14386 fcj 260 new year 2016 web

Farmers Club NEW YEAR JOURNAL 2016 • ISSUE 260

www.thefarmersclub.com

INSIDE Club news p4 EU In/Out Referendum p8 Big data on-farm p10 Milk’s carbon footprint p11 Potato pointers p12 Fresh thinking p14 OFC scholars p16 Matt Ridley’s view p17 Tuscany tour p19 U30s on Isle of Wight p20 Club calendar p24

INSERTS Member’s Info Sheet

Wiltshire chairman Innovation agenda for Club’s 2016 Chairman Richard Butler (p6)

www.thefarmersclub.com for the latest Club news

Contents

Farmers Club Over 170 years of service to farming

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

FRONT COVER Leading Wiltshire farmer Richard Butler, Club Chairman for 2016, is pictured with wife Sue on their Vale of Pewsey farm.

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.

6

3 Chairman’s Comments

Challenging times for farming require new focus

4 Club News

Significant developments are afoot at the Club

6 Club Chairman targets innovation

As Wiltshire farmer Richard Butler plans a fascinating year for the Club, we take a look at the man himself and his farm views

8 EU in/out referendum agenda is set

12

How will farming be impacted by the vote? We take a first look

10 Carbon footprint of milk

Managing the carbon footprint of farming is critical.

New research will help producers achieve the best outcomes

11 Big data on the farm

Exciting new centre will crunch numbers to help farmers

12 Potato pointers

Miserable crop values demand positive thinking. Here are some highlights from the British Potato 2015 event

19

14 Innovative thinking

It’s no good just having good ideas – they need developing too.

16 Oxford scholars

Insight into German farming from OFC-sponsored scholars

17 House of Lords

Lord Matt Ridley, columnist for The Times, shed light on a range of key global food issues at a special Club lunch held in the House of Lords

21

18 Farming figures

An insight into the referendum debate via some key figures

19 Gourmet Tuscany

Fine Italian foods and wines greeted our autumn tour group

20 Under 30s

The Isle of Wight proved an intriguing farming destination

22 Club Information and Contacts

02 • The Farmers Club New Year Journal 2016

Chairman’s Comments • Richard Butler On my own farm in Wiltshire, which I farm with my wife Sue and son David and his wife Katherine, we are all involved in business decisions. Although predominantly arable we decided to make a major investment in our dairy two years ago, so we are all hoping the future fortunes for dairy farms will improve in 2016. On the arable enterprise the weather through the summer of 2015 produced some record yields for wheat and barley. This will help to compensate for the very low market prices.

2016 at the Club

Chairman’s Comments “We decided to make a major investment in our dairy two years ago, so we are all hoping the future fortunes for dairy farms will improve in 2016” For a full profile of 2016 Chairman Richard Butler turn to p6&7

I AM writing this in late 2015 and am very much looking forward to my year as Chairman. Last year’s Chairman, Anne, organised a great programme of events for members throughout her year, and with the help of the staff team at the Club I will try to ensure 2016 will also be a year to remember.

Challenging times 2015 proved to be a challenging year for UK farming, with the collapse of global commodity prices combining with a very strong pound has meant farm incomes have been hit hard. Dairy farms have seen the price paid for their milk drop to a level which leaves many selling at a loss.

The Farmers Club trip to Ireland last June showed dairy farms there still expanding and being encouraged to do so by their processors. Their grass based production systems enable low cost production but the range in price paid per litre received by their farmers varies only around 10% compared to the 50% price difference between UK milk contracts currently applying.

EVENTS ONLINE Details of all Club events appear on our website www.thefarmersclub.com where members can check the latest information, and book and pay for tickets using our secure transaction service.

Events planned for 2016 include a Plant Science Seminar on Monday 11th April at 5pm; A Saint George’s day Luncheon on Friday 22nd April; and the Brexit – UK Agriculture better in or out?

Seminar on Wednesday 27th April at 5-7pm.

Looking forward 2016 will be a year of change at The Farmers Club. Our Club Secretary Stephen Skinner is leaving at the end of June after eight years. Stephen has overseen a period of exceptional financial success as shown in the annual accounts.

This has enabled the Club to invest in the bedrooms and other facilities for the benefit of members, and a further significant improvement scheme is due early this year. On a personal level Stephen has been a huge support to me over the years in particular helping me to plan this year’s programme. Like many of our members I am sad the Club is losing him, but wish him and Carla much happiness in the future.

Later in January the first of three parties of members leaves for Chile. This trip has been well supported and I will report back in the next Journal as my wife and I will be joining one of the group visits to South America.

This year there will be a number of evening lectures followed by supper at the Club. These will focus in the theme of science and technology on the farm and we have some excellent speakers for these planned events.

Brexit seminar The UK political scene will likely be dominated by the forthcoming EU “Brexit” referendum. I plan to hold a debate on the farming implications of the UK leaving the EU. Finally, may I wish all the members a happy and prosperous New Year and I look forward to meeting many of you at Club functions in the next twelve months.

Members can also use the website to book bedrooms, check statements and settle accounts.

If you haven’t registered for the site already, you will need your membership number.

This can be found on your Journal envelope, or during office hours contact Membership Secretary Mark Fairbairn on 020 7925 7102, or IT Manager Hamid Khaldi on 020 925 7108, or email itmanager@thefarmersclub.com Members may also use telephone, post, email or fax to book rooms and events.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 03

Stephen Skinner • Club News

Club News Public Rooms, Function Rooms and Office Refurbishment At long last the Club is able to turn to refurbishing the restaurant, lounge, bar, Shaw Room, ladies and gentlemen’s toilets, reception and much else besides. Clearly, this will involve a lot of work and some disruption. However, we will do all in our power to keep the latter to an absolute minimum.

The wonderful atmosphere we have in the Club, combining a very special farming fellowship, home-fromhome comforts and excellent food, is something we guard jealously.

Maintaining the Club as a special place to visit, and bring friends and work colleagues to, is our priority.

Indeed, I would like to emphasize two important points for the months ahead. Firstly, all of our 56 bedrooms will remain available. There will be no change there. Secondly, we do not yet have an official start date (there is significant bureaucracy to overcome, as you might imagine, given we are tenants in a Grade II*

Listed building). So, until we know actual dates, business will continue as normal.

Both the Committee (which was unanimous in its support), and I, think this project is going to be one of the most exciting periods in the Club’s evolution. We very much look forward to the improvements it will bring.

As more information becomes available I will ensure I keep you right up-to-date.

We are very sad to report the death of Winifred Sloan, wife of Drew Sloan who was Chairman of the Club in 1995. It was Winifred who inaugurated the annual Ladies Lunch at the Club for wives of Club Committee Members and ladies who have been of great service to the Club.

Farmers Club Vice President Barclay Forrest, his wife Tessa and 2015

The following five members have been elected to the General Committee, to serve for three years from 1st January 2016: Mr Robert Alston, Norfolk, owner and manager of a 480ha (1200 acre) arable and beef farming enterprise with property interests, director of Anglia Farmers Ltd, WCF liveryman, trustee of The Clan Trust.

Mr Andrew Brown, Leicestershire, mixed farmer, NFU Regional chairman 2010-15, Oxford Farming Conference director 2012-15, member of the Independent Agricultural Appeals Panel.

A very special Farmers Club Chairman’s wife

Winifred was a charismatic person who took up every challenge in life with enthusiasm and charm and served her local community and charities in Ayr, Scotland, in many roles – most recently as Provost of South Ayrshire Council.

New Committee Members

Mr Lindsay Hargreaves, Suffolk, managing director of Frederick Hiam Ltd, farming 3200ha (8000 acres) in East Anglia and Wales, producing vegetables, arable crops and milk.

Mr Nick Helme, Herefordshire, farmer and engineering consultant in waste and renewable energy industry, founder and longtime managing director of 7Y Machinery Ring farm co-operative.

Mr Peter Jinman, Herefordshire, veterinary surgeon and smallholder.

