Past, present & future

The chief executive and secretary of the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society, James Godfrey, profiles this historic society at the heart of rural Jersey

‘Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose…’

The Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society (or RJA&HS for short) was founded on 26 August 1833 at a meeting held in St Helier, chaired by the Lieutenant-Governor, Major General Thornton. At this meeting it was unanimously agreed ‘that it appears to this meeting to be highly desirable to form in this Island an agricultural and horticultural society.’ The first formal meeting of the new society was held on 7 September that year and it was agreed that the aims would be ‘to create a spirit of industry and emulation, to offer premiums for the improvement of agriculture, breeding of cattle…. etc.’ This was at a time during the 19th Century, following the agricultural revolution in the United Kingdom, when many such societies were founded to communicate the latest improvements in agricultural practices to the farming community. The first cattle show was held in 1834 in the cattle market, a site now occupied by Minden Place car park, and other initiatives to improve the Jersey breed quickly followed.

Today the RJA&HS is probably best known for its hugely popular Summer Fair, held on the second weekend in June at its showground in Trinity, or more likely as the location of the Jersey Weekender music festival, as the showground also hosts one of the Island’s largest public events!

That might seem a somewhat obtuse activity for an agricultural society, but some readers might remember the Beatles or the Rolling Stones both performing at the Society’s old showground at Springfield.

Day-to-day work of the Society is undertaken by its two departments. The Horticultural Department is primarily concerned with the promotion of horticulture through shows, competitions, demonstrations and talks. It holds four flower and produce shows and two garden competitions during the year as well as providing over 60 allotments for members at the FJ Ahier Country Gardens. The Agricultural Department stages cattle shows, provides event facilities at the Royal Jersey Showground, supplies a range of professional services to support the modern dairy industry, and is responsible for the development of the Jersey breed in its island home through the management of the Jersey Herd Book.

The Herd Book was founded in 1866, instigated by Society secretary, Colonel Charles Le Cornu, and it is the oldest Jersey breed register in the world. What started as a simple record of ‘births, deaths and marriages’ today still forms the foundation upon which an enormous amount of information is collated to analyse individual animal performance. This enables effective management of the dairy herd, and informs selective breeding decisions which drives improvement across the whole population. I sometimes wonder what Colonel Le Cornu would make of our work today in DNA sequencing and genomic selection.

In recent years the Society has expanded its work through the Dairy for Development programme which harnesses Jersey’s expertise in dairy farming and cattle breeding to help dairy industries in developing countries. We have programmes running in Rwanda, Malawi and Ethiopia, shortly to be joined by Zambia and Nepal, where, by utilising the Jersey breed we can improve dairy productivity, provide nutrition and employment as well as securing sustainable communities in rural areas. We have also launched a programme to encourage young people in Jersey to consider the opportunities in agriculture and horticulture, with a number of apprentices working now in important gardens across the Island.

As to the future? I have no doubt that, as long as humans breed animals and cultivate plants, there will be the desire to learn, improve, modify and develop. Whether that is in terms of healthy productive animals or new varieties of crops, and whilst the science has changed radically the way we do things, the fundamentals remain the same. In 1833 members were encouraged ‘to create a spirit of industry and emulation’. Today we encourage members, and anyone who wishes to join us, to ‘participate, educate and celebrate’ all that’s best about rural Jersey.

Top image: Cultivate Young Minds - girl and cow 2019 Circle image: Display of apples - Springfield Hall - 1930’s Bottom image: Horticultural Show - Tom Robinson vegetable basket 2021