Winter2013

WINTER 2013 • ISSUE 247

www.thefarmersclub.com

Farmers Club INSIDE Youth Ag Summit p7 Cloud farming p8 Italy tour p10 Harvest Festival p12 Sheep in the City p13 Mozambique p14 INSERTS Orkney visit application form

Brussels Update CAP reform ploughs a new furrow p4-6

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

FRONT COVER Ploughing a new furrow – CAP reform is subtly shifting the focus of agricultural support for the next five years.

Contents

Disclaimer: The articles published in The Farmers Club Journal do not necessarily reflect the views of The Farmers Club. No responsibility for the quality of goods or services advertised in the magazine can be accepted by the publisher. Advertisements are included in good faith’. All rights reserved.

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Chairman’s Comments Reflections on Club Tour to Italy

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CAP reform in a nutshell UK farmers receive over £3billion a year from Brussels.

So what impact will the regime’s reform have on producers?

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Youth Ag Summit Young farmers from across the globe gathered in Canada to consider some of farming’s biggest topics

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Farming in the cloud On-line computing is bringing big changes on the farm

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10 Forza Italia Italian farmers know how to keep control of the supply chain, as Club members discovered in Northern Italy

12 Har vest Festival St Martin’s hosted the annual celebration of harvest home

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13 City sheep Club members stepped out to exercise the ancient right of City Liverymen to drive sheep across London Bridge

14 Nutty profits in Africa Growing macadamia nuts in Mozambique is not a challenge for the faint hearted

16 Buckingham Palace visit Exhibition of the Queen’s Coronation Robes was a big hit

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17 New Club Manager A warm welcome for new Club Manager Virginia Masser

18 Under 30s Under 30s chairman reflects on autumn dining evening

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19 Shropshire farm walk Intensive production of eggs and potatoes were the focus

20 Club News and Calendar Details of upcoming events

14 02 • The Farmers Club Winter Journal 2013

22 Club Information and Contacts

Chairman’s Comments • Stewart Houston

The week before we went to Italy, Janet and I attended the Harvest Festival service in St Martinin-the-Fields. Together with a large number of Farmers Club members we enjoyed a very moving service overseen by the Rt. Reverends Peter Price and Peter Hullah and our very own Gordon Gatward, who touched everyone with his harvest prayer. We are very lucky to have St Martin’s as “our” church.

They look after us very well and the choir did us proud with some wonderful music. The evening ended with a buffet supper for members and guests from many of the farming related Livery Companies.

Judging by the kind letters I received, they really enjoyed the occasion.

Chairman’s Comments “Our new Club Manager has ambitions for the food at the Club to be amongst the best in London.”

IF there is a shortage of culatello ham, salami and Parmesan cheese, blame the “Italy Group”. We came back from Reggio Emilia with suitcases bulging with the stuff, matched by much lighter wallets! Just to give you a flavour of the Club tour to Italy (see p10) we visited a winery which made the most delightful (and expensive) balsamic vinegar on the planet; had an early start to see the whole process of Parmigiano cheese production; and visited an organic producer who was quizzed remorselessly by some of our more sceptical members. I have to say he stood his ground well.

Towards the end of the trip we visited a 500 strong buffalo herd producing milk for sale and making mozzarella cheese. We tasted a new product they were testing, a brie made from 95% buffalo milk and 5% cow’s milk. I lost count of the number of times Robert Metcalfe “tested” it! We look forward to seeing it for sale in the UK.

Eric Wilson It is with great sadness that we report the death of Eric Wilson, a former Club chairman and leading figure within the industry. Eric died on Tuesday 29th October after a short illness. The Club extends its condolences and sympathy to Eric's family. A full obituary will be published in the next issue of the Journal.

Two things struck me during our visit. One was that every producer and processor was extremely proud of the traditional provenance and quality of their product, and an excellent ambassador for the region’s produce. The other was that although the people running the estate where we saw the buffalo talked in modern terms about genetic improvement and embryo transfer, the estate itself was quite run down, reflecting Italy’s rural decline. There was a huge range of old buildings, which once housed the estate’s livestock and equipment, and you could imagine the scale of the workforce it once employed.

Back at the Club we are keen to make a bigger feature of UK food provenance in the dining room.

Our new Club Manager, Virginia Masser, who joined us at the end of October, has ambitions for the food at the Club to be amongst the best in London. I’m sure you’ll all welcome Virginia, who brings with her a wealth of catering and hotel industry experience.

I’m always taken by the diverse meetings the Club hosts over the year and how the Staff copes so well with them. A recent example was an Auction of Promises for the Henry Plumb Foundation where the Staff transformed the Eastwood Room from a restaurant to an auction room in the time it took us to get a drink. Julian Sayers acted as auctioneer and managed to empty members’ pockets to the tune of over £8000 for this worthy cause, quietly catching some under-bidders with a second lot.

Opening up the Committee lunch to members continues to be met with enthusiasm, as the sell-out for next month’s luncheon testifies. Why would it not be so, when we are lucky enough through the good offices of Mark Hudson to have the Duke of Westminster as our special guest?

Continuing the staff theme, I can’t let this opportunity go without thanking Cyril on your behalf. He completes 30 years of service to the Club this month and never fails to bring a sense of humour to Reception. Well done Cyril.

Janet and I are looking forward to our penultimate event, the King’s College Choir at the Royal Albert Hall in December. My goodness, the year has flown by so quickly and we’ve enjoyed meeting so many new friends. I’m sure you will join me in wishing Jimmy and Jane McLean all the best for next year and I’m sure you will help to make it a memorable one for them too.

Stewart Houston

Premium pork products bring smiles all round as the Club visits Italy – p10.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 03

Charles Abel • Business

CAP 2013

CAP reform is progressing apace. Charles Abel summarises the key issues

“The impact of the new scheme’s implementation is closer than people think.”

UK FARMS receive over £3billion in support from Brussels every year. So the switch to a new payment system, with a smaller budget and extra complexity, demands attention.

The new CAP deal was struck on June 26, but detailed rules, definitions and workings are unlikely to be fully known until mid-2014, with different approaches expected from the UK’s devolved administrations.

The good news is that while farmers will be paid less, and will need to jump through more hoops to get it, restrictions are not as onerous as once feared.

Payments, excluding exchange rate effects, could be 10-15% lower per hectare in 2016-19.

“That’s not massive, for those with a profitable business, but inflation will erode payments further, as will the potential loss of £30/ha ELS payments,” notes reform-watcher Richard King of Andersons.

The new regime’s start date of 1 January 2015 means crops planted in autumn 2014 will need to be fully compliant. “The impact of the new scheme’s implementation is closer than people think.”

An immediate cut, before the new scheme is even considered, comes from a 9% cut in spending for 2014-2020, as all budgets are pared back under EU Financial Discipline. That will hit 2013 Payments, due this December, since they come from the EU’s 2014 budget year. “We expect a scale back of between 2 and 5%, although it won’t be noticed in the UK, because the Euro Sterling exchange rate was set more generously than last year,” says Mr King.

CAP reform brings new restrictions on farming – but greening measures, cropping restrictions and capping are all less onerous than feared.

04 • The Farmers Club Winter Journal 2013

The new regime is based on a new Basic Payment (BP), replacing the former Single Payment (SP). “It will be a multi-payment scheme, with some parts mandatory and some parts voluntary, and much of it a good deal more complex than previously,” notes Mr King.

New BPS Entitlements will replace old SPS entitlements from 1 January 2015, creating a new asset, with new values, and new tax implications.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland there will be a transition to fully Regional Payments, over a period of five years, to effectively “catch-up” with farmers in England, starting with a blank sheet of paper as the old Historic System is phased out.

Regionalisation, similar to England’s approach of lowland, moorland and severely disadvantaged areas (SDAs), will be applied to the rest of the UK, significantly impacting producers, as support is redistributed from farms in one region to those in another. That will be hugely important and hugely contentious, Mr King notes.

He sees the most important date as being 15 May 2015, the likely first deadline for applications under the new scheme. Farmers need to watch announcements and take care with business changes to avoid disadvantaging themselves in the interim.

“What farmers claim in 2015 will be crucial, because it will have implications for support payments for the following six years. There will also be a need to have claimed in 2013, since that will be the reference for securing a ‘Golden Ticket’, entitling a farmer to future entitlements. But exemptions exist, so we don’t envisage many being excluded,” he says.