Past-president of Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and British Veterinary Association; chairman of Farm Animal Welfare Committee DEFRA. The Chairman of the Club would like to thank all those who stood for the five vacant positions and all members who participated in the ballot.

Royal Highland Show Dinner 2016 Club Chairman Anne Chamberlain represented the Club at Winifred’s funeral at St Leonard’s Parish Church in Ayr in early December. Winifred is survived by Drew, two sons, a daughter and one grandchild.

04 • The Farmers Club New Year Journal 2016

In our Winter 2015 Journal, we published the incorrect date for our Royal Highland Show Dinner.

The correct date is Wednesday 22nd June 2016. We will of course publish more details nearer the time.

Club News • Stephen Skinner

The Farmers Club Website

Club Calendar

Our website (www.thefarmersclub.com) continues to evolve and really do encourage you to have a look, not just so you can keep up to date with Club developments, but also to see how easy it is to book a room on-line, or a place on one of our many events.

Diary Dates

Please check the dates carefully as they sometimes change and new dates are added for each issue. Details of Club events circulated in the previous issues are available from the Secretariat on 020 7930 3751. For more information on Club events, including further details on these events and new events as they are added to the Calendar, visit the Events area of the Club website www.thefarmersclub.com

Significantly, we have promoted the Function Booking section to a more prominent place, and moved the Debate section further down the menu to enable this. The change follows discussion within the Communications subCommittee and all feedback is welcome.

The website, along with the Farmers Club Journal, our Facebook page, Twitter entries, e-Newsletters, emails and even general notices, is just one (albeit a very, very important) part of the multi-faceted approach we take to communicating with members.

So, if you haven’t done so already, do take a look and register with the website, so you can:

APRIL Advances in Plant Breeding Monday 11th April Club Seminar in National Liberal Club, 5pm Details to be confirmed

Plant Breeding Seminar

Private lecture, lunch in Club and transfer to Monet to Matisse exhibition. Application form in Winter issue

Garden Exhibition

• Book bedrooms on-line

• S ee the many pictures taken at various Club events throughout the year (see www.thefarmersclub.com/pics)

St George’s Day Lunch

• Should you have any problems with accessing the website please do contact IT Manager Mr Hamid Khaldi email: itmanager@ thefarmersclub.com tel: 020 7925 7108.

Club Seminar in the National Liberal Club, 5-7pm. Details to be confirmed

Details to be confirmed

Ulster Show Dinner

JUNE Royal Bath & West Show Wednesday 1st June Details to be confirmed

• S ee all our bursary and other specialist reports.

One thing I should say is that I will make every effort to keep our emails to you at a minimum. I hate getting endless streams of electronic rubbish just as much as you do!

Details to be confirmed

MAY Ulster Show Dinner Tuesday 10th May

• View and participate in the debate section

Could I also take this opportunity to ask you to let us have your most recent email address – if you haven’t done so already? Increasingly, information is relayed by this medium, and if you do want to receive the latest Club information, providing us with this detail can help enormously.

St George’s Day Lunch Friday 22nd April BREXIT – UK Agriculture Better In or Out? Wednesday 27th April

• S ee your statement and make payments on-line •B ook an event on-line (of note, our brand new all-singing, all-dancing event booking package will be rolled-out at the end of January 2016)

Modern Garden Exhibition Friday 15th April

Swan Lake Ballet – FULL Friday 3rd June Swan Lake

Supper at the Club and coach transfer to magnificent Swan Lake Application in Winter issue

Royal Cornwall Show Friday 10th June Details to be confirmed

Royal Highland Show

Royal Highland Show Dinner Wednesday 22nd June Details to be confirmed

JULY Club lunch with NFU President Tuesday 5th July Club lunch in July

Details to be confirmed

www.thefarmersclub.com • 05

Club Chairman

Wiltshire Chairman The Club’s new Chairman, Richard Butler, has innovation as his focus for the year ahead.

Charles Abel travelled to Wiltshire to find out more

“We need to maintain momentum with the Voluntary Initiative – the limit for a single pesticide residue in water is equivalent to just one stem of hay in 110,000 20kg bales”

SITTING in a renovated granary that stands proudly upon its original staddle stones and commands a fine view across the Vale of Pewsey all seems calm in the farm office serving East Wick farm in Wiltshire

of men; his two vice-chairmen were Meurig Raymond and Peter Kendall. He was a director of NFU Mutual for ten years and continues as a trustee of its Charitable Trust, alongside a host of other senior industry roles.

Yet inspectors were scrutinising stubbles and headlands earlier, a whole farm RPA inspection is due tomorrow, a severed Achilles tendon incapacitated son David through the autumn, youngest daughter Sarah is getting married in ten days, there’s a marquee to be pitched on the tennis court, and details for a year’s worth of Club events need finalising.

“When I first came to this Club I was immensely conscious of its tremendous heritage and the key part it has played in British agriculture over so many decades,” he reflects.

“When I first sat in the Committee Room I looked at all those pictures on the walls of chairmen from earlier decades – in most cases they looked incredibly austere, and sported particularly fine beards. The qualifications for the job seemed to be to look extremely serious, and have a beard. I felt I qualified on neither footing!”

2016 Club Chairman Richard Butler is one of those extremely efficient people, able to create a happy and relaxed atmosphere wherever they go, yet paddling with extraordinary efficiency just beneath the surface.

As a past Chairman of the NFU Cereals committee Richard is clearly an effective trainer

06 • The Farmers Club New Year Journal 2016

But he is ideally suited to chair the Club.

As Honorary Treasurer he brought tremendous dedication to detail, helping move the Club into its strong financial position today.

Club Chairman

Home farm Severe asthma as a youngster almost precluded him from a role in farming. “I seriously considered an alternative career.”

Thankfully, a spell at Cirencester changed his view. “I was fascinated by the developments in fungicides and plant breeding, and was eager to take them home to the family farm.” His father’s ill health saw him progressively take over the farm between 1975 and 1983. “It was a good time to be learning from mistakes – there was good profitability then.”

He now oversees a large mixed-tenure farming business from East Wick in the Vale of Pewsey, near Marlborough in Wiltshire. The 1700 acre home farm is located near the pretty thatched village of Wootton Rivers and is very much a family affair, with other family members routinely involved.

Waitrose contract Soils range from sandy loam to heavy clay with flint, supporting wheat for seed and milling, malting barley, oilseed rape, spring beans and forage maize for the dairy.

The Holstein dairy herd of around 300 head, housed in impressive new buildings, supplies milk to Waitrose, with beef animals and veal calves supplied to the same retailer. The 40% grass, 30% maize, TMR ration will soon include home-grown beans as Waitrose moves away from imported soya.

“We are very much arable farmers with a dairy,” Richard says modestly, belying the fact he was once chairman of the 300 Cow Club and has a clear passion for extracting the very best from the enterprise. Locomotion sensors with automated cow identification and segregation are just one recent innovation.

“It is quite impressive to arrive at the dairy and find twelve cows looking at you from a pen, because the system has detected their readiness for service.”

“The Club has a unique flavour, being fully engaged with all that is happening in farming, as well as giving members a unique London experience, to enjoy with friends, family and others with a similar outlook.”

Seminars & visits Indeed, innovation is a theme that will run throughout Richard’s Club year, including a seminar planned for Monday 11th April to look at technical developments in crop production.

Early July visits will include the impressive Ramsbury Estate near Marlborough and nearby Lockinge Estate.

Richard’s enthusiasm for innovation runs deep. He is chairman of the Voluntary Initiative to use pesticides more carefully, a challenge he feels the industry is addressing well, with good support from water companies. But the momentum needs maintaining.

He has also served as president of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants, and as a director of Wiltshire Grain, BASIS (Registration) Ltd and Crop Evaluation Limited.

A key task for the industry, he says, is to get across its level of professionalism, and the wealth of opportunities.

Richard is a family man, with son David and daughter Katie living nearby, and four active grandchildren. He is a particularly keen tennis player and member of the local shooting fraternity.

