The Farmers Club Issue 267

Farmers Club SPRING 2017 • ISSUE 267

www.thefarmersclub.com

INSIDE Allan Wilkinson p6 Oxford insights p8 WTO issues p10 RAU innovation hub p16 Portugal tour p17 Glyphosate defence p18 Under 30s p20

INSERTS Balmoral & Highland Shows Henley Royal Regatta Gloucestershire Visit Canaletto’s Venice West Wales Tour

Royal approval Princess Royal attends Grand Club Re-opening (p12)

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 Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne the Princess Royal, attended the Club for the Grand Re-opening Celebration, attended by over 100 Club members.

Photography: Andy Catterall info@andycatterall.com 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.

3 Chairman’s Comments

Farming’s voice in the Brexit debate

4 Club News

2017 gets off to a great start; new IT developments

6 Farming prospects

6

HSBC Head of Food Chain Allan Wilkinson provides a no-nonsense briefing on farming sector prospects

8 Brexit to the fore at Oxford

Politicians debated Brexit at Oxford. What was learned?

10 World Trade Organisation

WTO rules are set to play a greater role. Is it all plain sailing?

12 Royal Re-opening

Princess Anne attended the glittering Grand Re-opening of your wonderfully refurbished Club

12

14 New Committee Members

Five new committee members introduce themselves

15 Sonny Purdue

What we know about nominated Secretary of USDA

16 Farm innovation hub

The Royal Agricultural University’s Farm491 project aims to incubate great businesses to boost British farming

16

17 Portugal Tour

Details of autumn visit to Oporto in Portugal

18 Glyphosate defence

Preserving the future of glyphosate is a priority

18 Club wedding

Whitehall Court provided great home-for-home for the big day

20 Under 30s Dinner

20 02 • The Farmers Club Sping 2017

Rude Health food products target clean-eating trend

21 Under 30s at Oxford

Food chain innovation caught eye of U30s scholar 22 Club Information and Contacts

Chairman’s Comments • Tim Bennett Industry talent Two weeks later I spoke at the Worshipful Companies advanced business management course at Cirencester. This course has helped develop many pioneers in business and indeed leaders in the industry. I went away from my talk once again knowing there is a lot of great talent in our industry, and confident that they will cope, whatever the policy changes around farm support. My view is that the input from all the young talent we have in the industry must be heard as we head for the biggest change in 50 years.

Chairman’s Comments “Most farmers I know want to produce food and maintain the countryside – and will do so if sensible policies emerge.”

IT has been a very busy and enjoyable start to my year as Chairman of the Club. The Oxford Farming Conference was as usual a great introduction to the issues of the day after the Christmas break, with good speakers and a lively debate, including discussion with all the devolved countries following the speech from Andrea Leadsom, Secretary of State at DEFRA. Personally, I always enjoy the OFC talks from individuals who have grown their businesses through innovation, business skills, vision and sheer hard work. The message that stayed with me from this year’s conference was to get involved in the Brexit debate and make sure Government knows the key priorities to help ensure success for primary food producers and the UK food supply chain. This is particularly important as we are likely to be outside the EU Single Market, if recent announcements are realised. Club members will have the opportunity to discuss those priorities when the DEFRA Secretary of State comes to the Club in April.

Monday Evening Lecture At our first Monday Evening lecture at the Club in 2017, which was very well attended, Allan Wilkinson, Head of Food and Farming at HSBC, gave an excellent presentation, which demonstrated his wide knowledge of food and farming issues. Club members kept Allan busy when it came to questions and we all appreciated the open manner in which he discussed the wide range of issues raised.

Sue and I were delighted to attend the Worshipful Company of Farmers Annual banquet at Goldsmiths Hall, at the invitation of the Master and Club member Phillip Wynn. We had a wonderful evening, though it did not help my January diet!

Royal re-opening The key event for many members so far this year was the official opening of the refurbished Club by the Princess Royal, who is an honorary member of the Club. We had over 90 members present and the Princess Royal spent some time talking to everyone present, as well as touring the Club and meeting a number of the staff. In my short speech before asking her Royal Highness to unveil a commemorative plaque I thanked everyone involved in delivering the improvements for members, including the remarkable way all the staff in the Club kept standards up while the work was underway. Virginia Masser, the Club General Manager and a key architect of the improvements, was able to attend, despite falling a week before and breaking some bones in her wrist. Despite being in pain we were so pleased she did not miss the evening.