Upland areas could benefit significantly from CAP reform.

Business • Charles Abel

So-called “Naked Acres” with no entitlements attached, amounting to an estimated 5% in Wales and up to 20% in Scotland, will be pulled into the scheme, which could dilute average payments in those countries. Claims are expected to be digital only, in England at least.

In England SDA payment rates could be raised significantly, up to lowland rates, to benefit hill farmers, without much impact on lowland payment rates, since SDA is a relatively small part of England, Mr King notes.

Greening rules will be mandatory for all farmers claiming the basic payment. Even very minor non-compliance could bring a 30% loss of basic payment, rising 20% in 2017 and 25% in 2018.

Rotational rules are less onerous than once feared. At least three crops will be required for claims with arable land over 30ha, with the first two not exceeding 95% and the main crop not exceeding 75% of the arable area. But rather than a crop being defined as a cereal or oilseed, wheat, barley, oats, rapeseed and linseed are now all seen as distinct crops. Spring crops, including spring wheat and spring barley are also distinct, with a cut-off based on planting date, not varietal type.

Contract famers who block crop clients’ farms will need to adjust arrangements to reflect rotation rules, since clients will claim support, not contractors.

The Permanent Pasture rule, designed to protect permanent pasture across the EU, was to apply at farm level, but member states can now apply it at state level. That is expected to be the case in the UK. In this instance permanent pasture means land used for grass, for more than 5 IACS claims, so consecutive leys would comply.

Ecological Focus Areas are more complex, but more flexible, than feared. Non-compliance is unlikely, provided attention is paid to the detail.

As it stands farms with more than 15ha of arable land will have to allocate the equivalent of 5% of the holding’s arable area to EFA, which could include land other than arable, such as landscape features.

Protein fixing crops, agro-forestry and short-rotation coppice with no inputs can all count as EFA. EFA Mapping requirements are set to start in 2018. Extra weighting could be given to certain features, further reducing the 5% area requirement.

Exemptions will apply where the majority of the farm is in grass, forage and legumes, and the remaining arable area is less than 30ha. Trading of pasture land could result, to help meet EFA requirements, as was seen with set-aside trading.

Given that the UK’s agri-environmental schemes, and ELS in particular, have been seen as the best in the EU, there has been an argument that they could continue in place of EFAs. Technically the EC agrees, through Equivalence. But Defra is thought to fear EC farm checks finding ELS benefits are

less than expected, forcing policy change and a hefty fine for Defra.

Defra is contractually obliged to honour Existing Agri-Environment Schemes, so those payments are safe. But double-funding, with greening and ELS payments claimed for the same land, will not be allowed.

Voluntary BPS top-up payments are unlikely to be adopted by the UK, but the mandatory Young Farmers Scheme will offer a maximum of around £4000/year for five years to farmers under 40 years of age entering farming for the first time, on their own, and unrelated to an existing farming operation. Worth up to £20,000 that could be worthwhile, but is unlikely to merit business restructuring, notes Anderson’s Graham Redman.

Support funding will reduce by up to 10% – Richard King, Andersons.

Concerns over the Capping of support payments have been largely resolved, with compulsory degressivity effectively applying a 5% clawback to all payments above E150,000.

But the greening part of payments will be exempt, cutting the effective rate to 3.5%. “It’s not that draconian,” says Mr Redman.

But 5% is a minimum and Wales is expected to go higher, for largely political reasons, with a 15% headline clawback for the 50-60 businesses receiving over E150,000, and no additional payment for the five or six businesses receiving over E300,000.

For a 1600ha estate the impact in England would amount to 1.4% of the overall BPS and even in Wales only 6%. “At those levels it really is not going to be worthwhile for larger farms to split the business, given the costs of doing so,” says Mr King.

Coupled payments will probably be maintained in Scotland only, for suckler cows. Wales is unlikely to take up the option, as it would effectively mean taxing all farmers, to subsidize all farmers.

The Active Farmer issue has been resolved, with a list of non-farming organisations, like airports and water companies, that will be excluded from the BPS. Non-farming activities of unlisted farms will no longer be an issue.

The Minimum Activity requirement, to address situations such as Scotland’s so-called “slipper farmers”, is now in the hands of member states, which can set their own criteria, such as a minimum stocking rate, which Scotland is expected to adopt.

But English farms face problems around Dual Use, where different parties apply for different support payments, such as landlords claiming agri-environmental payments and tenants the single farm payment. “The EU Commission and auditors don’t think this should exist, and whilst Defra has been happy enough with it, a lot of pressure has been applied to Defra and it may well be that 2015 Continued on page 6…

www.thefarmersclub.com • 05

Charles Abel • Business

risk management being a possible new addition, plus a requirement for 25% of spending to be on agri-environment and climate change. “The big squeeze will be on overall funding,” Mr King notes.

is seen as a time for change,” notes Mr King.

“It is an area to watch, because if it changes, tenancy agreements will need updating.”

Modulation is set to continue at 15% in England, with Scotland and Wales probably taking more than 10% from Pillar One support payments to Pillar Two rural development. The big change will be an overall reduction in rural development budgets, since what is taken from the farm’s Pillar One support payment will no longer be match funded by the member state, effectively halving that payment to Pillar 2.

Young Farmers Scheme worth up to £20,000 could be worthwhile – Graham Redman, Andersons.

Minimum Claim Size could be increased to 5ha, particularly in Scotland and England, delivering a 16% reduction in the number of claimants, and therefore administration, handled by the RPA. Although the UK has been some way below its Milk Quota for years, the end of milk quotas across the EU on 31st March 2015 could hit producers, as countries currently constrained by quota increase production and competition increases across EU markets. Similarly the end of Sugar Quotas after 2017 could see more competition from cane sugar coming into the EU. No great changes are expected on CrossCompliance. An annual Crisis Reserve of €400million will be held across the EU, for crises caused by diseases, adverse weather or market events. If unused, which is unlikely, it could be returned to farmers the following year.

Although Rural Development changes officially start on 1st January 2014, there is no legislation in place, so current schemes will roll-over in 2014, albeit from new, lower budgets. No new ELS agreements are likely to be available, unless farms are coming out of old classic schemes. Existing agreements will be honoured for the lifetime originally signed up to.

Member states have twenty five “pretty familiar” rural development options to choose from. Consultation is expected in the UK, with

Possible payments £/ha 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 England Lowland

223

209

207

192

190

189

187

184

SDA

179

167

166

191

189

187

185

183

31

30

34

33

33

33

32

32

Other land

247

235

207

184

183

181

179

177

High value

383

363

320

264

242

220

198

177

Moorland

52

49

43

38

37

37

37

37

Arable

251

238

218

166

166

166

167

168

Perm pasture

163

155

142

205

205

205

207

208

49

47

43

22

22

22

22

23

Moorland Wales

Scotland

Rough grazing

NB Payments are net after modulation and financial discipline; 30% greening; assumes Scotland gets internal convergence uplift; 1€ = 85p. Source: Andersons

06 • The Farmers Club Winter Journal 2013

Defra and Natural England are expected to put considerably less than the current 85% of Rural Development funding into Agri-Environment Schemes, with no single new scheme to replace the broad and shallow ELS. Higher level agreements at a landscape scale, involving groups of farms, are expected, with advice integrated into the application and payments unlikely until January 2016. The drop in funding means half of English farmland could fail to replace the £30/ha it currently gains through ELS, Mr Redman predicts.

A £25,000 limit for Capital Grants is likely, since value-for-money has not been perceived with large capital projects such as central grain stores.

So can we now anticipate stability until the next reform? Probably not. A mid-term review in 2018, probably under a new EU Agricultural Commissioner, could bring further change. Simpler? Unlikely.

With direct payments? Yes, probably, but at a lower level. With greening? Yes, and probably even more, maybe even leading to a Common Agricultural and Environmental Policy. Capping is likely to ratchet up.

The need to pay attention to policy details has never been greater.

