconvened for the Autumn Dining Evening on Friday 17th September in the Eastwood Room.

After much discussion regarding the difficult and unpredictable harvest weather, amongst other things, the 25 members and their guests were treated to a delicious meal of roasted tomato soup followed by a supreme of duck breast and a real crowd-pleasing trifle to finish.

U30S • Gemma Partridge, Chairman; Patrick Durnford, Vice Chairman; MaryAnne Salisbury, Secretary

Jayne Southall and Sophie Barrett

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010 • www.thefarmersclub.com

Sunshine greeted the U30 visit to Arundel Estate

WEST Sussex was the destination for the Under 30s’ action packed 2010 Autumn Farm walk, based around the Duke of Norfolk’s Estate and residence at Arundel Castle and Plumpton College’s vineyard on the edge of the South Downs.

Friday evening got the weekend off to a good start, with drinks and a meal at The Swan Hotel in Arundel. On Saturday morning we gathered at Peppering Grainstore on the Duke of Norfolk’s Estate, where we were greeted with a welcome cuppa, homemade sausage rolls and cakes, followed by an overview from estate manager Peter Knight.

The estate comprises approximately 8,000 acres, of which 3,100 acres is farmed inhand, including an arable rotation, 1,100 Romney breeding ewes and Higher Level Stewardship (HLS).

populations of animals such as hares and wild birds over the past seven years.

Grey partridge numbers, which are independently counted, have risen from 16 pairs to 2,000 today. The estate is proud of its achievements and hopes its investment of time and changing farming methods will start to bring a financial return, with its first one-day shoot planned this season.

Shortly after our visit Peter and his team were preparing to welcome DEFRA permanent secretary Dame Helen Ghosh to the estate to show her first hand the benefits HLS can deliver.

Peter’s key message to us was that passion and belief in what you are doing is key to making changes happen. We could

The college farms about 2,000 acres with dairy, arable, sheep, pig and beef enterprises and has invested substantially in recent years in student accommodation, the library, lecture rooms and new offices.

Intriguingly, in the charming grounds of the college is a quaint Norman church built in 1070.

An interesting aspect of the college is its 18 acre vineyard and on-site winery, where we received a condensed presentation on growing grapes, and making and marketing English wine, which is taking the wine world by storm!

We also had the pleasure of a tutored tasting led by Jo Cowderoy. Plumpton has won a number of awards for its red, rose, white and sparkling wines. What a magnificent way to end the weekend!

Our thanks go to Tristram and Anona van Lawick for organising such a fabulous itinerary for a weekend that was interesting, informative and tremendous fun!

Michael Houlden

Peter’s enthusiasm for managing the land in an environmentally rewarding way saw the estate replace Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA), Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) and Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) agreements with HLS, leading to capital works for fencing and hedge planting to divide the existing large arable fields into a patchwork of cropping.

HLS options including stubble margins, beetle banks and cover crops now deliver an annual cycle of food sources and habitats.

Together with predator management this has led to a significant increase in

U30s examine the vineyard....

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010

...before sampling the multiple awardwinning end product!

19

FARMING VIEWS

Farming Figures

FARMING VIEWS

The farmer wants a wife

By Debbie Crossan

£79.5bn

53

James has also launched www.RuralContractor.co.uk, following difficulties finding available contractors.

This site is free to users and provides an opportunity for smaller farmers to promote their services. Every farmer is a potential contractor, he explains. “Every bit of kit represents an income opportunity.”

Number of DEFRA’s 92 arm’s length bodies sacrificed during October’s bonfire of the quangos.

Average retailer margin per litre of milk in 2009/10, up from 18.8p in 2008/09 and 7.9p in 1999/2000, according to DairyCo.

20% Proportion of total UK crop value grown under irrigation, as identified in new RASE report Water for Agriculture – implications for policy and practice.

£6.5m Budget for latest 5-year governmentbacked project to establish the best ways of halting water pollution from agriculture.

40% Downturn in household consumption of fresh potatoes over the past 20 years.

Rural entrepreneur James Vestbirk: “It’s awesome to hear from someone who has met their partner through the site.”

THE FARMER wants a wife. But alongside the usual attributes this damsel requires nerves of steel and a certain flair for adventure.

James Vestbirk, Farmers Club family member and cattle breeder has made his intentions clear by launching the latest online dating site

www.LivingExtreme.co.uk aimed at singles who enjoy the outdoor life, be it hill walking, base jumping or white water rafting.

He views the internet as an obvious way to run a business alongside rearing Lincolnshire Red cattle on the family farm, and has already initiated a number of rural/farming web sites.