A fascinating Club year planned, including a special “UK agriculture, better in or out – the Brexit Question” seminar scheduled for Wednesday 27th April, a once-in-a-lifetime visit to Chile, an autumn farming and culture tour to the Netherlands, visit to Newbury races and a walking tour of London. Those sternfaced Club chairmen of yesteryear would surely approve!

Richard and Sue farm in partnership with son David in the Vale of Pewsey, including the ridge running up to Martinsell Hill, the second highest point in Wiltshire.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 07

Charles Abel • EU Referendum

Westminster – the best place for farm policy?

As farming’s EU referendum debate shifts into gear Charles Abel provides an over-view of the key questions identified at a scene-setting Westminster seminar. See page 18 for some key figures

“The level of uncertainty is an issue in itself, which is hugely damaging.”

BARKING MAD to leave, or unpatriotic to stay in? Views on the EU referendum are sharply divided, but one thing is for sure, UK farming will be impacted however the vote goes.

With little alternative policy clearly formulated the farming debate is mainly revolving around the risks, rather than benefits, of a UK exit.

It is largely comparing the known with the unknown, MEP Molly Scott Cato told Euractiv’s Westminster seminar in late 2015.

But the headline message was clear. CAP payments contributed £3bn to the UK’s £5.4bn total income from farming, almost 60%.

Would a UK regime match that?

UKIP says it will reinvest EU payments in a UK farming policy. But what about other parties, and HM Treasury? Reducing payments has long been their mantra. “If the UK moves outside the EU there would be huge fiscal pressure – so the chances of continuing at the current level of support would be virtually zero,” noted Martin Nesbitt, Defra’s former director for EU and International affairs.

Securing access to the key single European market would be crucial, involving some form of trade agreement. The European Free Trade Area or European Economic Area could cut EU costs, but would mean adopting key EU regulations, something the UK Government has said it will not do. World Trade Organisation rules could mean significant barriers to trade through hefty EU tariffs. So, a separate free trade deal would need negotiating.

On the flip-side a lack of EU trade protection would see farm-gate prices exposed to world markets, with low cost imports from the rest of the world arriving unhindered, unless protectionist tariffs were levied.

What future farm trade – EU, EFTA, EEA, WTO, bilateral......?

Just how a UK outside the EU would trade with Europe is a key concern, probably requiring the negotiation of a separate free trade deal.

08 • The Farmers Club New Year Journal 2016

One draconian forecast has suggested UK farming could, quite literally, be decimated, leaving just the top 10% in profit and lower land values, as the industry is hit by a ‘double-whammy’ of funding cuts and tougher markets. Even if all its assumptions fail to materialise, a leaner, more industrialised farm sector seems likely.

EU Referendum • Charles Abel

‘In’ or ‘out’ – more clarity is needed on exit implications.

So what of an EU-free ‘bonfire of regulations’?

Repatriated rules could be lighter-touch, and more science-based, especially for GM, agchem approvals and veterinary standards, but would still need to protect consumers and the environment. UK ‘goldplating’ was felt unlikely, with the approach less common than some claim. However, exports to the EU would still need to meet EU rules, which the UK would no longer be able to influence.

Access to farm labour was a concern, with 22,000 full-time and maybe as many part-time EU migrant workers key to certain UK farming sectors, said NFU deputy director general Martin Haworth.

Could such labour be sourced as easily, and at lower cost, from outside the EU? Speculation was rife on future farm policy.

A new UK policy could be created, but CAP could change too. Without the UK the EU balance would shift even further away from the UK Government’s policy goals. Combined with overseas farmers lobbying more effectively, farmers here could be at risk of an even less level playing field than now.

A blank-sheet-of-paper UK policy could be clearer, but would it benefit farming? It was unlikely to be as generous, and could see more focus on Pillar 2-type public benefits.

The current CAP was seen as too expensive, poorly targeted, stifling on-farm innovation and generational change, and unclear whether its goals were economic, social or environmental. That all stemmed from negotiations leading to a ‘messy compromise’. But whilst farm policy in the EU may not be satisfactory, it was unlikely to be any more satisfactory outside the EU, Mr Nesbitt suggested.

Non-farming lobby groups championed their positions vigorously, for both a new UK farm policy and a revised CAP. They highlighted the need for farming to meet environmental, climate change, and wider society needs, as well as producing traditional food outputs. Indeed, the CAP provided a strong framework for that, and provided funds where market forces were unsatisfactory, helping tie funds to practical farmers not landowners.

Overall, uncertainty was felt to be a major issue, with business planning, investment decisions and access to finance all more challenging whilst the future was unclear. In addition to any two-year exit process, a further 10 years of renegotiations could be anticipated.

Whilst David Cameron was unlikely to invest much political capital arguing for agricultural concessions during his EU renegotiation, particularly given farming’s small 1% share of GDP, it was felt Brussels policy-makers would watch farming’s arguments keenly during the ensuing referendum debate. So, whether the vote was ‘in’ or ‘out’, farm policy would almost certainly be influenced by the debate.

EURACTIV EurActiv (www.euractiv.com) is a free, independent online media service reporting on EU affairs. The seminar was attended by representatives from the European Parliament, UK policy makers, the NFU and a wide range of lobby groups with pro, anti and impartial views.

CLUB DEBATE Club Chairman Richard Butler has planned a special seminar for members on Wednesday 27th April – Brexit – UK Agriculture better in or out? – 5-7pm in The Liberal Club, Whitehall Court, London. Booking details due soon.

ONLINE DEBATE Share views on the EU Referendum with other Club members in the Debate section of the Club website www.thefarmersclub.com If you haven’t registered already, you will need your membership number. It can be found on your Journal envelope, or during office hours contact Membership Secretary Mark Fairbairn on 020 7925 7102 or IT Manager Hamid Khaldi on 020 925 7108, or email itmanager@thefarmersclub.com

Better than Brussels for British farmers?

“The balance within the EU would swing if the UK left, so a new CAP could mean an even less level playing field, because Europe would be moving ahead without the UK government’s influence.” www.thefarmersclub.com • 09

Applied Research

Data crunching for farmers “Using Big Data will give the agricultural sector the evidencebased edge - the insights that can drive productivity and growth” - Ian Meikle, Innovate UK.

IT’S a world first and it’s based at the world’s longest established agricultural research centre, right here in the UK. Agrimetrics, the world’s first centre of excellence for so-called big data processing across the food chain, and the first of the government’s planned clutch of centres for agricultural innovation, aims to drive a revolution that will result in a highly intelligent, productive, efficient, resilient and sustainable food system.

Created through Innovate UK, under the Agri-tech Strategy, its founding partners are Rothamsted Research, the University of Reading, NIAB and Scotland’s Rural University College.

Backed by £11.8m of government funding over three years, it was designed in consultation with more than 50 organisations from industry and academia and has over 190 companies involved.

“British farmers are increasingly making use of data to help them manage and grow their business, from predicting weather trends, to assessing soil qualities and using the very best feed types,” says Farming Minister George Eustice.

By developing the analytical tools to process the plethora of data now being collected on farms and throughout the UK food chain, Agrimetrics will

process high-value collective information to help transform crop and livestock production.

“Using data we can identify new genetic traits, spray only crops with disease, and use less water and energy for modern lower input farming,” says Life Sciences Minister George Freeman.

“The expertise we’re supporting at Agrimetrics will position the UK as a world leader in this fast emerging field and improve agricultural sustainability and productivity.”

At the core of Agrimetrics is a big data science platform, with all the software tools needed to gather, process and provide big data to support better decision making. That will put UK farmers at the forefront of the global revolution in agriculture informatics.

By working with and up-skilling the industry on data and data analysis Agrimetrics also aims to reduce the risks of investing in the technology.

“Modern technology is flooding the food and farming world with data; the key challenge is to fairly share and efficiently process it into information farmers can use,” explains Professor Alistair Stott of SRUC. Agrimetrics, an independent company, is a joint venture between Rothamsted Research – the longest running agricultural research station in the world, the University of Reading, SRUC and NIAB. Its headquarters is at Rothamsted’s Lawes Open Innovation Hub, with Reading University hosting the data science infrastructure, and NIAB and SRUC looking after knowledge exchange and outreach services to the farming community.