CAP Reform • Basic Payment scheme • New entitlements • Regional differences • Currency masks aid cuts • Greening an issue • Ecological Focus Areas • Rotational rules • Capping not onerous • Active farmer test ok • Smaller Rural Development Programme

Balancing Act “The new system can be seen as an opportunity to think more about the needs of the business, what consumers want, and controlling costs, and less about scooping up subsidy,” suggests Mr Redman. Anderson models show a typical livestock farm could face a £6000 cut in support, but restructuring and better farming techniques worth up to £14,000 could more than offset that. On a less intensive unit a possible £9000 shortfall could be offset by a £25,000 uplift. * Andersons’ Farmer Seminars run in March 2014 – see www.andersons.co.uk

Food Security

Youth tackle food topics Last year Joe Fisher won the Farmers Club/Cave Foundation/ADAS Pinnacle Business Award. This summer he attended the world’s first ever Youth Ag Summit THE Youth Ag Summit first came to my attention whilst stuck in a French hospital recovering from surgery after a rather audacious snowboarding jump. Browsing the internet I came across the tweet “Win a trip to Canada to talk food security”.

The competition organised by Bayer CropScience and Farmers Weekly asked entrants to write 1,400 words outlining what they believed to be the core food security issues and their proposed solutions.

With plenty of time on my hands I set about it.

A few months later, following a final telephone interview, and with my leg back in one piece, I was flying to Calgary in Alberta, Canada for the week-long conference.

The ‘Feeding a hungry planet’ summit was organised by 4-H Canada, the equivalent of our own Young Farmers Clubs, in its 100th year, with major support from Bayer CropScience Canada. It drew 118 delegates aged 18 to 25, from 20 nations, creating a unique opportunity to meet people such as Yimale, a Zambian economics student determined to see an end to the political corruption blocking agricultural development in her country.

A speaker of particular note was Art Froehlich, a Canadian farmer and international food exporter, who talked openly about the economic and political obstacles blocking the path to a fair and efficient global food system. A key issue is that a variation in production of just 2% can make the difference between surplus and shortage for key crops such as corn, rice and wheat. And when supplies are short, it is developed countries that manage to get hold of them, of course. Developing countries needed to have greater sovereignty over their own food production, so they were less subject to the vagaries of the market, he suggested.

speakers backed up by visits to businesses at the forefront of their industries, such as John Deere and Alta Genetics – showcasing the latest technology to increase efficiency and sustainably.

But the stand-out trip for me was Sunterra Market, an Albertan family farm that had grown to become a very successful retailer, on the back of solid pork and beef production, keeping to core values and knowing what customers want; convenience, freshness and quality.

Each afternoon we undertook group work to consolidate and discuss topics. The action plans that resulted came back time and again to the core message of education and awareness. Until consumers reconnect with food production there is not enough unification and momentum to address the problem head on; everyone must do their bit to turn the tide.

Countries need more sovereign control of the food they produce, says Canadian farmer and international food exporter Art Froehlich.

This was well summarised by the slogan of the week ‘I ACT’. It does not stop with consumers – within the developing world education and empowerment of producers was a key theme too.

This led to the final vision: ‘To increase sustainable access to nutrient-dense food for women and children world-wide, to alleviate global hunger’.

Tactics and action plans were amalgamated and a committee established to implement and carry these forward, supported by a $40,000 fund from the sponsors.

We are faced with the almost insurmountable problem of feeding 2 billion extra people by 2050, just 37 years from now. Events like the Youth Ag Summit, facilitating so much positive energy and collaboration, are certainly a step in the right direction.

Indeed, innovation, sustainability and leadership were key areas for the summit, with specialist

* See summit website: www.youthagsummit.com

Joe Fisher with fellow UK delegates after the Youth Ag Summit’s very own Calgary Stampede “white hat” ceremony!

Youth delegates from around the world gathered for the Ag Summit in Alberta, Canada.

“Our generation will need to deal with the problem of feeding 2 billion extra people by 2050, which is why we need to come together now to start working towards a solution” – Youth Ag Summit delegate Mathieu Rouleau www.thefarmersclub.com • 07

Technology

Farming in the cloud Farming ‘in the cloud’ is a reality, as Charles Abel finds out

“As more of the practical side of farming becomes automated, farmers and operators are going to be able to spend more time managing operations instead of doing them.”

CLOUD-BASED farming isn’t a new take on weather dependent food production. Instead it is the future of agricultural decision-making, according to a leading provider of inputs and farm advice.

“With cloud-based computing, which effectively allows individuals to access powerful computing power via the web, farmers can get hold of all the key information they need, in real-time, to make much better farming decisions,” says Nick Rainsley of Nottingham-based Agrovista, which operates across the UK. The idea is that farm information can be gathered, processed and exchanged, to drive better physical and financial performance. The potential downside is that there is just so much information raining down on farmers, who lack the time or resources to process it properly, Mr Rainsley notes.

automated data gathering around the farm, which is processed in real-time, to help them make better informed business decisions.”

One such hub is Axis, the Agrovista eXchange Information System, which has been a pace-setter for collating key information and presenting it in a way farmers, and their advisers, can best utilise.

Significantly, it can be accessed from any computer, anywhere an internet connection can be made. Office PCs, laptops, tablets and smart phones can all be used, making it accessible in the farm office, in the field and in the tractor cab.

The basic service gives users access to a library of all their old and new field recommendations, plus a web-based weather forecasting, a regularly updated information archive including plant variety information and agrochemical product labels, data sheets, health and safety guidance, product stewardship and NVZ information, plus links to other information sources.

The basic service also allows tasks to be set and monitored, tutorials followed and files to be uploaded, effectively providing a backup incase the PC crashes. Account and invoice details are shown for Agrovista customers, for whom the Bronze service is free.

The Silver service adds the functionality of linking into Muddy Boots Greenlight Grower Management software, which is widely used by agronomists to better manage crops and crop inputs. Field histories can be built up to include soil testing, crop performance, crop photos during the season and draft, planned and applied application records. It also includes an Agrogate calendar pre-loaded with key cross-compliance dates and single payment scheme deadlines, and technical newsletters and trials results.

The Gold level goes one step further, integrating mapping from a range of suppliers, to create an over-

That is where web hubs come into play, giving farmers instant access to the key knowledge required, and more importantly the processing power to turn it into something useful.

“Web hubs allow farmers to modernize the farm office, and their back-office systems, with the latest technology, providing full back-up and sharing of information in and out of the business, in real-time, and even providing the potential for paperless enduser auditing,” Mr Rainsley notes.

He sees it as the future of farming. “As more of the practical side of farming becomes automated, farmers and operators are going to be able to spend more time managing operations instead of doing them. Farmers will increasingly benefit from

08 • The Farmers Club Winter Journal 2013

Smart monitors can trigger irrigation once pre-defined limits are met.

Technology

all farm mapping package, giving field-specific information at the touch of a button, all provided by powerful software, hosted on the web, in the cloud.

The mapping package not only allows maps to be stored, but more importantly automatically integrates them, to create an overall picture, accessible through the hub’s field management dashboard, where cropped area, average yield, variety and seasonal progress can all be viewed.

“Overlaying maps and data to build up an overall picture is a key benefit, helping farmers, and their advisers, assess future needs, and create input plans and maps for the season ahead,” notes Mr Rainsley.

The hub also gives the farm’s agronomist access to the information, with the farmer’s prior permission.

That means input recommendations are seamlessly uploaded, so all the farmer needs to do is print it off as a worksheet, confident that all the data has already been captured into the system.

Automated crop husbandry Weather-related decision making is increasingly being handed over to clever monitors and sophisticated software, as exemplified by the Plantsystems online portal, which will become a future component of Axis. Neutron probes placed in fields detect the soil moisture content beneath crops and, together with digital rain gauge data, fire actual in-crop information through a GSM transmitter to a central processing hub, in the cloud. The farmer can see the data in real-time and set parameters, such as a soil moisture deficit of 1inch, which will trigger an alert or activate a GSM-linked irrigator. This can be not only for field scale crops, but a new miniature system is also available for professional glasshouse and poly-tunnel growers. Both systems reduce the amount of water used, but increase the effectiveness, increasing yield but providing environmental and cost benefits.

Indeed, in the near future operators will be able to receive the latest recommendation on their smart phone in the field, update details such as date, time, application information and products used, and file their application record directly into Axis, with no need to complete any paperwork or rekey it into the crop records once back in the farm office. “Press the send button and the paperwork is done for you,” enthuses Mr Rainsley.

Access can also be granted to others involved with the farm, such as contractors, ensuring they have access to the most up-to-the-minute information possible.

At a business level the hub allows quotes to be obtained for inputs, including seed and fertilisers, for example, and will embrace traceability and assurance record keeping too in future.

Above: Any computer or smart-phone can access Axis – in the office, field or tractor cab.