Just one of the great pleasures of being Chairman of the Farmers Club is the number of members who I did not know who come and talk to me about the Club and how they enjoy coming to events. We have added some more events for this year, including Henley Regatta and confirmation of our trip to Portugal in October.

Importantly, Sue and I appreciate the support we have had so far, and some events like the St George’s Day lunch at the Club are already booked out.

West Wales reflections Winter was kind in West Wales with no snow and less rain than normal, which allowed me to do some work when at home. The dark evenings also provided the chance to catch up with some reading, particularly around the debate regarding the future of farm support and the countryside.

Sue would also want it noted that I have spent as much time watching football!

The more I read of all the views from the large number of people and organisations which represent the countryside the more it seems we will once again be debating the issues of either producing food or maintaining the countryside. Most farmers I know want to do both, and will do so if sensible policies emerge.

Let us hope that key fact is not forgotten, as the debate around future farm support and the form it may take continues.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 03

Andrei Spence • Club News

Club News Sprightly start to 2017 Club year

I hope that this Spring finds you all in good heart and guardedly optimistic in what is going to be an interesting year, writes Club Secretary Andrei Spence.

2017 got off to a brisk start with the Chairman, the U30s Chairman and myself attending the Oxford Farming Conference. For me it was a real eyeopener, with much reflection on what has happened in the UK politically over the past year, and its potential effects on farming (of all types) and the environment.

There were some very interesting debates surrounding the creation of new and development of existing markets for the farming sector, which are probably very apposite in postBrexit UK. It was really great to see many members also in attendance, including a number of U30s, which made me feel not quite so much of an outsider as may otherwise have been the case!

This was followed by the Club briefing for the new Chairman and Committee members who were elected last year into the workings and structure of the Club, culminating in the first round of Committee meetings this year.

04 • The Farmers Club Spring 2017

The Club trip to the ballet, with dinner prior to the event was a great success and the performance of Giselle by the English National Ballet was enthralling. Allan Wilkinson got the Monday Evening Lecture series off to a very lively start, which elicited much questioning, debate and discussion amongst the very full audience. The first of our ‘art’ series, ‘Portrait of the Artist’, was equally successful and enjoyable.

February 2nd marked the official opening of the renovated Club by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal. Attended by almost 100 club members, the reception was completed with HRH Princess Anne unveiling the plaque marking the opening and was followed by a lively and enjoyable buffet supper.

April will see the announcement of the recipients of the Farmers Club Pinnacle awards, this year presented

by Richard Park. The awards recognise particular excellence in Business Management by inviting college and university students to demonstrate business skills and innovation through project work, an interview and a formal presentation.

Summer Events I am presently putting the finishing touches to Farmers Club events at the Royal Shows this year. More detail is available from the inserts, but our plans for the Balmoral Show will see the Club Dinner being held in the Europa Hotel in Belfast on the evening before the show gets underway. We will also be holding a dinner on the eve of the Royal Highland Show in June at the RBS Conference Centre at Gogarburn and will hold a reception at the Royal Welsh Show in July.

We will also be holding receptions at the Great Yorkshire Show in July and the Westmorland Show in September, and have been very fortunate to include in this year’s programme a visit to Henley Royal Regatta in early July, more details of which can be found in the inserts.

IT Upgrade I have already started on some scoping work to understand what the Club’s needs are likely to be over the next 10 years in terms of its IT infrastructure. I don’t think it is any secret that our current system is creaking, expensive to maintain and is not giving us the functionality that we are going to require into the future – this has been very evident in the first few weeks of this year!

This is going to be a medium term project following appraisal, costing, testing and data migration, which is not likely to materialise until the summer of 2018.

We are also planning two periods when we will be upgrading some of our rooms. This will be during the Easter period and again in the Summer (August), and is in line with our policy of continual upgrading/ refurbishment of our rooms.

Club News • Andrei Spence

Strategic issues Members may be interested in a couple of the more strategic elements with which I am grappling at present. The recent revaluation of rateable values of London property is going to have a significant effect on the Club’s liability for payment of business rates. On current proposals, these will rise by 123% on the values when last assessed in 2010. This is going to have a major effect on many of London’s clubs, but we will be well placed to deal with this with sufficient and timely financial planning, and I am actively pursuing a potential reduction in our liability in conjunction with our surveyors – this is not guaranteed by any means, but any reduction is of benefit.