PGRO monitors pulse of the nation PULSES can go a long way to addressing the demands of health conscious consumers and food manufacturers, not to mention government concerns over health and ecological impacts.

Salvador Potter CEO of the UK Processors and Growers Research Organisation explains their dietary value. “Pulses have a low glycemic index and are gluten free.

They also have around twice the protein content of cereal grains and are high in complex carbohydrates including fibre.”

Everyone can benefit from eating pulses, he says. They are low fat and help maintain a healthy body weight by providing a feeling-fuller-longer sensation.

They hold particular value for those with dietary problems, particularly the 1% of

20

THE FARMERS CLUB CHRISTMAS CARD 2010

This was a strong motivator and James set up his first dating site www.Kissingates.com, which now registers around a hundred new members per day.

Both sites are UK based and membership is by subscription, so all profiles can be checked and validated. Client safety is paramount.

Value of food production, manufacturing and retailing to the UK economy, involving 3.6 million people.

22.4p

On returning to Lincolnshire from university in Newcastle, James realised the isolation and loss of social networks were a real threat to rural life and particularly young singles. “During my time at university I was never short of a date. I came back to find it was impossible to meet young, single women.”

people with coeliac disease, a condition where gluten triggers the body’s immune system to attack its own tissue. Pulses are a useful alternative to gluten-containing wheat based products, adding starch, fibre, protein and many of the vitamins and minerals missing from a gluten free diet.

Canadian pulse exports have had considerable success following promotional work undertaken by Pulse Canada, an organisation funded by growers, marketing boards, processors, exporters and the Canadian government.

Such support has enabled detailed research and development of pulses as a food additive, promoting their processing into flour which can enhance the nutritional value of many foods including batters, breads, dairy snacks and infant foods.

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010 • www.thefarmersclub.com

With an Agricultural Business and Marketing background James admits he is “tech savvy”. But he also uses freelance experts to help him set up the sites. He feels the internet can help solve some of the problems of rural life. “If people can adapt, then there are lots of on-line opportunities which are so well suited to a remote rural lifestyle.”

So, is James still single? You’ll need to be as fast-paced as the internet to find out.

Blencathra Foxhounds: Huntsman and hounds overlooking Bassenthwaite in the Lake District [photo:Pete Davies --- www.blencathrafoxhounds.com]

This year’s Farmers Club Christmas Card features a Cumbrian scene as a Blencathra huntsman and foxhounds look out over Bassenthwaite in the heart of the Lake District. The card, which measures 127 x 178 mm (5 x 7 inches), is printed with the Club crest and the greeting “With Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year”. It can be posted with a standard First or Second class stamp.

Surplus on the sale of the cards will be donated to the R.A.B.I. of England, Wales and N. Ireland and the R.S.A.B.I. of Scotland, both of which are dedicated to helping members of the farming community facing hardship.

Pulses not only qualify as a super food, but fix their own nitrogen in the field too. They require half the total energy inputs of many other crops, thereby reducing a rotation’s greenhouse gas emissions and environmental footprint.

Christmas Card Order Form

Each year the UK industry invests £350,000 by way of a voluntary grower levy, which PGRO raises to nearer £580,000 through partnerships with other organisations, including the British Edible Pulse Association. The special diet market is expected to grow to £25 billion by 2012 and Mr Potter sees this and other potential markets as a real opportunity for the UK.

Credit Card (Visa and Mastercard only).

“We see how the UK cereal sector has succeeded in growing its markets by working with end users, and the investment Pulse Canada has made promoting pulses to the food industry. PGRO and BEPA, working with the trade and breeders, want to emulate this success and promote pulses as playing an increasing role in food ingredients.”

Signature

Your Club’s Christmas Card is available in packs of 10 and can be bought at Reception or ordered from the Secretariat using the order form below. The price per pack is £8.00 including VAT and postage (UK only) for up to 5 packs (50 cards). A supplement will be charged on all orders of 6 packs or more to cover the cost of additional postage. Please place your order promptly to avoid any disappointment.

• Last recommended posting dates include: Australia, NZ, Far East, S & Cent America, Africa Dec 4, Europe Dec 11, UK 2nd Class Dec 18, UK 1st Class Dec 21.