Left: Web portals help farmers harness powerful computing to make better sense of the plethora of farm data being generated.

Below: Agronomists check farm data in the field, and update recommendations in real-time.

With more features planned farming in the cloud looks set to help farmers boost field performance, with a whole lot less hassle.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 09

Study Tour

Postcard from Italy In October the Farmers Club visited Italy to investigate artisan food production.

Marjorie Talbot provides an insight producers were each engaged in co-operative production and marketing schemes, registering traceable designation of origin for each product, regulated by the regional Reggio Emilia Consortia, and largely retaining control of the supply chain through to the retailers.

The farms welcomed our large group as it explored intensive indoor management of pigs, Holstein cattle and Mediterranean buffalo. Indeed, there was only one roadside sighting of sheep and cows in a field! Some welfare standards contrasted with the UK, such as pregnant sows kept in crates for up to two months.

STEPPING into the Italian slow food culture was a revelation for a large group of Farmers Club members, ably led by chairman Stewart Houston, his wife Janet, and Club events manager Lisbeth Rune.

Travelling by coach we visited a wide range of agricultural, horticultural and vini-cultural producers across the River Po’s Pianura Padana flood plain in northern Italy. Thankfully, Conchita, our friendly guide, was there to help with interpretation throughout our busy four day schedule.

The Po valley, reclaimed from malaria infested marsh, features deep alluvial soils across large fields drained by ditches, aspen and poplar forestry, with occasional 10 acre sites given to solar panels. The land is well suited to horticulture, maize, risotto rice, durum wheat, barley and lucerne; with grapes grown on the foothills to the north. The prevailing weather is damp and foggy, ideal cellar conditions for curing salumi, cheese and balsamic vinegar.

Significant highlights of the tour included farms owned by third generation Italian families producing and marketing from field to table using traditional, slow curing methods free of preservatives. The

Parmiggiano parmesan cheese manufacturing.

10 • The Farmers Club Winter Journal 2013

We walked the 40 acre Iris Agricoltura Biological socio-organic farm, founded in 1978 by Mauritzio Gisa on the River Oglio. Signore Gisa pioneered co-operative organic farming methods in a social network of growers and producers. The trading company ‘A.S.T.R.A. Bio’ guarantees traceability in every vegetable and cereal sold direct to the consumer, including SUMA-IRIS pasta. Control of such brands is maintained by the network of local vegetable and wheat growers, which also produces rice, fresh and conserved vegetables, culinary oils and even cosmetics such as soap and toothpaste.

The Parmesan cheese factory we visited showed a master cheesemaker producing Parmiggiano Reggiano from Holstein and Friesian milk. Traceability is assured by keeping the milk from various farms separate. No farms use silage, since it is said to impair the resulting milk’s fermentation during parmesan making.

Each 38kg cheese ‘wheel’ is marked for traceability in the rind and matured for 18, 22 or 30 months. The most mature cheese achieves a more crumbly, nutty and spicy taste.

The dairy farm we visited kept 110 mainly Holstein cattle but also a local red and white breed, mainly in

Buffalo are housed indoors for mozzarella production.

Typical Italian restaurant meat dishes.

Study Tour

Signore Stefano Lodigiano with some of his fabulously flavoursome culatello. sheds, fed on hay and maize grown on 100 acres, supplying milk to a local cheese factory. Neighbouring farmer Signore Stocchi showed us the museum he houses in his large barn for public education, with vintage tractors, machines, implements and domestic artefacts.

Signora Medici presented her family’s artisan production of Reggio Emilia balsamic vinegar, using only grapes grown in the district. She explained the slow process of traditional maturing over 12 years in barrels of reducing size and woods, such as cherry, chestnut, mulberry, walnut and juniper, with each wood selected to enhance the flavour.

Slow aging takes place in the attic, exposed to seasonal temperature changes. Balsamic vinegar had traditionally been valued for medicinal and culinary use and is regulated by Master Tasters of the Consortium of Producers Reggio Emilia.

At the Cascina Resmina Seconda pig farm, Signore Stefano Lodigiano welcomed the Farmers Club to explore pig meat production from the sow to the table. We were provided with lunch of salumi (salami, Parma ham, pancetta, culatello) and pasta at the restaurant, which celebrates Slow Cooking principles.

Balsamic vinegar matures for up to 12 years in a wide range of wooden casks.

The pigs appear to be ‘grown like a crop’, starting life in farrowing crates, weaned at 28 weeks, reared on maize, barley and whey, for slaughter at 14 months or 220 kilos.

The slaughter house, powered by solar panels, operates each Monday morning, with 25 pigs slaughtered at four pigs per hour. Waste blood is recycled to animal meal. The butchery operates alongside, including salumi preparation and maturing in automated chill rooms. Around 100kg of salumi is produced for wholesale order per week.

The Caffi family has farmed Mediterranean buffalo since the 1990s, in barns at Farfengo heritage village, near Cremona. Marketing is currently 90% milk products, such as “Labuaq” cheese, “Bufalizie” icecream and confectionary, 2% calf meat, and 8% embryo sales in partnership with a local university genetics research aiming for genome value. Buffalo milk offers high fat and protein content suitable for development in cosmetics and infant hygiene.

Field Farm Tours organised interesting tours of diverse farms and artisan producers showing carbon zero production of salumi meats, organic vegetables and pasta, parmesan cheese, buffalo cheese and balsamic vinegar – all enjoyed by everyone under a warm harvest sunshine!

Photos courtesy of George Streatfeild and Lisbeth Rune.

Working to overcome the language barrier for an attentive audience.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 11

Events

Harvest Festival OVER 100 members and their guests attended the annual Farmers Club Harvest Festival service at St Martin-in-the-Fields church just off Trafalgar Square in central London in early October.

Alongside the good turn-out of members the Club was pleased to host as guests the Masters of many of the farming related Livery Companies, many of whom retired to the Club for a buffet supper after an inspiring church service.

The theme for the service, which was led by the Rt. Reverend Peter Hullah, was the feeding of the five thousand, with the Rt. Reverend Peter Price giving the sermon and the Club’s own Reverend Dr Gordon Gatward offering a very moving harvest prayer.

As ever the impressive St Martin’s choir provided wonderful musical accompaniment, including Benedicite omnia opera (All you works of God, bless your creator), Laudate Dominum (Psalm 148) and a Gaelic choral

Seven baskets of produce – representing the food grown by British farmers.

blessing by John Rutter, with the Final from Symphonie No. 1 by Louise Vierne as an organ voluntary to close.

A high point of the service was a procession to take seven baskets of produce to the altar, each containing items to reflect the diversity of food produced on British farms. The Passage, a London charity geared to looking after up to 200 homeless individuals per day, was very grateful to receive the food (www.passage.org.uk).

Harvie Peebles, Master of the Worshipful Company of Poulters, and his wife June Peebles.

St Martin’s choir provided wonderful singing.

Tessa Forrest, Richard Hallhead and Rosie Carne.

Revd Dr Gordon Gatward, Stewart Houston, Rt Revd Peter Price and Rt Revd Peter Hullah.

Paul Heygate, Richard Butler, Denis Chamberlain and Barclay Forrest.

12 • The Farmers Club Winter Journal 2013

Baroness Byford, Master of the Worshipful Company of Farmers, with St Martin’s Rt Revd Peter Hullah and Farmers Club chairman Stewart Houston.

Events

City Sheep BRITISH sheep stepped into the spotlight as the Worshipful Company of Woolmen exercised the ancient right of Freemen and Liverymen of the City of London to drive sheep across London Bridge.

awareness of British wool and raise funds for the Lord Mayor's Appeal fund, put 600 freemen and two flocks of speckle-faced mule crosses and black-faced Suffolks right in the heart of the City.

Farmers Club member Howard Venters, a Woolman himself, was closely involved in the day, which saw 50 drives of the sheep back-and-forth across the bridge in a right that dates back almost 1,000 years.

Their activities prompted more than a few turned heads and double-takes as drivers, bus passengers, walkers and cyclists realised there really was a flock of sheep being herded down a cordoned-off bus lane on London Bridge! A great publicity initiative for British farming.

The event, organised to boost

The drive, under the guidance of Master Woolman Bill Clark, raised over £40,000.

Farmers Club members were to the fore in the Worshipful Company of Farmers team of drivers (l-r) Tony Alston, Richard Hallhead, Lindsay Hargreaves, Caroline Ratcliff, Rosie Carne, Graham Harvey, John Reynolds, David Bolton, Neil McKay and Julian Johnson.