Without going into the detail, I have also submitted some objections to the plans of the owners of the Old War Office opposite the Club. Many of you will know of their conversion plans to create a hotel and residential apartment section. Having waded through 309 pages of planning material I feel some of their plans, and lack of detail in their management of the works, require clarification if we are not to be affected in any additional way considering and commensurate with a major building project. We have been joined in this by our immediate neighbours in the building and out-with.

Club Calendar See Events section of Club website (www.thefarmersclub.com) for more details, or contact Events Manager Lisbeth Rune 020 7930 3751 extn 103 e-mail: events@thefarmersclub.com MAY 2017 Balmoral Show Dinner Tuesday 9th May Dinner at the Europa Hotel Belfast, 7pm for 7.30 with guest speaker Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore PC QC. Application form included with this Journal

Gloucestershire visit Wednesday 17th & Thursday 18th May Insight into local food chains and a novel retail diversification. Application form included with this Journal

Balmoral Show Dinner

Insight into agriculture, horticulture and architecture around Llandeilo. Details on p24 and application form included with this Journal

Highland Show Dinner Wednesday 21st June Dinner at the RBS Conference Centre Gogarburn, Edinburgh, 7pm for 7.30pm. Guest speaker, Professor Colin Campbell, Chief Executive of The James Hutton Institute. Application form included with this Journal

Canaletto & Venice Friday 30th June Highland Show Dinner

Telephoning the Club

If there is a person or Department you frequently call, each area has its own direct dial number (see p23 of this Journal for many such numbers). The team will be happy to provide you with the number you require, so you can get straight through to the person you need and possibly programme it into your mobile.

Talk in the Club by Anne Haworth, followed by lunch and exhibition visit. Details on p22 and application form included with this Journal

JULY 2017 Henley Royal Regatta Sunday 2nd July A quintessentially English summer’s day in the Club pavilion beside the rowing. Details on p22 and application form included with this journal

The Club is thriving with more members making use of the facilities and as a result the telephones are much busier. To help us assist you in a more efficient way when you call into the Club please use the numbers on the back of your Club Contact Card to reach the person or Department you require.

If you wish to make a Restaurant booking please avoid calling between 12noon and 2pm if you are able. The team carry the mobile phone with them, but are busy serving during that time, and due to Club rules are not able to answer the mobile in the Restaurant.

JUNE 2017 West Wales Visit Monday 5th to Wednesday 7th June

Great Yorkshire Show Reception Tuesday 11th July Details and speaker to be confirmed

Royal Welsh Show Reception Monday 24th July Canaletto & Venice

Details and speaker to be confirmed

SEPTEMBER 2017 Westmorland Show Reception Thursday 14th September Details and speaker to be confirmed

OCTOBER 2017 Trip to Portugal Monday 16th – Thursday 19th Oct Tour based in Oporto, taking in wine, food and farming. See p17

DECEMBER 2017 Farmers Club 175th Anniversary Dinner Friday 8th December Henley Royal Regatta

Details and speaker to be confirmed

www.thefarmersclub.com • 05

Charles Abel • Club Lecture

Business briefing HSBC’s Allan Wilkinson set Brexit in context at a packed Monday Evening Lecture at The Farmers Club. Charles Abel reports

BUILDING business resilience, collaborating to drive a whole industry agenda, and being bold about grasping Brexit opportunities was the theme of a stimulating address delivered

by Allan Wilkinson, head of HSBC bank’s food chain department at The Farmers Club’s latest Monday Evening Lecture.

Businesses need to be resilient to cope, and a key ingredient in that is viability. Whilst the UK had some of the best farm and food-chain businesses in the world, that was not consistent. “The gap between the top producers and the rest is the widest I have ever seen it, and much of that is down to cost base,

06 • The Farmers Club Spring 2017

which is within the gift of the people managing those businesses,” Mr Wilkinson said.

Best in class Being best in class, with no excuses, was the key. That meant benchmarking. Pig, poultry and horticulture farms had already embraced that, using precision farming technologies to achieve absolute attention to detail. “It means you are in profit before others, you are investing before others, you are in a position to seek out new opportunities before others, because your neighbour is still thinking about it. I’m afraid that’s how the world goes round, and it is how your customers think.”

Club Lecture • Charles Abel Ireland had galvanised its agriculture over recent years, relentlessly measuring performance, setting objectives and working collaboratively to get things done, he added.

“What gets measured gets done.”