The aim is for the centre to become selfsustaining, so it can continue its mission after the three year government grant expires. www.agrimetrics.co.uk www.rothamsted.ac.uk www.reading.ac.uk www.niab.com

Brave new world of big data – Food and Farming Minister of State George Eustice (right) and Life Sciences Under Secretary George Freeman launch the world’s first Agrimetrics Centre for food and farming

10 • The Farmers Club New Year Journal 2016

www.sruc.ac.uk www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ innovate-uk

Carbon footprints

Carbon footsteps UK DAIRY farmers are tip-toeing towards lower carbon emissions too cautiously, not recognizing their strong link to profitability, judging by data released just ahead of the UN’s COP 21 Climate Change Summit in Paris in December.

Only 10% of UK dairy farmers felt cutting their on-farm greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would boost the efficiency and profitability of their milk production, an independent survey of 100 milk producers showed. Nearly half thought it would add to costs and just over a quarter saw the issue as unimportant.

However, 82% felt the issue would fairly or very significantly affect future farming generations and almost a quarter felt under pressure to measure and manage their carbon footprint. Worryingly, more than one in five thought milk’s largest GHG contribution came from processors, whereas 80% of emissions come from farms.

Carbon Trust certification manager John Kazer expected COP 21 to result in extra pressure on agriculture, with the UK government likely to set more specific targets and require greater compliance.

UK dairying needed robust indicators to help it evaluate progress against the GHG Action Plan, demonstrate improvements, and help farmers challenge their businesses, he argued.

“The good news is that a reduced carbon footprint is inextricably linked to increased farm efficiency, and profitability, so having a focus on cutting GHG emissions makes perfect sense,” noted Ben Braou, of research sponsor Alltech E-CO2, a firm created when feed additive maker Alltech (FCJ 256, p6) bought environmental monitoring firm The E-CO2 Project early last year.

With more than 40% of on-farm GHG emissions coming from cows, improvements to rumen and overall cow health can help deliver

more milk and less methane, Mr Braou asserted.

Healthy cows also live longer, lowering culling and replacement rates, again reducing GHG emissions per litre of milk.

“Emissions spread across a short milking life are very inefficient, whereas if they can be spread over increased lactations you help offset those produced during the unproductive rearing period,” he said.

Assessment key

Dairy farms assessing their carbon footprint increased efficiency by almost 10%, according to analysis of 3,786 records collated from 2009 to 2014. The average carbon footprint dropped from 1,341g/litre (CO2 equivalent) to 1,212g/litre, with the best 10% of farms achieving footprints below 1000g/litre and the worst 10% over 600g/ litre more.

“The good news is that a reduced carbon footprint is inextricably linked to increased farm efficiency, and profitability”

Significantly, the system seems to have little impact, with both extended grazing units and year-round housed operations amongst the very best performers, said Andrew Wynne, business manager of Alltech E-CO2, which does Carbon Trust-certified assessments for first purchasers and dairy farmers, at a cost equivalent to 0.04p/litre for a 1million litre herd.

“Efficiency is not about the system, but its management,” he said. Favourable performance indicators include feed rate per litre, calving interval and age at first calving. “But it is important to look at the whole farm situation and to view each area in that context, not in isolation.”

Background image: Cover crop research sites range from the Midlands to the Scottish Borders. www.thefarmersclub.com • 11

Charles Abel • Potatoes

Potato potential British Potato 2015 in Harrogate gave a great insight into innovations to help the sector. AHDB’s Rob Clayton (left) pinpointed five key areas for Charles Abel

1.

FRESH

In the fresh sector the challenge is to help consumers understand what is on offer. “Aldi and Lidl have been very good at recognising the difference between giving consumers choice and confusing them with too much choice,” says Rob Clayton, Strategy Director at AHDB Potatoes.

David Walker, chairman of the Fresh Produce Suppliers Association agrees. “The range of varieties available needs to reduce, with better information so consumers know what they are buying, to tie in with the meal in mind.”

2.

PROCESSED

In the processing sector convenience remains a huge driver. “Retail data shows big opportunities exist,” says Mr Clayton. “Baked potatoes in the mid-week meal are one example. Chilled pre-prepared potatoes are growing rapidly too.”

12 • The Farmers Club New Year Journal 2016

A new three year £2.5m marketing campaign, co-funded by the EU, is targeting 22-44 yearold women, and especially those aged 25-34, who are the least likely to buy potatoes and actually reduced consumption by over 5% in the ten years to 2012.

“There is a misconception that potatoes are fattening, but it is more about how they are prepared,” says Nick White, Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at AHDB Potatoes. “Busting such health myths is essential.” Quick, easy, tasty recipe ideas, needing just 20-30 minutes to prepare with ‘wash-and-go” fresh potatoes are part of the response.

Exports offer potential too, with crisp sales to Australia, the US, EU and United Arab Emirates in particular trading on their ‘Britishness’ to claim over £70m of sales and 12% year-on-year growth, says Sharon Hall, Director General of the Potato Processors’ Association.

Potatoes • Charles Abel

3.

SCIENCE

Science is targeting nutritional value. “We are not just looking at crop protection and agronomy, but consistency of product and nutritional profiles too,” says Mr Clayton.

“The future is about healthy foods.”

At the recent World Potato Congress in China, potato flours for breads, doughs and potato noodles all attracted interest, as did the anti-oxidant properties of purple and red varieties. Nearer home two newly funded projects offer promise: Nanoparticles for functional foods: Karen Davies’ PhD on micro-nutrient fortification at Nottingham Trent University aims to improve the role of the potato as a functional food, using tiny nanoparticles of iron oxide, measuring just 7-15 nanometres, in a novel soluble fertiliser. “Dietary anaemia is a huge

4.

SEED

Last year saw a fifth year of record seed exports beyond the EU, up 15.5%, to a highest-ever 90,000t. “There is a distinct buzz in the seed export market, which is doing really well, trading on our positive position on plant health, with freedom from Dickeya, brown rot and ring rot,” says Mr Clayton.

EU competitors can’t claim the same.

Egypt now accounts for 58% of all GB seed exports. But it is a two-edged sword, with

5.

STORAGE

“Potatoes often spend more time in the store than in the ground, so getting stores right for the future is a big priority,” says Mr Clayton.

Otherwise comparable stores can cost up to three times more to run per tonne, says Adrian Cunnington, Head of Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research, pushing electricity costs from £3/t to £9/t.

Five key areas are being targeted: • Leaks – on a windy day warm air ingress can increase running costs by up to 50% and increase condensation. AHDB’s StoreCheck+ service can pinpoint problems.

• Uneven air distribution in overhead-throw box stores can raise cooling costs and risk

problem, affecting 46% of people globally, and 25% in the UK,” says Ms Davies.

“Potatoes are naturally high in iron, with a typical portion supplying as much as two portions of beef steak. Fortified potatoes could be a low cost, safe way of providing 100% of our dietary nutritional requirement.”

Healthy low-GI spuds: PhD researcher Lara Hilley of the Cell and Molecular Sciences Group at the James Hutton Institute in Dundee and The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health in Aberdeen is using a gene mapping technique known as association genetics to tackle the potato’s reputation as a high glycaemic index (GI) food, with all the implications that has for type 2 diabetes. “We’ve identified lines from year one data with starch that digests at a similar rate as Australia’s already marketed low GI variety Carisma, which is encouraging.”

a lot of eggs in one basket and one variety, Hermes. Three of the 50-plus other countries AHDB Potatoes is focussing on are India, the world’s second largest producer of ware potatoes; Cuba, where problems with invasive weed marabou have been overcome and production is soaring; and Vietnam, where a growing middle class is boosting demand for crisping and chipping varieties. Bilateral trade deals facilitated by AHDB and the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency are boosting opportunities.

Maximum Residue Level breaches for key sprout suppressant CIPC. Fitting air dividers to force air along pallet slot bases helps greatly.