City shepherds (l-r) Bill Clark, Master of the Worshipful Company of Woolmen; Howard Venters, Liveryman (Farmers and Woolmen); Adrian Bell, Liveryman (Farmers); and David Seamark, who provided the sheep for the day.

Bo Peep got a look in too........helping to secure media coverage on the ITV evening news, BBC radio, The Times, Independent and Financial Times, and as far afield as China and Canada, all boosting awareness of the wool trade, worth £1.25bn to the British economy.

The Woolmen are one of the City’s oldest livery companies, dating back to 1180.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 13

Mozambique

Spraying for stink bug between the lines of macadamias at Tenga

Growing nutty crops in Africa - and earning a tasty return Farming in Africa is not for the feint-hearted. Club member Sarah Peacocke describes her experiences in Mozambique

A hectare of mature trees can produce up to 4000kgs of nuts in shell, with a current factory delivered value of around $2/kg. That’s $8,000/ha.

MACADAMIAS are widely recognised as one the world’s finest nuts. Their crisp texture, delicate flavour, long shelf-life and wide range of value-added uses, combine to make them one of the fastest-growing high-cost crops in tropical and sub-tropical climates.

Seizing an opportunity to invest in Mozambique, a country where just 10% of available arable land is being farmed – in spite of the fact that it has four times the potential of neighbouring South Africa – a group of six close friends pooled their resources to invest more than $2.5 million in a 2,000ha farm in Niassa Province, not far from the Malawi and Tanzania borders.

There have been four managers of the farm in the past decade, and one, Vincent Peacocke, my husband, is only too well aware of the difficulties. He spent most of his life in Zimbabwe, farming cotton, tobacco, maize and baby vegetables, before losing his land to the Mugabe regime, and leaving for South Africa in 2002.

“Farming in Africa is a challenge in itself, but in Mozambique it’s extremely tough,” he says. “I believe Tenga is in a marginal area for macadamias. The orchards need to be in high rainfall areas, with rich

Mindful of land claim issues, and of the increasing dangers of farming south of the Mozambique border, where statistics prove life on the land is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, they decided to take on the challenge of starting a macadamia project from scratch, on land that had never been farmed, and needed huge investment to yield valuable returns.

In the past 10 years huge strides have been taken, but the farm, Tenga, still has a long walk to take before the investors can start to gather back their hard-earned cash.

14 • The Farmers Club Winter Journal 2013

Looking across the orchards from Tenga Mountain.

Africa • Charles Abel

well-drained soil, and soil that is rich in organic matter. They need a warm and frost free climate, and must be continually irrigated if the yield targets are to be met.”

Tenga lies at an altitude of 600m between the villages of Lochesse and Metamone. Although two rivers border the land – one at either end of the property – one runs dry for three months of the year.

Average rainfall is 1000mm, all between December and early April, so irrigation is vital.

“This is one of the farm’s biggest costs,” he explains. With no gravity-fed water available, and no grid electricity, irrigation is powered by a wood gas system, using chopped wood to fire a furnace, the gas from which powers Toyota 3F engines.

Vincent Peacocke (left) swaps information with a major Malawi producer, Chris Payne (right). Sharing ideas is key to success in Africa.

Keeping the engines running daily for nine months from April to December was challenging, with continual breakdowns. “Tar and ash would cause the rings to wear quickly, and the cylinder heads and valves would get clogged – even though we serviced the engines weekly. Running 12 or even 24 hours a day they were doing the equivalent of 100,000kms a week, at a continual speed – a bit like driving your car along the road without stopping or changing gear for 12,000kms a day, seven days a week, nine months in a row.”

Spare parts were another challenge. “We were 120kms from Lichinga, which is the nearest town, but it was impossible to get genuine parts. We would have to buy the Chinese equivalents, from one of the many Nigerian market stalls, and if any of the parts weren’t of the best quality, we would end up with an even bigger problem.” Often equipment was bundled into one of the farm vehicles and driven 530kms to Blantyre in Malawi for repair, where more expert help was at hand.

“Distance and logistics are two of the biggest things to consider when looking at the potential here,” he says. “We would think nothing of driving 500kms in a day along roads that nothing but a 4x4 could tackle, especially in the rainy season.

Everything costs so much more too, because of the long distances involved.”

Macadamia nut trees are a long-term investment.

The trees are tough, and hard to kill, but only produce economically viable quantities of fruit after eight years. Harvesting 100kgs there is only 46kgs left after mechanical dehusking to remove the outer ‘shell’, then 34.5kgs after drying and just 10kgs after cracking to reveal the saleable nut, so 90% of what is harvested is ultimately waste!

But the potential financial returns are huge – a hectare of mature trees can produce up to 4000kgs of nuts in shell, with a current factory delivered value of around $2/kg. That’s $8,000/ha.

It’s a nut in huge demand, not least for its health benefits. Clinical trials have shown eating 6 to 20 nuts a day can lower cholesterol levels, and may significantly lower the risk of heart disease.

Macadamia nuts hanging in racemes from branches.

Young trees about 18 months old in the nursery, soon ready to plant out at a rate of 1000 per 3ha block.

There was strong demand at Tenga too, from hungry troops of baboons, wild pigs and warthogs.

“Guarding the nuts became a full time operation, and we used teams of dogs, with handlers, to take on the baboons. One of the positives here is that labour costs are low – the minimum wage being equivalent to £52/month.”

So far around 180ha of the farm is down to macadamias, with on-going land clearance providing wood for the irrigation system and new blocks to plant each year. The plan is to reach 300ha in the next couple of years.

So, next time you eat a salted macadamia nut, enjoy a chocolate covered one, use the oil in cooking, wash with soap enriched with macadamia nut oil, or eat ice cream or a cookie with mac nut chips inside, spare a thought for the South African farmers busy developing a farm called Tenga in northern Mozambique. It could be that that’s where your nut started its life…

www.thefarmersclub.com • 15

Club Visit

Farming Figures A quick look at the topical issue of… getting new blood into farming… told through some key statistics

60,000 New workers needed in farming over next 10 years to maintain current workforce

41% Number of farmers in the UK aged over 50

Five-fold Reduction in the number of county council starter farms in England since 1966

8% Estimated number of first-generation farmers.

By contrast almost 30% can trace their business continuity back to 1900

£17,856 Average UK land price per hectare in the first six months of 2013

Club visit to Buckingham Palace gave a great opportunity to tour the State Rooms and see the Queen’s Coronation robes exhibition – all after lunch at The Club beforehand.

Wonderful visit to Buckingham Palace

2%

ON a glorious sunny day in September after a congenial luncheon at The Farmer’s Club we were transported in two luxurious coaches to the gates of Buckingham Palace.

1,000

We entered our capital’s most famous historic building via The Grand Staircase, which was the beginning of wonderful journey through State Rooms, Drawing Rooms, the Throne Room where all Royal Wedding groups are photographed.

Proportion of farmers over 65 years old who say they are unable to retire for financial reasons

New salaried management roles in farming required each year

1/3 Farmers intending to retire completely

660,000

People currently working across the whole of the UK farming industry Source: Future Of Farming Review Report July 2013 (www.gov.uk/defra), RASE, LANTRA and Farmers Weekly

16 • The Farmers Club Winter Journal 2013

I lingered for a long time in the Picture Gallery admiring paintings by Rubens, Rembrandt and Canelleto, to name but a few.

Passing from room to room it became apparent that this building is not a museum, but a place of work.

The rooms were blessed with a great deal of natural light and somehow is all seemed familiar, perhaps it is all the footage we see of state banquets,

investitures and the weekly meetings with the Prime Minister. Maybe I was also influenced by Daniel Craig as James Bond collecting the Queen for the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympics!

We finally reached the Exhibition of the Queen’s Coronation robes.

The detail of embroidery, the beadwork and stitching was just amazing. Did anyone spot the four leaf clover on The Dress?

The ritual of the Coronation was well explained through headphones.

The whole exhibition was a delight, and as we walked away from The Palace through the grounds, I felt very proud to be British and just wondered who winds all those clocks everyday?

• Di Stangroom Photo credits: State Dining Room, John Freeman; White Drawing Room, Derry Moore; Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013.

Club News

New Club Manager WITH a wealth of experience in the hotel and hospitality business Virginia Masser has joined the Farmers Club, taking up the new role of Club Manager at Whitehall Court in October.