He painted Brexit as a ‘global food opportunity’, provided the industry stepped up to demand its fair share of policy change, and set its own house in order.

Clear demands The industry needed to be clear with policymakers about what it wanted, he said. “We need to be bold, that we are going to set up the structures to do what needs doing, and to be first to do it, and to not take ten years to evolve into it. We need to jump to where we need to be. We don’t have five years to get there.”

Club chairman Tim Bennett agreed.

“In negotiations with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for a share of the £1bn being allocated to R&D, every other industry can reel off their top five priorities, but agriculture doesn’t seem to be able to do that yet.”

Whilst the UK food and farming sector was significant, employing 0.5m people up to the point of processing, and a further 3m to the point of delivery to consumers, there was an urgent need for it to be realistic about its efficiency, Mr Wilkinson noted.

Productivity slump “Since 2008 productivity has increased at half the rate of the rest of the economy, lagging somewhat behind Eire, Denmark, New Zealand and other outwardly looking agricultural economies,” he said.

“What do we want and how well equipped are we to deliver it,” he asked. “Brexit provides an opportunity to right the wrongs, and seize the opportunities, which are very demanding, but also potentially very rewarding.”

A sobering fact from business consultants Andersons was that over the past 20 years, without support payments, UK producers, on aggregate, had not made any profit from producing crops or raising livestock.

“We see staggering success on some farms, and performance far from what might be expected on others, and it often comes down to the management of the resources available,” he warned.

“And it is very hard to expect the food chain to pay more. They have fierce competition, with competition from places they have not seen before, and they are not in total control of their futures, as some might expect.”

Industry collaboration He saw great potential for producers to not only seek to be best in class individually, but also to collaborate to move the whole industry forwards. “We have to seize this opportunity. We can wait for people to bring us the decisions, but we also, as an industry, need to stand up and make some of these moves and be bold in asking for things to happen, as I have seen other industries do.”

Of course, Brexit was not the only issue.

Argentina’s revised soya crop estimates, following drought, highlighted the challenges of global food security. South East Asia, with 60% of the world’s population, but only a third of its freshwater, would exert more push and pull for resources, as populations and affluence increased, and diets shifted.

But the greatest opportunity remained the domestic market. “It is, and will be for our lifetimes, the most important market. Look after your customers, because if you don’t somebody else probably will.”

“We invent more new food products than France and Germany together. We didn’t just invent the sandwich, we invented its packaging and the gas inside to keep it fresher for longer.”

Mr Wilkinson felt the very high regard consumers had for British food was a great strength. “The exact reason why the food chain buys British food is the standards it is produced to. So I was slightly surprised to hear talk about reducing standards at the Oxford Farming Conference. Those standards help us in our domestic markets and with our exports too. We need to work more closely with the food chain to be best in class, not second or third.”

“Those farmers that change will survive,” he felt. “Confidence is going to be crucial, and leadership more important than ever.

Be bold,” he concluded.

R&D Anxiety On science and technology he noted that the EU’s share of global R&D spend in agriculture had tumbled from 35% in the 1980s to just 7% now. Knowledge transfer was also lacking.

Currency parity Mr Wilkinson felt Sterling, the Dollar and the Euro would move towards parity, but urged listeners to look at the assumptions driving that process, rather than just the figures. Land prices in the UK would be unlikely to change much, given limited supply and continuing demand from cash investors.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 07

Charles Abel • Farm policy

Thrive or Survive Government believes farmers can thrive through Brexit. Charles Abel considers the issues ahead of Andrea Leadsom’s visit to brief members on April 24th

Brexit provided a great opportunity for the sector to thrive. British food and drink was tasty, safe and trustworthy, adding £110bn to the economy annually, greater than car and aerospace combined.

The industry’s core strengths were animal welfare, food safety and food traceability, so the fundamentals were secure. Producing more, selling more and exporting more food, whilst being the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than they found it was the goal. But change and real policy reform would be required.

Exports focus Exports were increasing, with non-EU dairy exports up 91% and wheat exports up 80% compared with a year ago and British lamb voted product of the year in France last year, she said.

The Rural Development Programme’s next wave of £120m of funding would focus on job creation and export market access.

But farming needed to focus beyond 2020.

“I am committed to supporting British farming in the short and long term.” Eight work streams within Defra were looking at new ideas and how other great agriculture economies operate. Risk management, investment and productivity with environmental protection were the focus.