• Bulk stores with no fan speed control – reducing fan speed helps circulate CIPC fog evenly, and running fans at 80% once the store is dry cuts costs by as much as 50%.

• Dual use of stores for cereals and CIPCtreated potatoes are increasingly unfeasible since Red Tractor Combinable Crops audits have the MRL for CIPC in cereals set at the limit of detection.

• Replacing a 20-year-old fan with a new more efficient one gives better results from less electricity, with a swift payback where electricity costs may be £6000/year.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 13

Ruth Topham • Farm Management

Fresh ideas

How are your entrepreneurial ideas for the year ahead doing?

Ruth Topham, associate director and mentor at KPMG Enterprise Consulting, offers some timely advice IT starts with a spark of inspiration. You see a gap in the market, an unmet need, a problem that could be addressed with thought, innovation and hard work. Done right, it could really make a difference. Done fast, it could steal a march on potential competitors. Done in a controlled manner, and you’re in it for the long haul.

What next?

Ruth Topham, associate director and mentor, KPMG Enterprise Consulting

Doubt, that’s what. Yes, maybe not for everyone, but for many. They may not be exactly these doubts, or quite in this order, but they still come: • “There’s a reason why no-one has managed to do this.”

• “I’ll never find the money to really get it going.”

• “I don’t have all the skills to do this.”

• “I’m just not sure I have it in me.”

• “How will I pay the bills and get this off the ground?”

Easier with a mentor’s support – plotting a path to business success

success, not by a long way. But doing nothing definitely guarantees failure.

What to do?

Tell someone. You might be thinking “they’ll steal my idea!” So, of course, don’t just tell anyone. Find someone you trust, someone who will understand your concepts, and just as importantly, somebody who can deliver honest feedback constructively.

Tell them how you think your idea will work, how you think you might go to market, how you plan to make money from it.

So, find a mentor, and tell them your doubts too. A great mentor will be able to help you work through those doubts. That will lead to refining the idea, it may even lead to killing the idea (hopefully for a better one), but whatever you do, find a great mentor and use them to help you give the idea due thought and attention.

The idea is still there, but it doesn’t feel quite like ‘the one’ anymore. You stop scribbling notes about it and cast your mind to other things. For some, this happens in minutes or hours, for others, days.

Being an entrepreneur and business owner can be lonely. A mentor provides a sounding board to ensure you focus your energy where it counts, and make the big decisions with a clear head.

If your first instinct was that your idea might really have legs, then there is a good chance you are right. Of course, this doesn’t guarantee

Having a mentor also means you’re making an instant commitment – a commitment to follow your idea through and give it the thought it

14 • The Farmers Club New Year Journal 2016

Farm Management • Ruth Topham deserves. That’s an instant commitment to believe in yourself.

Great mentors Getting a great mentor is critical. You’d never pick a mediocre teacher for your children, so nurture yourself and your idea with the same care.

Clearly someone who has worked with new business ideas before is essential. Someone in your industry can also help, but in my opinion that credential is a ‘nice to have’ depending on how specialist the industry is. You’ve already come up with the idea, there’s a good chance you know a large proportion of what you need to know in the industry anyway.

Most importantly a great mentor will not give you the answers. You read right! A great mentor will not do the work for you. A great mentor will help you find your own answers.

They will have the ability to put themselves in your shoes, to see the passion in your eyes, and the inspiration in your idea. And they will have the restraint and thought process to see several steps ahead and to help you to do the same.

They will commit themselves to you and ride the rollercoaster with you, but with their eyes open on the scary parts.

You can be a great mentee by: • Being open to advice and feedback and making sure you act on it • Making the most of your time with your mentor by coming prepared with questions, thoughts and ideas to discuss • Keeping in touch with your mentor, letting them know how things are going, even if you don’t need them at that exact time – this makes it easier for the mentor to help you when you do need it, by being up to speed. It also helps develop your relationship A great mentor and a great mentee make for a fantastic relationship that is positive, energising and productive.

Why wait?

There are plenty of places to look for a mentor.

KPMG has a successful mentoring programme and you can also try asking your industry association, or your local Business Growth Hub or Chamber of Commerce.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Are your fresh farming ideas finding fertile ground, or still waiting to pass GO?

I finish with one of my favourite quotes: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has,” said the cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead. Let the innovation commence.

All about you It’s not all about the mentor. Actually this whole business starts and ends with you, at least for now.

Having a great mentor is only half the battle, you have to be a great mentee too.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 15

Oxford Conference

Scholarly thoughts “New technology must prove it can increase margins before being adopted”

Common goals – seeking ways to integrate new technology into viable on-farm solutions is a shared aim of young farmers in the UK and Germany alike .

COLLABORATION, harnessing ‘big data’, support for new entrants and a focus on innovations that work at farm level were hot topics to emerge from a visit to Germany by three of this year’s Oxford Farming Conference Scholars.

Nicola Blowey of Tavistock in Devon, Jenni Thompson from Oxfordshire, and Robert Yardley from Cheshire undertook farm visits and attended the Young DLG (German Agricultural Society) Conference at the Agritechnica show in November.

Selected under the OFC /DLG Scholar Exchange Programme, supported by Massey Ferguson, the group was invited to address the McDonald’s OFC Scholar’s workshop at the 2016 Oxford Conference, alongside nearly 50 other scholars, including Farmers Club Under 30s Oxford scholar William Wilson from Colchester in Essex.

Farmers Club Scholar Winner of the 2016 Farmers Club Scholarship to attend the Oxford Farming Conference was William Wilson of Colchester, Essex, who is due to report back to Under 30s members at the New Members Weekend on 5-7 February.

Short-term fixes At the Young DLG Conference Mr Yardley said: “The easy short fix answers are running out, such as ploughing and certain chemicals. On our farms the aim is to increase the utilisation of new, viable technology while also taking into account the old, paired with a greater understanding of the soil’s natural processes and tools to combat volatile commodity prices.

“We’re realising that we are able to do more with less. The next five years within our business will see the development of cultural methods, cover crops and strip tillage, coupled with the use of ‘Big Data’ monitoring to assess performance and practicality, longevity and areas for improvement,” continued Mr Yardley, of J B & J Kay Ltd, an arable and grain storage unit in Cheshire.

16 • The Farmers Club New Year Journal 2016

He was particularly struck by the German government’s support for new entrants to farming, with no tuition fees for their further and higher education, and the widespread integration of on-farm anaerobic digestion plants into modern, forward thinking, progressive farming businesses, where soil health was at the forefront.

Collaboration “The mind-set of German farming towards cooperatives, economies of scale, machinery efficiency and productivity are key features in their success,” he added. “Visiting Hofspiegelberg Farm at the height of the sugar beet harvest we heard how local farmers created a cooperative to purchase four sugar beet harvesters. They now provide lifting services for 300 farmers in Lower Saxony, working for three months at full capacity.

UK agriculture could greatly benefit from exploiting this form of collaboration, reducing potential risks and increasing opportunities in uncertain global markets.”

International co-operation – young agriculturalists from the UK and Germany share ideas and gifts.

Lords Luncheon • Charles Abel

Matt Ridley’s vision With the average yield of wheat, rice and maize up 20% in the past decade the world was on target to deliver the 70% rise in demand for food forecast for 2050, he said. “We are probably about to start releasing land from production, with an area the size of India set to come out of production by 2050.”

The downside, for UK farmers, was that with productivity matching demand there was little likelihood of better prices. “I see no prospect of a sustained rise in prices, particularly when Africa has Don’t think climate change is coming to the rescue, not yet even started its own green because it is actually bringing net benefits. revolution, in a continent that is as big as China, India, the US and most of Europe put together.”

FARMING has great reason for optimism globally, but great cause for pessimism locally, guest So innovation was required. “The UK is doing speaker and columnist for The Times Viscount quite well with precision farming, but there are Matt Ridley, told Farmers Club members at a two big threats – fewer [farm] chemicals and the special luncheon in the House of Lords in absence of GM technology as an alternative.” late November.