Having run some of London’s most highly regarded hotels, including The Cadogan in Knightsbridge and the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair, she brings professionalism and a creative flair, backed by a keen desire to meet customer needs.

“Joining the Farmers Club is a tremendous opportunity and I’m really looking forward to working with everyone at the Club,” she says.

“In many ways it is all about providing a hotel style service, but for a more clearly defined client base – the membership.”

Working as a chef at Simpsons-in-the-Strand was her first experience of the sector, before moving to Claridge's as a housekeeper, then a range of roles in front of house and banqueting at The Savoy Hotel, giving her an appreciation of all aspects of hotel life.

Most recently she has been General Manager at Convex Leisure, a business providing top quality British food and hospitality services to a Royal Medical College in Regent’s Park.

so I’m very much looking forward to bringing my experience to support the Club as it moves forward.

“As a hotelier I have managed many projects within a business, such as refurbishments and launching three British restaurants. The key to their success was knowing what the market wanted, and promoting what would meet those needs, at a price that was right for the location.”

Virginia enjoys family time with her parents and sister who live nearby. She has a keen interest in the British legal system, having once aspired to becoming a barrister. A particular passion is foreign travel, with a group of former Savoy employees. “We travel all over the world – Hong Kong, Dubai, Sweden, Russia, Israel, staying in stunning hotels and enjoying great food – it really is all about who you know.”

“I’m very much looking forward to bringing my experience to support the Club as it moves forward.”

But what does our new Club Manager know about farming? “I visit my godchildren who live on a farm near Morpeth in Northumberland as often as I can. Over the years it has given me some understanding of the day to day life on a farm and the challenges that farmers can face, although I realise farms differ hugely.” So, when you see Virginia in the Club, be sure to give her an update on how your farm is faring.

A graduate of the Savoy Management Training Scheme Virginia was educated at Harlow Tertiary College, Birmingham College of Food and Westminster College. Her first general manager role was at Durley House Townhouse Hotel in Sloane Street, before moving on to the Hyde Park Hotel (now the Mandarin Oriental). She has also run country house hotels, including a hotel in the New Forest and Bailiffscourt Hotel in West Sussex.

Having managed such a wide range of property sizes, styles and ownership structures equips her well for the Farmers Club, she says. “I love what I do and I’m passionate about doing it to the best of my ability,

Virginia Masser - joining the Farmers Club as its new Club Manager

Letter to the editor Dear Sir, Having had to write Minutes myself on and off for 60 years or more I hesitate to comment on those of other people! But I do feel that the wording of the response to my vote of thanks and congratulation to Paul Heygate for his brilliant year as Chairman at the Annual General

Meeting of the Club was pretty lukewarm, whereas it was actually “received with acclamation”.

Please could those words be added in the records.

Yours faithfully, Peter Jackson Honorary Club Vice President

The Editor replies: The Minutes had been revised accordingly.

Letters to the Editor can be sent to: “Letters to the Editor” 3, Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL OR e-mailed to: editor@thefarmersclub.com

www.thefarmersclub.com • 17

Jeremy Dyas, Chairman; Beth Hockham, Vice Chairman; Lisbeth Rune, Secretary • U30s

U30s Chairman’s Jottings I can’t believe winter is here already. Thankfully at home in Shropshire I managed to finish planting winter cereals on October 10th, with all crops going into near perfect seedbeds. What a difference from last year! As I write, however, the weather is getting rather wet on the farm and it is somewhat of a relief that I did press on with the autumn establishment work.

On Saturday 28th September Under 30s Vice Chairman Beth Hockham along with keen under 30s members Bradley Etchell and Johnny Hawkins represented and promoted The Farmers Club’s Under 30s group at the Harper Adams University College annual fresher’s fair. I am pleased to report they received a great deal of interest and potentially signed up 20 new under 30s members.

As I was unable to attend I would particularly like to thank them for their help and support.

The Royal Agricultural University Alumni, along with The Farmers Club, hosted a networking evening on Thursday 17th October in the Bathurst Lounge at the RAU, Cirencester.

It started at 6:30pm and was well attended, giving a chance for those unfamiliar with The Farmers Club Under 30s and the RAU Alumni network to learn more about the two organisations. I would like to thank Stephen Skinner, Beth Hockham, Jake Pickering and Bradley Etchell for representing the Farmers Club.

Our next under 30s event at the Club will be the Winter Dining evening, on Friday 22nd November. I am delighted that we will be welcoming Mr James Barkhouse, head of north Europe for Syngenta Crop Protection. I’m sure he will be very interesting, especially given the current concerns over the decline in bee populations and the introduction of the neonicotinoid seed treatment ban. I do hope to you can attend.

Contact Jeremy for more information Jeremy Dyas U30 Chairman 07877 615444 jezzajones@hotmail.co.uk www.thefarmersclubu30s.com

18 • The Farmers Club Winter Journal 2013

Autumn Dining Event Despite harvest still being in full flow for many the annual Under 30s Autumn Dining Evening on Friday 6th September proved extremely popular, with well over 40 members and guests attending. The good turn-out meant the event was held in the main Dining Room, so very many thanks to other members who accommodated us and ate instead in the Eastwood Room that evening.

Our three course meal consisted of chicken liver parfait with Cumberland sauce, followed by pan-fried sea bass fillet and seasonal vegetables, then summer pudding with chilli ice-cream and fresh berries. It was great to see so many new faces joining us and the tables were buzzing with lively discussion throughout the evening.

The after dinner talk came from guest speaker Andrew Brown, who has won several local, regional and national awards for his conservation work, whilst maintaining a viable and productive commercial farm.

A Rutland farmer born and bred, his family has been farming in the area for over 300 years. The farm is currently 60% arable and 40% permanent pasture, and plays host to numerous school visits.

Mr Brown is NFU East Midlands Regional Chairman and sits on the Farmers Club Committee (Chair of Membership) and the Board of the HGCA. He is a Director of the Oxford

Farming Conference and Farming in the Park and is a member of the Commercial Farmers Group, the Institute of Agricultural Management and the Worshipful Company of Farmers. He is also a Chartered Environmentalist.

In a passionate speech he explained how he hosts school trips on his farm and goes into schools to promote British food and farming. His philosophy is that productive farming and good conservation practice go hand in hand on the farm and sharing this with the public is of paramount importance.

The discussion sparked a great debate and the conversation continued long after dinner had finished!

In true U30s style we moved through to the Club Bar before ending the evening at an upmarket night Club in Mayfair, which was a welcome change from our normal haunt – Opal!

Charlotte Harris

Authors invited If any U30s members would be interested in writing an article for the Journal do please get in touch.

Submissions are always very welcome – addressing any topical issue, business venture or farming insight. See our Farm walk profile opposite, for a typical example.

U30s • Jeremy Dyas, Chairman; Beth Hockham, Vice Chairman; Lisbeth Rune, Secretary

Shropshire stroll Images above: JRO Griffiths visit highlighted quality priorities for 1400 acres of crisping potatoes.

The Autumn Farm walk got off to an excellent start with 24 members gathering at The Lion Hotel in Shrewsbury, before heading out for an excellent meal at ‘Number Four’, a quirky little restaurant a stone’s throw from the hotel.

On Saturday we visited Oaklands Farm Eggs near Wem run by the Griffiths family. It was set up by Father Aled in 1969 and is now run by his two sons Elwyn and Gareth. The farm now houses 1.6 million laying hens!

We were told that in 2007 it was announced that all conventional cages would be banned by January 2012. Oaklands took the opportunity to improve welfare standards to an all-time high by spring 2009, installing an enriched colony system with scratching mats and perches, well before the 2012 deadline.

Although great for hen welfare the new system meant more damaged eggs, with 10% broken by hens laying whilst sitting on a perch. Oaklands now has its own liquid egg plant, which automatically separates damaged eggs from undamaged ones and uses a centrifugal machine to separate liquid from shell. Their main market for liquid egg is commercial catering.

be able to watch a lorry being loaded. This typically takes 35-40 minutes, with potatoes graded and washed en-route to the lorry. Interestingly the lorry was not a traditional rubber-belted potato bulker, but a box trailer type loaded via rear doors with an elevator. The lorry is unloaded at Walkers by filling the trailer with water and floating the potatoes out, to minimise bruising.

On site there was a potato peeler and deep fat fryer!