Red tape would be further reduced, with rules that held the industry back scrapped. There would be an end to the “ridiculous bureaucratic threecrop rule”. Much would depend on single market negotiations, but the aim was to cut Brussels red tape so farmers could “grow more, sell more and export more great British food, whilst upholding our high standards for plant and animal health and welfare.”

Imports assurance She argued that animal welfare and food traceability standards were a key asset of UK agriculture, and would not be reduced, neither at home, nor on imports. So cheap, poor quality food would not be imported from overseas to undercut home-produced food and drink. She said the UK would be applying for TB-free status two years ahead of schedule.

“Cheap, poor quality food will not be imported from overseas to undercut homeproduced food and drink.”

THE best days for UK agriculture lie ahead of it, Defra Secretary Andrea Leadsom insisted at the opening of 2017. But how that will materialise, and how it will be deployed across the devolved regions, is the subject of keen debate.

Brexit is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to design a system that works for farm productivity, greater exports and environmental protection, she said. Indeed, the food and drink sector would be central to EU negotiations. “Farming is at the heart of all our lives. Nothing would be more important for all of us.”

08 • The Farmers Club Spring 2017

Greater resilience would improve productivity.

With 35% of farm businesses generating 90% of total output, there was ample scope for improvement, she said.

Three things needed to be right: a workforce with the right skills, higher level innovation, and greater exports. Access to skilled labour was key, she agreed, with a goal to treble the number of apprenticeships in food and farming by 2020.

AgriTech was where the future of food and farming lay, helping cut costs and improve productivity to compete in global markets.

Farm policy • Charles Abel

Food exports were up 80% this year, she said, and could rise further as the growing appetite for UK food and drink around the world was addressed. Nine priority markets were being pursued, including China, India, Australia, the USA and UAE. Regional views Brexit need not bring a more disunited farm policy within the United Kingdom, argued Defra Minister George Eustice, who felt some kind of UK framework was needed, by discussion, with flexibility to pursue regionally appropriate policies.

He stressed the need to think beyond current support structures, with crop insurance and risk management preferred over direct support. “There won’t be Pillar 1 or Pillar 2 but there will be a funded agriculture policy,” he stressed. It would be geared to productivity and environmental protection, and available to all.

Calum Kerr, Scottish National Party rural affairs spokesman, felt opportunity existed, but core principles were needed for Brexit and post-2020, and huge complex questions remained, not least the free movement of labour, support payments, and EU trade. Defra needed to treat devolved administrations as equals. He feared it lacked the voice to counter other Government departments.

“Hope is not a strategy,” he added.

Changing consumer trends EATING out accounts for 42% of all food purchased in the UK, predicted to top 50% soon. So what are the trends and how can farmers exploit them? See Summer FCJ.

Michelle MclIveen, Agriculture Minister for Northern Ireland, felt the sector was proportionately much more important in NI, so thought Brexit was an opportunity for exciting change, to better suit local needs. But a transitional system was needed, and Ireland’s border posed real issues, especially with milk and meat trading.

Lesley Griffiths, Agriculture Minister for Wales, added that devolution had already seen policy diverge, and there would be a specific Welsh agricultural policy, within a consensual UK framework, not a rowing back from devolution. Whilst support payments would continue, she feared a post-2020 budget black hole.

Oxford Conference “Thrive or Survive” was the 2017 theme of the Oxford Farming Conference www.ofc.org

One to watch in 2017 Sonny Perdue – what do we know?

Aged 70, with a history in farming and agriculture, he seems well suited as the nomination for Secretary at the US Department of Agriculture, President Trump’s final cabinet choice.

A farm boy who became a veterinarian, a US Air Force captain, an agribusiness owner and most recently a two-term Georgia Governor, he is a skilled director of large bureaucracies who has championed US exports of grain, meat and farm products. He shares Mr Trump’s disdain for ‘soft’ trade deals struck in recent years.

A top challenge for Mr Perdue’s agency, with a $150 billion budget, will be the next US farm bill, following several years of dramatic falls in US net farm income.

His predecessor, Tom Vilsack, the only Cabinet Secretary to serve Barak Obama’s entire tenure, is now President and CEO of the US Dairy Export Council.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 09

Howard Williams • Brexit

WTO trade saviour?

‘Global Britain’ means Britain trading in a world of well-established rules and procedures.