Global optimism springs from the industry’s undoubted ability to keep pace with the surging demand for food, despite rising world populations and prosperity, said Lord Ridley, a Conservative peer whose family estate is Blagdon Hall, near Cramlington in Northumberland.

But that same productivity is cause for pessimism on UK farms, with prices likely to be held down for the foreseeable future, particularly since Africa had yet to embrace green technologies to boost its farm outputs.

To prosper British agriculture needs radical innovation to produce high value foods, such as the omega-3 rich flax being developed at Rothamsted, and to do so in increasingly clever ways, he said.

“Don’t think climate change is coming to the rescue, because it is actually bringing net benefits”

He was strongly critical of European regulators, with their ‘precautionary principle’. They seemed to weigh risks, without considering benefits, and compared likely outcomes with an impossible perfection, he said.

“Don’t think climate change is coming to the rescue, because it is actually bringing net benefits, through raised yields due to the crop fertilising effect of higher CO2 levels and increased precipitation,” he added.

The mid-November event in the Cholmondeley Room at the House of Lords was hosted by Club member the Duke of Montrose, and attended by over 100 guests. It was sponsored by global chemical manufacturer BASF, celebrating its 150th year in 2015.

Controversial columnist for The Times – Matt Ridley

Rosie Carne ROSIE Carne is the winner of the 2015 Farmers Club Cup, presented annually to an individual or organisation that has made a particularly significant contribution to British agriculture. “Rosie holds and has held senior roles in the UK and globally, rising to Vice President level with Yara; she is on the Board of LEAF and the AIC Services Board; is a Trustee of the

Henry Plumb Foundation and the Worshipful Company of Farmers, and Chairman of the Fellowship of the Royal Agricultural Societies,” commented Club Chairman Anne Chamberlain.

“She has an enormously positive and cheerful attitude, and has been styled as ‘The First Lady of British Agriculture’, which I think is a perfect description.”

www.thefarmersclub.com • 17

News

Farming Figures

Climate change concern

A quick look at... the EU referendum debate ....told through a few key statistics

ITALIAN Chianti could taste very different in 20 years’ time, according to Francesco Ciancaleoni of Italian farmers’ organisation Coldiretti.

£9.8 billion

UK net contribution to EU in 2014, after £4.9bn rebate and £4.5bn public sector receipts

Half

UK agrifood exports to EU countries as a share of imports from EU countries. Total trade balance £50bn in favour of EU sales to UK

£18,000/year

Average GDP/head of EU’s 500m people

£12.8bn

UK farming exports, 75% of which go to EU

344%

Protectionist tariff Norway applies to EU beef; 267-277% for cheeses, 429% for sheepmeat

62,000

International standards required by EU

27th

UK rural development budget rank within EU

23p/day Average cost of CAP to EU consumers

€80bn

EU’s research and innovation budget 2014-20

75

UK MEPs within 751 seat European Parliament Sources: NFU, Better-off-out, FW

18 • The Farmers Club New Year Journal 2016

His message was delivered at the ‘Climate, Last Call’ event organised by Greenaccord in Italy ahead of the UN’s Climate Change Conference, COP 21, in Paris which had a goal of preventing the earth’s average temperature rising by more than 2C above preindustrial levels.

Should that challenge not be successfully met agriculture in Mediterranean countries was especially vulnerable, Mr Ciancaleoni warned.

“It’s very likely that the Mediterranean climate will shift north, causing a crisis in agriculture.” Olive groves would need establishing further north,

and maintaining regional and seasonal production would become especially difficult.

Changes in grape sugar levels would affect wine quality, causing consumer confusion, he added.

“Chianti may end up having a different taste.”

With the earth’s average temperature already 1.6C above pre-industrial levels 2015 was on course to be the hottest year on record, noted Dr Hans Joachim Schellnhuber of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

Several speakers warned of the growing prospect of food and water shortages, coastal flooding, and enforced migration as formerly productive areas become deserts.

Andrew Blake

Macmillan WHAT a fantastic response we had to our Macmillan Coffee Morning late last year. We were able to raise £597.39 thanks to the generosity of staff, Club members, their guests, and a good number of tenants from offices within the building.

The weather was amazing and many people enjoyed sitting on the terrace on what was an extremely busy day at the Club, with a lunch and visit to Buckingham Palace that afternoon.

A wonderful range of delicacies was on offer, including coffee and walnut cupcakes from Lynne Wilson, ginger cake from chef’s wife, rock cakes and scones from Zarreena, and the spectacular Portuguese speciality ‘Bolo Preto’

from Mrs Rita Pombo. Special thanks go to Lisbeth, Mark, Lynne and Zarreena who helped with the serving.

Thank you all, Claire White PA to Secretary

Gourmet Tour • Jo Turnbull

Tuscan gourmet venture

by Jo Turnbull

BRILLIANT blue skies welcomed our group of 17, plus Club event organiser Lisbeth Rune, to Florence, where we were joined by Caroline, our wine guide for a fabulous three day tour.

The next three days, for many of us, passed in a bit of an alcoholic haze. We learned all about the superiority of Sangiovese and Brunello; the difference the addition of small amounts of foreign varieties makes; the soil composition, aptly described by one producer as “moody soil”, though in fact she meant “muddy soil”; the effect of the weather, and all sorts of other technicalities.

We visited family estates – one producing wine over 26 generations, since 1385, and one where the head oenologist was always the eldest son – woe betide a wife who did not produce a boy!

The owner of the one-woman bio-dynamic vineyard we visited specifically denied being a witch, though some of her methods almost gave the lie to this, with jobs dependant on phases of the moon and talking to her vines to encourage their growth. Her family credentials for entering the wine business: “My mother is a big drinker”.

Our final winery was an organic estate, with exceptionally modern cellars, built 18 metres underground. A phenomenal amount of money had been spent, but we could not get to the bottom of where it came from!

That was in stark contrast to another organic farm we visited, which perhaps reflected some of our preconceptions. Not only was wine produced, but there were over 100 hand milked sheep used for pecorino cheese production, a few beehives, peacocks to frighten away the snakes, half a dozen pigs, which were regularly seduced by the local wild boars, and wolves roaming the hillside for good measure.

Event photos Great images from Tuscany and other Club events appear in our online picture gallery:www. thefarmersclub.com/ pics

Our base for the tour was Montalcino, a walled hill town requiring a police escort for our small coach to enter and leave the pedestrianised area around the hotel. We overlooked Valle d’Orcia, a UNESCO heritage site.

Fantastic wine, fantastic food, wonderful company, and I would be lynched if I didn’t mention everyone’s heartthrob, Francesco!

A brilliant time was had by all.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 19

John Jaques, Chairman; Mary Bell, Vice Chairman; Lisbeth Rune, Secretary • U30s

Chairman’s Jottings The Under 30s ended 2015 on a high! Our objectives have always been to have fun, get to know others in the industry, and offer education and inspiration – the Autumn Farm Walk weekend and 2015’s final event, the November Dining Evening with Doisy & Dam, well and truly ticked all those boxes (see stories right).

New positions on the U30s Committee will be available at the AGM, held during the New Members Weekend in February. The positions have been advertised, with a closing date of Friday 15 January 2016, so do get in touch with Lisbeth Rune if you are interested.

I would like to thank Charlotte Harris and Scott Hayles for their help with the after dinner speakers for the November Dining Evening and the Autumn farm walk on the Isle of Wight respectively. Twinned with the fantastic support of Mary Bell and the U30s Committee this ensured we had an exceptional end to 2015. Indeed, many thanks to all our speakers and organisers throughout the year.

Our next event is the New Members Weekend on Friday 5 to Sunday 7 February 2016 including black tie dinner, ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ (winner of Best New Comedy at the Olivier Awards 2015) and our AGM.

Goji berries have 500 times more (gram for gram) Vitamin C than oranges. They are just one of the ‘Superfoods’ in the range of Doisy & Dam ‘healthy indulgence’ chocolates.

November Dining Evening Doisy and Dam chocolate creators Richard Wilkinson and Edward Smith (both only 27 years old) displayed the drive, enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirit that helped them build an established brand in a relatively short period of time.