✁

To: The Secretary, The Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL. Please send me ………….... packs of Christmas Cards at £8.00 per pack of 10 I will collect the cards from Reception on ……………… (approximate date if known) You can either pay by cheque, payable to The Farmers Club, or charge to a Debit or Total paid £ …………… (add £2.00 postage on orders of 60 + cards) PLEASE COMPLETE IN BLOCK CAPITALS with FIRST NAME Member Card Start Date

Card No Expiry Date

Security No

Amount £ Address Post Code Tel (Home) Email

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010

21

Club Information & Diary Dates

RAMBLINGS • Stephen Skinner

THE FARMERS CLUB Over 160 years of service to farming

The Secretariat 020 7930 3751

3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL

Patron – Her Majesty The Queen

Club’s summer opening proves to be a success I AM delighted to say how well our first summer ‘opening’ went this year. All the feedback I have had suggests that the service offered was enjoyed, particularly by families, but also by those visiting on business too.

The staff valued it as well as many of those working are now able to take their holidays outside of the normal expensive school period. So, if you are thinking about bringing the children/grandchildren down to London during the summer, you now know that your Club offers a relaxed place to be based (the dress rules during this time are the weekend dress rules), a fantastic location, appropriately summery food and a bar!

The summer also saw further progress

Brainwave charity beer tasting Have you ever wondered why you can taste everything from lemons and peaches to toffee and chocolate in a pint of beer? All will be revealed at an exclusive beer tasting with a member of the British Guild of Beer

with our refurbishment programme. The works went well, albeit taking a little longer than planned, and I hope members like the end results.

As I have said before, the intent is to refurbish all the bathrooms in time for the 2012 Olympics (funds allowing). We will also continue to create, as best we can, en-suite bathrooms where there are none at present. The first rooms on the list for conversion are Rooms 26 and 27 on the 7th floor.

Writers on 30th November here at The Farmers Club. The tasting starts at 6.30pm and tickets are just £28 with a buffet included. Contact Isobel Kerry for details on 07872 548450 or isobelkerry@brainwave.org.uk.

All proceeds go to the charity Brainwave, which works with children with disability and development delay.

Annual subscriptions 2010/2011 You will all be aware that VAT is due to go up to 20% in the New Year. To that end, the General Committee has decided on the advice of our Auditors, and in line with many other Clubs, to collect your subscriptions one day earlier than normal. Therefore, subs will be drawn by direct debit on Friday 31st December 2010. In doing this we avoid a significant bill accruing to the Club or alternatively, passing on an increase to your subs.

Should any member have any concerns with this would they please contact myself or the Club accountant, Mike Wood, on the usual numbers.

Due to the increase in VAT on 1st January 2010, unfortunately, the Club will have to increase its prices by 2.5% from then onwards.

Staff busy fundraising Farmers Club staff were busy baking for the MacMillan Coffee Morning at the Club on Friday 24 September, an event that was well attended by members, guests and office workers from 3 Whitehall Court. A wide range of delicious cakes, all made by staff members, ensured over £240 was raised for the MacMillan Cancer Relief Fund.

The winning team from The Farmers Club’s superb two day autumn golf meeting at Luffenham Heath, Rutland were (left to right) Andrew Dare, Sally Dare, Humphrey Nott and Ian Piggott, pictured here with Club golf captain Denis Chamberlain (centre).

More enthusiasts are invited to join the Club’s annual matches, championships and autumn meeting.

Contact: denisc@rase.org.uk 22

MaryAnne Salisbury, the Club events manager, recently took part in a 45 mile cycle ride from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Palace on Sunday 26 September to raise funds for The Prince’s Trust, a charity that helps support disadvantaged young people in the UK. She, along with two friends, raised £468 for this worthy charity.

A big thank you to everyone who very generously gave sponsorship to both charities.

THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010 • www.thefarmersclub.com

VICE PRESIDENTS Peter Jackson CBE, Roddy Loder-Symonds Sir David Naish DL, John Parker THE COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT OF THE CLUB FOR 2010

Club Information

PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN Nicki Quayle

020 7930 3751

TRUSTEES Mark Hudson (Chairman), Barclay Forrest OBE Mrs Susan Kilpatrick OBE, Norman Shaw CBE

Obituaries It is with regret that we announce the death of the following members: R A Bevan D U Corbett A B H Harris MBE J H Smith JP

Lincolnshire Herefordshire Surrey Oxfordshire

New Members The following were elected in October 2010: M Avent L Baseley J Birchall A Bray Mrs J Brook R Burt W Campbell Mrs J Charlton-Jones JP C Egremont D Green The Hon A Henderson M Hewitt Mrs I Lee Dr M Love J Luckies T Mottram M Murray Ms J Peach Dr D Poulter MP D Robinson

Wiltshire Cumberland Hertfordshire Somerset Devon Worcestershire Down Northamptonshire Wiltshire Yorkshire Oxfordshire Derbyshire Devon Somerset Hertfordshire Renfrewshire Cumberland Northamptonshire Suffolk Yorkshire