Club member Professor Howard Williams explains ALMOST all world trade, by both volume and value, including agriculture trade, is covered by formal agreements. Core to this is the WTO, a trading system that is typically misunderstood and almost certainly an opaque organisation.

or at least not object. So as the UK ‘re-applies’ for membership any WTO member can either actively oppose the process or merely seek clarification. Consequently membership cannot be guaranteed to be a smooth or timely process.

The world of the WTO is best understood as the finest diplomatic filigree; delicate relationships counterbalanced by nuanced partnerships, arcane rules which simultaneously offer clarity and ambiguity.

At its simplest the WTO is a multilateral trading system designed to facilitate global trade by ensuring equity in trading relationships, with an objective of removing tariff and nontariff barriers.

The UK is bound by the WTO rules though its membership of the EU and, even after Brexit, WTO rules will still bind all trading relationships with countries who are WTO members. This is especially so in agriculture.

The WTO rules also allow a formal process of exceptions and bi-lateral agreements, which are particularly important for agriculture products.

WTO re-application It is a reasonable working assumption that the UK will be able to re-establish its independent membership of the WTO. But the WTO works on consensus, and all members need to agree,

10 • The Farmers Club Spring 2017

At its core is the notion of ‘most favoured nation’ (MFN) which means no country can be treated differently to another. So, tariffs must be the same, market access rules the same etc.

But the WTO is full of nuances and exceptions that allow countries to tailor broad contracts to specific conditions.

Brexit • Howard Williams Beating WTO As the UK moves to negotiate trade deals with other countries, it is, by definition, seeking access on terms which are better than the broad framework of the WTO. This, in effect, means establishing bilateral agreements and trying to establishing new quota privileges (i.e. specially advantaged trading positions in terms of quotas).

The Prime Minister’s speech on January 17th 2017, and recent Parliamentary debates, have allowed the Government to set out a clear objective, which means withdrawal from the EU single market and the European customs union. It has, therefore, shifted the focus of trade negotiations away from broad bilateral agreements (which by definition must cover most trade between two countries) to market by market or product by product negotiations.

In effect the Government has narrowed the trade debate to one about gaining access to new trade quotas, or a redistribution of existing quotas. But as trade negotiations are a ‘two way street’ the Brexit negotiations mean the UK is surrendering both single market duty free trade and quota-rated imports afforded by EU membership.

Simultaneously, the UK will be seeking to maintain preferential access to some existing EU markets and access to new geographic markets (obviously at preferential rates – otherwise why bother to negotiate!).

Beef trade Trade in beef highlights the complexity of these arguments. At present Ireland is the largest exporter of beef to the UK, through tariff free trade under the auspices of the EU single market. But other exporters outside the EU are seeking to expand their quota-defined access to the EU. Brazil and other Mercosur countries, for example, currently face full WTO tariffs on beef of 12.8% ad valorem plus a fixed amount (depending on cut), which in effect puts the tariff close to 50%. Quota rates are, for illustration, around 20% (source: tradebetablog. wordpress.com/2016/08/10/Hilton-beef-quota).

Brexit disturbs the existing ‘equilibrium’ and all parties (for both exports and imports) will naturally seek the best outcome for their own country. And whilst all countries are implicated in the negotiations, not all are present at all the negotiating tables.

Unless a country is happy to accept WTO standard tariffs, Brexit means numerous countries, including Great Britain, will be seeking to find a new equilibrium that protects both its producers and consumers of beef.

Multiply this across all agriculture areas (of which 86 include quotas) and you get a small insight into the complexity.

Non-tariff barriers One broad area where the WTO rules are less robust is in the area of non-tariff barriers to trade. In agriculture, these non-tariff barriers can apply to animal health and welfare, plant health, environmental protection and related fields such as definition of places of origin and the use of product names (eg Cheddar cheese).

So, there is the prospect of the UK agriculture and food markets being opened up to increased international trade (where some countries may have different/lower standards, such as the ability to use growth hormones), whilst simultaneously facing tougher non-tariff and environmental standards in new export markets, most notably the EU. UK farm trap The end result could be UK farmers are caught between intense competition in domestic markets from low cost producers with large economies of scale, whilst at the same time having to match exacting standards required for ‘new’ export markets.

In short, falling into the embrace of the WTO may sound like an effective policy to protect UK trade post-Brexit. But in reality, and especially for agriculture and food products, a positive outcome is far from assured.

Brexit means numerous countries will be seeking to find a new equilibrium that protects both their producers and consumers.