This was used to determine which batch of potatoes was eligible to be loaded, as harvest date, bruising and store temperatures can all influence sugar levels in the potato, which can in turn affect fry colour.

To ensure a constant supply of correct specification to Walkers potatoes are tested for good fry colour before loading.

Saturday evening saw us gather at the Peach Tree restaurant in Shrewsbury where we had our own private room and a fantastic meal, afterwards dancing the night away in the nearby C21 club.

Sunday morning saw us go-karting in treacherous conditions at Rednal Karting, near Oswestry. I’m pleased to say your Under 30s chairman managed to win, but it was no walk in the park. Will Benbow provided some tough competition along with some of the girls. A perfect end to a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. I would just like to thank all those involved for making it possible.

Jeremy Dyas

We were also shown round the packing station, which was very impressive, costing in excess of £5m, allowing Oaklands to inspect, grade, pack, label, box and palletise 300,000 eggs an hour. It was interesting to see how many retail brands were supplied from the same farm!

Oaklands also has its own in-house water treatment plant, using water from collection ponds, which is pumped to a filtering unit to remove algae and other sediments to provide clean and safe water for hens to drink.

“It was interesting to see how many retail brands were supplied from the same farm!”

After a pub lunch in the nearby village of Shawbury we headed to another Griffiths family, no relation, at JRO Griffiths’ potato storage and handling facility near Wellington. We were kindly shown around by Robin Griffiths and farm manager Andrew Marsh, who explained that about 1400 acres of main crop potatoes are grown specifically for the crisp market, all currently on contract for Walkers Crisps.

Storage capacity on site is sufficient to store and supply Walkers throughout the year, with on average five lorry loads a day going out. We were fortunate to

Oaklands Eggs provided an insight into a facility packing 300,000 eggs an hour.

Ladies and gentlemen – start your engines!

www.thefarmersclub.com • 19

Stephen Skinner • Club News

Club News Club gains four new bedrooms

New telephone system If you have telephoned the Club recently you will have noticed a change to the system. We now have installed new phones and what I believe to be a far better system for members to call in and talk to whom they want.

Again, a lot of thought has gone into this and I hope and believe this will deliver a far better service to you, the members.

One point of note, a number of staff now have a direct dial number (and/or an extension number), and the facility to leave messages, which we only had partially before. Again, this should help you talk to whom you want to. A list of the relevant numbers is on Page 23.

Refurbishment and development of new bedrooms continues apace at the Club, with bedrooms 53, 53A and 14-17 all now completed, which has resulted in the addition of an extra single en-suite bedroom.

into six single en-suite bedrooms.

This should be complete by mid-to late-February. Then, I hope, we can concentrate on other areas of the Club and give Housekeeping a bit of a break!

On the fourth floor the refurbishment and development of the Muddiman Suite is also progressing well and by mid-December should be complete, with an additional two bedrooms added (one single en-suite and one double en-suite), along with the newly refurbished and improved staff room, which will in future be available for members. The net result of all of this is that by mid-December we will have created four additional bedrooms.

Once the bedroom developments outlined above are complete, we will refurbish the Eastwood Room (more of a make-over than anything else), which is looking very tired and, overhaul reception which is, to be blunt, past its sell-by date.

As soon as the fourth floor is complete, I am optimistic we will start a major refurbishment of the 8th floor. The intent is to turn this from six single bedrooms sharing one bathroom,

We will then look to work on the kitchens, which need work to help the Head Chef and his team better deliver the quality and consistency of food you have every right to expect. Thereafter, we will need to take stock on whether we can afford, in year, to improve the Committee and Hudson Rooms, or whether we need to delay until 2015.

Finally, I should remind you that you will not be able to book a bedroom by leaving a message. You must either talk to Marlene, our Head Receptionist or one of our Receptionists directly or send an email or fax and then have a confirmatory email or fax from us.

Feedback wanted Many of you will be aware that during what was the traditional summer closure period the Club now remains open – and has done for the past three years. During this time (much of August), the bedrooms are available and we provide a catering and bar service, while the dress rules are relaxed to weekend dress. For those who have taken advantage of this, I think it true to say it has been a fun time for one and all.

Cyril’s 30

However, for the summer just past, the take up was not as good as we had anticipated. We did advertise it to members, but I am not sure the message got through, especially judging by the number of members who asked whether we were open or not.

Congratulations to receptionist Cyril Costello who celebrated 30 years of service at The Farmers Club at the end of October. His cheerful greeting has welcomed visitors to the Club ever since he joined in 1983 – a tremendous record, recognized at a special drinks reception in the Eastwood Room.

What I would like to know is, were you aware of the offering, and if you were, was there any specific issue that put you off using the Club during the summer. Or, put another way, what could we provide to attract you to use the Club during this period? I’d love to hear from you at snskinner@thefarmesrclub.com

20 • The Farmers Club Winter Journal 2013

Club News • Stephen Skinner

MacMillan What a fantastic response we had to our Macmillan Coffee Morning, held in The Club on the same day as the Buckingham Palace visit.

We raised £446.57 thanks to the generosity of staff and a good number of members who were waiting to go on the visit to Buckingham Palace, as well tenants from the offices downstairs who also attended.

Special thanks should go to Hamid’s son Karim, who made some delicious scones, which were served with jam and cream, Haffa’s daughter who made the most amazing macaroons, Mrs Pombo who made her usual professional orange and almond cake, Greg’s mother who made her scrumptious rum cake, Theresa in the kitchen who produced some amazing fancy cakes, not to mention all the other staff members who produced cakes for us.

Thank you all.

Club Calendar Diary Dates Please check the dates carefully as they sometimes change and new dates added for each issue. Details of Club events circulated in the previous issues are available from the Secretariat on 020 7930 3751.

DECEMBER New Year’s Eve Dinner 2013/14 at the Club – FULL JANUARY Oxford Farming Conference (Not a Club event) Monday 6 - Wednesday 8 (Visit www.ofc.org.uk for information)

New Year’s Eve

Lauren Wade

FEBRUARY City Food Lecture at the Guildhall (Not a Club event) Monday 17

La Boheme (Royal Albert Hall) & Supper in the Club Friday 28

APRIL St. George’s Day Lunch (venue tbc) Wednesday 23

St George’s Day

New Club Manager I am delighted to welcome Virginia Masser to the Club in the new role of Club Manager (page 17). Virginia’s experience of the hospitality and catering trade will be invaluable to help us provide an even better service to you the members. With Virginia taking up her post at the end of October we have a re-organised structure with Virginia responsible for bedrooms and catering; Mr Hamid Khaldi responsible for IT and Events; and Mr Mike Wood remaining as the Club Accountant.

This reorganisation has been debated long and hard, and while I am sure it will develop over time, as it is currently envisaged, I believe it will best serve the needs of the Club.

Club Closure From 5.00pm on Friday 20 December to 3.00pm on Thursday 2 January 2014 and also from 5pm Thursday 17 April to 8am Tuesday 22 April 2014.

Members may book a bedroom to stay when the Club is closed on the understanding that it is on a room only basis as no other facilities are available.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 21

The Farmers Club • Club Information

Club Information 020 7930 3557 • www.thefarmersclub.com Office Holders Patron – Her Majesty The Queen HONORARY VICE PRESIDENTS Peter Jackson CBE, Sir David Naish DL VICE PRESIDENTS Mark Hudson, Roddy Loder-Symonds, John Parker, Norman Shaw CBE THE COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT OF THE CLUB 2013 PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN Stewart Houston CBE TRUSTEES Barclay Forrest OBE (Chairman), Mrs Susan Kilpatrick OBE, Mrs Nicki Quayle, Julian Sayers VICE-CHAIRMAN Jimmy McLean HONORARY TREASURER Richard Butler IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN Paul Heygate CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND SECRETARY Air Commodore Stephen Skinner CLUB CHAPLAIN The Reverend Sam Wells COMMITTEE Elected 2008: The Reverend Dr Gordon Gatward OBE, David Richardson OBE (Chairman – Journal and Communications Sub-Committee), John Wilson

Friday 28 Februar y 2014 No opera can equal the captivating romance and heartfelt tragedy of Puccini's La Bohème.

With its real characters and powerful emotion, this story of doomed love gave Puccini full rein to unleash his most glorious music. From the rapturous grand-scale celebrations of café Momus to the tender intimacy of the artists’ garret, you will be drawn into the unfolding action where passion and spectacle mix with despair and ultimate tragedy.

Accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, La Bohème contains some of Puccini's finest music, including the deeply romantic scene at the end of Act One with Che gelida manina, Si, Mi chiamano Mimi and Roldolfo and Mimi's tender love duet O soave fanciulla. Musetta’s Waltz, Colline’s Coat Song and Mimi’s Farewell are just some of the glorious moments which raise the dramatic intensity to such great heights.

OUTLINE PROGRAMME 5.00pm 2-course supper in the Club 6.30pm Depart by coach for the Royal Albert Hall.

7.30pm Opera begins 10.00pm (approx.) Opera ends (Coach returns to the Club.)

THIS EVENT IS LIMITED TO 40 PLACES ONLY The cost per person is £110, including supper at the Club, ticket for the Opera and coach transfers to and from the Royal Albert Hall.

TO BOOK - Apply on line at www.thefarmersclub.com or complete the booking form below.

Places will be allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis.

Elected 2009: John Stones Elected 2011: Andrew Brown (Chairman – Membership Sub-Committee) Elected 2012: Mrs Ionwen Lewis, Charles Notcutt OBE (Chairman – House Sub-Committee) Elected 2013: Lindsay Hargreaves, Tim Harvey, Nick Helme, George Jessel DL, Peter Jinman OBE, Mrs Jo Turnbull Co-opted: Jeremy Dyas (Chairman Under 30s), Beth Hockham (Vice Chairman Under 30s), Martin Taylor 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)

LA BOHEME AT ROYAL ALBERT HALL (FRIDAY 28th FEBRUARY 2014) Please book online at www.thefarmersclub.com or complete in CAPITALS WITH FIRST NAME and return to Mrs Lisbeth Rune, Events Manager, The Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, LONDON, SW1A 2EL. Tel: 020-7930 3751 Email: events@thefarmersclub.com

Member Guest(s) Name(s) Address Post Code Tel

Email

Dietary Requirements I would like to reserve

place(s) @ £110 pp. (max 2 per member)

Total Cost £

NEXT ISSUE

A credit or debit card number (VISA, MASTERCARD or MAESTRO) or cheque payable to ‘The Farmers Club’ must accompany your application.

Card Holder’s Name

Watch out for your New Year issue of the Farmers Club Journal, due out in mid-January, with all the latest Club news, plus reports on distance learning, the Duke of Westminster’s address to the Club, super-sized dairy farms in North America and a round-up of projects supported by the Farmers Club Charitable Trust.

22 • The Farmers Club Winter Journal 2013

Card No. Amount to be Charged £ Start Date

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Signature

Expiry Date

Security No. (last 3 digits) Date

Club Information • The Farmers Club

Further information is available on The Farmers Club Website www.thefarmersclub.com Obituaries It is with regret that we announce the death of the following members: Mr J Dancer Hampshire Mr R Malim Herefordshire Mr G Snow Kent Dr A Sykes Westmorland Mr C Wharton Norfolk Mr W Wilson CBE Warwickshire New Members The following were elected: UK Members Mrs J Adams LVO OBE Mr K Aggarwal Mr J Austin Mr P Blow Mr I Brothwood Mr M Brown Miss S Brown Mr J Brubaker Mr T Bryant Mr D Chandler Mr D Craig Mr R Davis Ms E Downie Mr P Eades Mr A Fraser Dr A Gent Mr E Gilchrist Mr A Glanville Mr T Gray Mr A Hall Mr M Hayward Mr C Heaton Mr B Holland Mr A Jackson Dr J King Professor S McCorriston Mr R McKie Mr T Morris Mr G Page

Hampshire Kent Bedfordshire Nairnshire Worcestershire Derbyshire Lincolnshire London Lincolnshire Cheshire Essex Bedfordshire Suffolk Derbyshire Yorkshire Hampshire Yorkshire Glamorgan Wiltshire Norfolk Warwickshire London Cheshire Shropshire Sussex Devon Somerset Gloucestershire Essex

Mr P Roberts Yorkshire Mr C Roberts Kent Miss J Scott Lancashire Lord Shutt of Greetland OBE FCA Yorkshire Mr A Wadland Gloucestershire Mr K Whitmarsh Wiltshire Overseas Mrs M Harris Mr J Martin Mr R Notley Mr E Rios Centeno

Netherlands France Australia Belgium

Whitehall Court Dr J Broughton

London

Under 30s Miss A Bowen Miss H Forrester Mr A Fraser Mr H Fromant Mr C Manley Mr W Millar Miss H Murray Mr S Murray Mr C Shallow Mr G Tait Mr T Tempest Mr J Tempest Mr T Webster

Carmarthenshire Shropshire Yorkshire Northamptonshire Hertfordshire Yorkshire Devon Devon Suffolk London Durham Durham Derbyshire

WiFi WiFi is available throughout the Club at no charge.

Business Suite The Business Suite provides PCs, WiFi and a mobile phone signal amplifier for members.

Parking The Club has no private parking at Whitehall Court and metered parking in the immediate area is extremely limited. The nearest public car park, open 24 hours a day, is situated in Spring Gardens off Cockspur Street, approximately 5 minutes walk from the Club. Telephone: 0800 243 348. The Congestion Charge can be paid at this car park. For more information on parking, see: www.westminster.gov.uk/services/ transportandstreets/parking.

2014 Subscriptions The Committee has decided that the rates of subscription due on 01 January 2014 will be as follows: Annual Subscriptions Town Single £360.00 Town Family £394.00 Country Single £257.00 Country Family £290.00 Under 30 (26-29) Single £131.50 Family £145.50 Under 30 (18-25) Single £85.50 Family £97.00 Overseas Single £257.00 Overseas Family £290.00

Associate – Whitehall Court Single £360.00 Family £394.00 Associate – Forty Club Town Single £360.00 Town Family £394.00 Country Single £257.00 Country Family £290.00 Entrance Fees £280.00 for all categories except Under 30s

Life Membership Age Amount 31 – 36 £7500 36 – 41 £6880 41 – 46 £6250 46 – 51 £5520 51 – 56 £4950 56 – 61 £4280 61 – 66 £3440 66 – 71 £2610 Over 71 £1880

Club Contacts THE FARMERS CLUB Over 160 years of service to farming 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL

Chairman 2013: Stewart Houston

Chief Executive and Secretary: Air Commodore Stephen Skinner

Club Number 020 7930 3557 Reception ext: 200/201 reception@thefarmersclub.com Bedroom Reservations ext: 204 reservations@thefarmersclub.com Dining Room Reservations ext: 200/201 reception@thefarmersclub.com Meetings & Functions ext: 109 or direct line: 020 7925 7100 meetings@thefarmersclub.com Events & U30s ext: 104 events@thefarmersclub.com Club Manager ext: 102 clubmanager@thefarmersclub.com Head Chef ext: 111 or direct line: 020 7925 7103 chef@thefarmersclub.com Accounts ext: 106 or direct line: 020 7925 7101 accounts@thefarmersclub.com Membership ext: 107 or direct line: 020 7925 7102 membership@thefarmersclub.com PA to Secretary ext: 104 or direct line: 020 7930 3751 secretariat@thefarmersclub.com Bedrooms ext: 3+ [two digit room number] eg. ext 301 for Room1 Whitehall Court Porters 020 7930 3160 Fax 020 7839 7864 Website: www.thefarmersclub.com THE FARMERS CLUB JOURNAL Editor and Advertisement Manager: Charles Abel 07795 420692 E-mail: editor@thefarmersclub.com Designed and produced by: Ingenious, www.ingeniousdesign.co.uk The printing inks are made using vegetable based oils.

No film or film processing chemicals were used.

Printed on Lumi Silk which is ISO 14001 certified manufacturer.

FSC Mixed Credit. Elemental chlorine free (ECF) fibre sourced from well managed forests.

Members who have completed Direct Debit Mandates need take no action.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 23

THE FARMERS CLUB

Christmas Card 2013

Members are invited to order this year’s Farmers Club Christmas Card, featuring this striking image “Robin in the Copse” photographed by Andrew Watson.

Available in packs of 10 the cards can be bought at Reception or ordered using the order form on page 15 of the Autumn Journal.

The card is printed with the Club crest and the greeting “With Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year”.

Profits from card sales will support the R.A.B.I. of England, Wales and N. Ireland and the R.S.A.B.I. of Scotland.