Ms C Robinson Sapsford R Scott B Shaw A Sherwood Mrs N Stewart R Sutton S Tannett T Taylor E Vaughan S Wyrill Overseas Mrs M Grant Walsh Mrs K Krarup T Zdziebkowski Under 30s E Barker Miss G Castle Miss C Courtney Lt D Derry T Derry Miss M Gimalova J Harmer Miss M Shanks M Stewart P Thompson J Vestbirk Whitehall Court S Chua

Sussex Suffolk Dumfriesshire Norfolk Northamptonshire Cheshire Hertfordshire Herefordshire Lincolnshire Yorkshire

United States of America Denmark Poland

Suffolk Kent Sussex Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire London Sussex Cumberland Northamptonshire Antrim Lincolnshire

London

These 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.

2011 Oxford Farming Conference Tuesday 4 – Thursday 6 January (Visit www.ofc.org.uk for more information) City Food Lecture, Guildhall Tuesday 18 January

WCF Banquet at Fishmongers Hall Tuesday 25 January NFU Conference, NEC Birmingham Tuesday 15 & Wednesday 16 February

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN John Reynolds COMMITTEE Elected 2005 Charles Notcutt OBE Elected 2006 Stewart Houston CBE, Meurig Raymond MBE Elected 2007 Tim Bennett, Mrs Anne Chamberlain (Chairman Journal & Communications Sub-Committee), James Cross, Richard Harrison, Campbell Tweed OBE Elected 2008 The Reverend Dr Gordon Gatward OBE Jimmy McLean (Chairman Membership SubCommittee), David Richardson OBE, John Wilson Elected 2009 Richard Butler (Chairman House Sub-Committee) John Stones Elected 2010 David Leaver, Martin Taylor Co-opted Miss Gemma Partridge (Chairman Under 30s) Patrick Durnford (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

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

St. David’s Day Dinner at the Club Friday 4 March – Mr Dai Jones, Welsh farmer, BAFTA-winning TV presenter and 2010 President of the Royal Welsh Show

CLUB CLOSURES 2010 LAMMA Show, Newark Wednesday 19 & Thursday 20 January

HONORARY TREASURER Paul Heygate

Deputy Secretary Robert Buckolt

DIARY DATES 2010/2011

Annual General Meeting Wednesday 8 December at 12 noon in the Club

VICE-CHAIRMAN Richard Holland

3.00pm Thursday 23 December to 3.00pm Tuesday 4 January 2011 Please note on Wed 22 December there will be no afternoon bar or dinner.

www.thefarmersclub.com • THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Winter 2010

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 23 Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 1PL Tel: 01825 768811

The Farmers Club Rhine Tour 2011 Join us on an exciting study tour to Germany’s Rhineland next May. Draft itinerary: Sunday 8th May Mid-morning Eurostar departure from London St Pancras to Cologne Sightseeing tour of Cologne Dinner and overnight: Mercure Hotel, Dusseldorf.

Monday 9th May Farm visit to Kleve Lunch in rustic country restaurant Mixed farm visit Dinner and overnight: Breisig Rhein Hotel, beside River Rhine Tuesday 10th May Boat Cruise along Rhine to Koblenz BUGA Horticultural Show, including cable car to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, with wonderful views of Upper Middle Rhine Valley.

Dinner cruise on the Rhine.

Overnight: Jakob Berg Hotel, Boppard.

Wednesday 11th May Cruise to Rudesheim - the most scenic journey along the Rhine, with magnificent views of breathtaking landscape and fine Middle Ages architecture.

Dinner and overnight: Park Hotel on Rhine Promenade.

Thursday 12th May Farm visit Lunch at scenic Kloster Eberbach monastery, setting for “Name of the Rose”, starring Sean Connery.

Return flight to London Heathrow, arriving late afternoon.

Costs include English speaking tour guide, luxury coach, boat cruise, entrance fees, accommodation, meals and all transport (apart from getting to St Pancras and onwards from Heathrow).

For more information and to book your place, contact Farmers Club Events Manager MaryAnne Salisbury Secretary e-mail: U30S@thefarmersclub.com (tel: 020 7930 3751).

Tractor in town Harvest Festival raises farming profile p4 INSIDE • • • •

Fish farming p8 Cumbria farm tour p12 Commonwealth issues p14 Food security p16

INSERTS: • Annual Report & Accounts • Staff Christmas Fund • Club rule amendments BACK COVER: • Rhineland Tour 2011