They spoke of entering the competitive food market knowing what they wanted to do, but no idea how to fund it. It was fascinating to hear how they progressed over three years to a team of four others working

with them. The main messages were trust, good product, accepting help and using social media for free advertising – clearly a winning combination.

Their niche product, based around organic ‘superfoods’ within pure chocolate, is available in 250 London outlets, including Wholefoods and online supermarket Ocado. The evening finished with tastings, accompanied by a glass of port to toast the success of the year.

This just leaves me to wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year in which I look forward to seeing you all at The Club.

Contact John for more information John Jaques U30 Chairman www.thefarmersclub-u30s.com john.jaques@bidwells.co.uk 07799 633304

20 • The Farmers Club New Year Journal 2016

Baroness Trumpington In recognition of the enjoyable time Baroness Trumpington had with the U30s at the Autumn Dining evening John Jaques, Fiona Norman, Scott Hayles and Bradley Etchell were invited to the House of Lords by

the Baroness for a personal tour, which included an introduction to the President of Malawi, viewing the Lords from the Strangers Gallery and a fantastic three course lunch.

Unforgettable!

U30s • John Jaques, Chairman; Mary Bell, Vice Chairman; Lisbeth Rune, Secretary

Garlic Farm Facts

Isle of Wight tour The weekend saw a group of 24 Under 30s members based at The Royal Hotel in Ventnor, dubbed the islands’ version of The Farmers Club

by Thomas Wheatley-Hubbard (current Master of the Worshipful Company of Farmers). He wasn’t wrong! The food and rooms were excellent and the service unfaultable.

On Saturday morning, after a hearty breakfast we headed to The Garlic Farm, where we were warmly welcomed by Colin Boswell in the farm shop’s education centre. Many will agree with Bradley Etchell’s view that the industry insight provided

by Mr Boswell was a real eye opener.

Mary Bell, U30s Vice-chairman added: “It was very interesting to hear the challenges his business faced, and how it evolved from being a main supermarket supplier, recovering to become a local niche brand on the Isle of Wight. It certainly taught me never to give up on a business venture”.

Her top tip: “Buyer beware, their Vampire Slayer Seriously Hot Sauce certainly lives up to its name!”

Adding value was a key message, as Georgina Knock noted: “I learnt to increase my scope when it comes to the possibilities which could stem from the farm, having seen the variety of avenues Colin had developed“.

Next we moved to The Tomato Stall, meeting Paul Thomas, managing director, at one of the four greenhouse sites on the island, where tomato variety Angelle could yield 2–2.5kg/sqm.

Charlotte Harris noted: “Each individual tomato plant grows over 20 meters long between January and October, and before bee hives were added to the glasshouse that we visited [40 hives per glasshouse] all of the plants were pollinated by hand!”

We were shown an array of products (whole tomatoes through to tomato juice) distributed to over 300 shops a week, including Clarridges and Ocado. Fresh produce is served in Jamie Oliver’s 15 and the Ritz; a world away from the first farmers market on Pimlico Road in 2007.

The day ended with a black tie dinner at The Royal Hotel with our after dinner speaker John Heather, Isle of Wight Group Secretary for the NFU and committee member of the Isle of Wight Agricultural Society.

Sunday brought Georgina Knock’s highlight: “A beach walk and fossil hunt with stunning sunshine, white cliffs as the backdrop and being shown some incredible 35 million year old fossils!”

Following a weekend that offered us an insight into farming in a totally different way to which any of us were used to, we headed back to the ferry and the mainland to reflect on our experience, lessons learnt and an all-round enjoyable weekend surrounded by friends.

Colin’s father took the tenancy in 1958. Original sweetcorn enterprise sold in 1999 and farm remodelled as a smaller, family orientated business growing and selling garlic and garlicbased products through local markets. Portugal, France, East Turkey and Georgia visited to assess wild garlic and new growing techniques. Trials plots. 200,000 visitors/year. Mary Berry programme to air May/June 2016.

Tomato Stall Facts 27ha of glasshouses.

Isle of Wight nearperfect conditions.

36 commercial varieties, up to 200 tried each year. Glasshouses whitewashed to stop sun scorch.

Water, CO2 and heat controlled electronically.

Closed loop system for composting and water. Trialling artificial lighting.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 21

The Farmers Club • Club Information

Club Information

020 7930 3557 • www.thefarmersclub.com Farmers Club Golf Fixtures 2016

Office Holders Patron – Her Majesty The Queen HONORARY VICE PRESIDENTS Peter Jackson CBE, Roddy Loder-Symonds, Sir David Naish DL, John Parker THE COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT OF THE CLUB 2015 VICE PRESIDENTS Barclay Forrest OBE, Mark Hudson, Norman Shaw CBE, Mrs Susan Kilpatrick OBE PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN Richard Butler TRUSTEES Jimmy McLean, Mrs Nicki Quayle, Julian Sayers (Chairman), Paul Heygate VICE-CHAIRMAN Tim Bennett HONORARY TREASURER George Jessel DL IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN Anne Chamberlain CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND SECRETARY Stephen Skinner

During 2015 The Farmers Club Golf Society visited many lovely courses. Our team matches were highlighted with victories over the British Veterinary Golf Society, the Farmers Members of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers at Muirfield and the West Riding NFU. The Club Championship at Blackwell was well supported along with our Autumn Meeting at Llanymynech and Oswestry.

John Gittins hosted a superb at home party during the Autumn Meeting, a Month

Date

Match/Competition

April

Friday 22nd

v NFU @ Newbury and Crookham Golf Club, Berkshire

Friday 29th

v East India Club @ New Zealand GC, Surrey

Wednesday 11th

v British Veterinary Association Golf Society @ Minchinhampton GC, Gloucestershire.

Thursday 26th

v The New Club, Edinburgh @ Luffness Links, East Lothian

Friday 27th

v Farmers Members of HCEG @ Muirfield, East Lothian

May

CLUB CHAPLAIN The Reverend Dr Sam Wells COMMITTEE Elected 2014: Allan Stevenson (Chairman – Communications Sub-Committee), Alison Ritchie, Robert Lasseter, Martin Taylor, Campbell Tweed OBE

June

Elected 2015: Tim Bennett, Matt Dempsey, Richard Maunder, Gerald Osborne Elected 2016: Robert Alston, Andrew Brown, Lindsay Hargreaves (Chairman – Membership Sub-Committee), Nick Helme, Peter Jinman OBE (Chairman – House Sub-Committee) Co-opted: John Jaques (Chairman Under 30s), Mary Bell (Vice Chairman Under 30s) THE FARMERS CLUB CHARITABLE TRUST TRUSTEES Stephen Fletcher (Chairman), John Kerr MBE DL, James Cross, Vic Croxson DL, Mrs Stella Muddiman JP, The Chairman and Immediate Past Chairman of the Club (ex officio)

NEXT ISSUE The Spring issue of the Farmers Club Journal is due out in early-March, with all the latest Club news, including reports from the Oxford Farming Conference, the LAMMA show and the Club’s tour to Chile; a fascinating insight into the extraction of active substances from plant material; and some thoughts on farming’s future from Farmers Weekly editor Karl Schneider.

22 • The Farmers Club New Year Journal 2016

wonderful finale to his Captaincy. Mike Broomby, who joined the Farmers Club in 1978 while head of Wellcome’s UK Animal Health business, is Captain for 2016. He thanks John and will endeavour to maintain the high standards set by him and his predecessors. He also thanks Martin Shaw for his work as Golf Society Secretary, which will continue in 2016. Fixture details will be emailed to Golf Society members in early 2016.

To join the mailing list contact: martin.edwardswale@gmail.com

Sunday 12th Monday 13th

v XL Club @ Royal St George’s, Sandwich, Kent

Thursday 30th

v West Riding NFU @ Wetherby GC, West Yorkshire

July

Wednesday 13th

September

Monday 12th

October

Dinner with XL Club @ Royal St. George’s, Sandwich, Kent

Club Golf Championship @ Blackwell GC, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire v Worshipful Company of Farmers @ Maidenhead GC, Berkshire.

Tuesday 20th

utumn Mixed Meeting @ Ashridge GC, Berkhampstead, A Hertfordshire

Wednesday 21st

Autumn Mixed Meeting @ Berkhampstead GC, Hertfordshire

Tuesday 4th

Bath Club Cup @ Woking GC, Surrey

Thursday 27th

v HCEG Muirfield @ Alwoodley GC, West Yorkshire

Friday 28th

v HCEG Muirfield @ Seaton Carew GC, Hartlepool, Teeside

Club Closures From 12 noon Thursday 24th March to 12 noon Tuesday 29th March 2016. 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.

Club Information • The Farmers Club Deaths It is with regret that we announce the death of the following members: Mr K Paisley Brecknockshire Mrs V Gibbons Lincolnshire

Under 30s

Mr P Mitchell

Fife

New Members The following were elected: UK Members Mr G Abrey Norfolk Mr K Attwood Kent Mrs J Barber Somerset Mr J Blayney Herefordshire Mr C Cracroft-Eley Lincolnshire Mr R Dalton London Mr J Denney Surrey Dr S Doherty Down Mr G Ellis Essex Mrs J Finch Lincolnshire Mr A George MVO Norfolk Mr R Goldsworthy Kent Mr M Heuff Somerset Mr C Hill Yorkshire Mrs F Hodgkinson Nottinghamshire Mr S Jacob Derbyshire Brigadier R Jones CBE Wiltshire Mr R Lloyd Anglesey Mr E Mariani Sussex Mr G Muir Leicestershire Mr A Perry Buckinghamshire Mr R Reynolds Northamptonshire Mrs L Sapwell Worcestershire Mr R Sayer Hampshire Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE Wiltshire Mr C Screaton Nottinghamshire Mr L Sinclair Berkshire Mr C Speers Dorset Mr M Sprange Sussex Mr A Stephen Aberdeenshire Mr J Stephenson London Mr J Stevens Kent Mr M Walker Shropshire Mr P Ward Shropshire Mr G Wright Essex

Miss I Rayner

Oxfordshire

Miss A Rayner

Berkshire

Miss V Rayner

Berkshire

Reciprocal Clubs UK City Livery Club, London (No bedrooms) Royal Overseas League, Edinburgh Royal Scots Club, Edinburgh The New Club, Edinburgh Northern Counties Club, Newcastle Note: We have informal agreements with the East India and Caledonian Club for bedroom bookings if we are full. Reception also holds a list of hotels within a 15 minute walk that might be considered ‘good value for money’.

OVERSEAS The Western Australian Club, Perth, Australia (Bedrooms not reciprocated) Queensland Club, Brisbane, Australia The Australian Club, Melbourne, Australia

Mr W Bell Mr E Earnshaw Mr C Gould

Mr T Sandeman Mr P Sloman Mrs J Smith Mr C Stark Miss J Strawson Miss P Whitbread Mr A Willis

Rutland Gloucestershire Northamptonshire

Club Contacts THE FARMERS CLUB

Over 170 years of service to farming 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL

Kent Cornwall Oxfordshire Yorkshire Lincolnshire London Aberdeenshire

Under 30s Rt Revd Dr J Gibbs Bishop of Huddersfield

Yorkshire

Rt Revd L Lane Bishop of Stockport

Cheshire

Shaw Room The Shaw Room may be used for meetings of two or three people for up to an hour without booking. iPads, laptops and mobile phones may be used but phones should be set to silent ring.

Mobile Phones, Briefcases and Business Meetings Mobile phones must not be used in the Public Rooms (except the Shaw Room). Briefcases should be left in the Cloakrooms and Business meetings must be conducted in the Shaw Room or designated and pre-booked meeting rooms.

Members should speak with the Meetings Manager, Mrs Lynne Wilson for details on 020 7925 7100 or meetings@thefarmersclub.com Parking The Club has no private parking at Whitehall Court. However, the Club is pleased to be able to offer all its members discounted parking with Q-Park, our preferred parking partner. Discounts of 20% are available on the day and on prebookings. The nearest Q-Park is situated in Spring Gardens off Cockspur Street, approximately 5 minutes walk from the Club. Details of this can be obtained by phoning the Club Reception on 020 7930 3557 or by visiting the website at: http://www.thefarmers club.com/news/parking -5-mins-from-club

Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, Ireland (Bedrooms not reciprocated) Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club, Dublin, Ireland The Muthaiga Country Club, Nairobi, Kenya The Harare Club, Harare, Zimbabwe The Christchurch Club, Christchurch, New Zealand (operating from The George Hotel www. thegeorge.com and able to offer reciprocal visitors preferred accommodation rates) The Canterbury Club, Christchurch, New Zealand Members wishing to use any of the above Clubs should obtain an introductory card from the Secretariat.

Chairman 2016: Richard Butler

Chief Executive and Secretary: Stephen Skinner

Club Number 020 7930 3557 Reception ext: 200/201 reception@thefarmersclub.com Bedroom Reservations ext: 204 reservations@thefarmersclub.com Restaurant Reservations Option 3 restaurantmanager@thefarmersclub.com or asstrestmanager@thefarmersclub.com Conference & Banqueting Vendula Papackova ext: 109 or direct line: 020 7925 7100 meetings@thefarmersclub.com Events & U30s Lisbeth Rune ext: 103 events@thefarmersclub.com Club Manager Virginia Masser ext: 102 clubmanager@thefarmersclub.com Head Chef Paul Hogben ext: 111 or direct line: 020 7925 7103 chef@thefarmersclub.com Financial Controller Zarreena Neeson ext: 106 or direct line: 020 7925 7101 financialcontroller@thefarmersclub.com Membership Mark Fairbairn ext: 107 or direct line: 020 7925 7102 membership@thefarmersclub.com PA to Secretary Claire White ext: 104 or direct line: 020 7930 3751 generaloffice@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 No film or film processing chemicals were used.

Printed on Lumi Silk which is ISO 14001 certified manufacturer. FSC® Mix Credit. Elemental chlorine free (ECF) fibre sourced from well managed forests

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Farmers Club

Events Apply for tickets online or using forms included with the relevant Journal Advances in Plant Breeding Monday 11th April Club Seminar in National Liberal Club, 5pm – Details to be confirmed

Modern Garden Exhibition Friday 15th April Private lecture, lunch in Club and transfer to Monet to Matisse exhibition Application form in Winter issue

St George’s Day Lunch Friday 22nd April Details to be confirmed

BREXIT – UK Agriculture Better In or Out? Wednesday 27th April Club Seminar in the National Liberal Club, 5-7pm – Details to be confirmed

Ulster Show Dinner

Royal Highland Show Dinner Wednesday 22nd June Details to be confirmed

Club lunch with NFU President Tuesday 5th July Details to be confirmed

Wiltshire Tour & Newbur y Races Thursday 7th – Friday 8th July Details to be confirmed

Walking tour of London Wednesday 13th/Friday 15th July Details to be confirmed

Royal Welsh Show Reception Wednesday 13th/Friday 15th July Details to be confirmed

Visit to Holland Tuesday 20th-Thursday 22nd September Farming and cultural visits around Amsterdam

Har vest Festival Ser vice

Tuesday 10th May Details to be confirmed

Tuesday 11th October Service at St Martin-in-the-Fields and supper at Club after

Royal Bath & West Show

New Year’s Eve Supper Party

Wednesday 1st June Details to be confirmed

L L FU

Saturday 31st December Supper party in the Club with a great view of the fireworks

Swan Lake Ballet

Friday 3rd June Supper at Club and coach transfer to magnificent Swan Lake Application in Winter issue

Royal Cornwall Show Friday 10th June Details to be confirmed

Events online Details of all Club events are constantly updated in the Events section of the website www.thefarmersclub.com/ events where tickets are easy to book.

Holiday & Weekend Opening Holidays and Weekends are great times to visit The Farmers Club, with good bedroom availability, a relaxed dress code and the sights of London on your doorstep. Book online at www.thefarmersclub.com/accommodation