Multiply this across all agriculture areas (of which 86 include quotas) and you get a small insight into the complexity.

Brexit Toolkit A wide range of useful documents is included in the Club’s Brexit Toolkit, which can be found in the Library section of the Club website at www.thefarmersclub.com/brexit Documents include: • Richard Packer CPS report • Farming Unions Brexit Vision report • Department for Exiting the EU • TFA Brexit policy • Trade deal challenges, The Economist To suggest further items contact Journal Editor Charles Abel editor@thefarmersclub.com

www.thefarmersclub.com • 11

Charles Abel • Grand Re-Opening

Princess Royal Attends HRH the Princess Royal officially re-opened the Farmers Club following the successful completion of Project CREST refurbishments.

Charles Abel reports

HER Royal Highness the Princess Royal officially re-opened the Farmers Club on Thursday 2nd February, following the successful completion of the Project CREST refurbishment.

During a sparkling evening The Princess Royal warmly congratulated the Club upon what it had achieved. “It is so important for farming, and farmers, to have somewhere to come in central London, in such an excellent position, and to be looking after it and making very good use of it. I do hope you enjoy it.”

Having toured the newly completed Lounge, Restaurant, Terrace, Bar and Shaw Room, the Princess Royal spent a considerable period of time meeting all of the 100 members who had gathered in the wonderful, large new function space of the Farmers Suite, before unveiling a commemorative plaque.

Splendid facilities In formally welcoming Her Royal Highness, Club chairman Tim Bennett paid warm tribute to all those involved in creating the splendid new facilities, especially the General Committee, which quickly gave the project the go-ahead, and the builders and architects who addressed numerous issues, including securing the necessary permissions for the changes.

He had special praise for the vision, planning and tenacity of former Club Secretary and Chief Executive Stephen Skinner, who was present on the evening. Stephen managed the project together with General Manager Virginia Masser. Since the completion of the project Club Secretary and Chief Executive Andrei Spence, Virginia and the Club team had done a great job of getting the Club working again and maximising the new and extended facilities that the project has provided, he said.

“And the staff have been tremendous, keeping it all going and looking after members whilst all the works were going on and the rooms were being changed around,” Mr Bennett added.

12 • The Farmers Club Spring 2017

Grand Re-Opening • Charles Abel “We now have a Club to be really proud of, and it still remains a friendly, family Club, that is our ethos and we’re not going to lose it as we equip ourselves to serve members into the 21st Century.”

Widespread praise There was widespread praise for the fresh, light feel of the Club and the creation of new function spaces where offices had once been. A common comment was just how impressed members were with the very significant changes that had been implemented since they last visited.

Peter Treloar, his wife Annette and brother-inlaw Martin Fitzgerald had undertaken a somewhat longer journey to Whitehall Court than most.

Having been successful in the ballot for places, they were delighted to travel all the way from Port Lincoln in South Australia. “It was such a pleasure to meet The Princess Royal. The Club looks fantastic and the Royal family still means such a lot to us in Australia,” commented Mr Treloar, a Nuffield Scholar and MP for Flinders who farms 1000ha of combinable crops and Merino sheep.

Skilled craftsmen The architect Graham Cox, the builders BB Contracts and Fulcrum Kitchen all worked on the project. For Helen Hughes, the interior designer, the evening was the culmination of a fascinating project, combining the needs of a modern London club with the homely, family atmosphere members have so long enjoyed.

With the largest single renovation in the Club’s history now complete members were able to enjoy the new facilities, excellent service and the superb Bowl Food that highlighted some of the new dishes on The Restaurant seasonal menu.

A wonderful selection of images from the Grand Re-Opening Ceremony and Reception can be found in the Library section of the Farmers Club website at: www. thefarmersclub.com/library/photo-library

www.thefarmersclub.com • 13

Charles Abel • Club Members

New committee members Welcome to the five new committee members elected to The Farmers Club for 2017

“The Club’s distinguished history, linked to its forward thinking and wide ranging membership, help to make it a vital part of our country’s food and farming industry.”

NEW members of the Farmers Club Committee for 2017 are Kevin Beaty, John Lee, Karen Mercer, Christopher Riddle and Keith Redpath, who were offered an exclusive tour of the Club’s refurbished facilities in Whitehall Court by Club Secretary Andrei Spence earlier this year.

The tour included the Club’s very popular Restaurant, the elegantly refurbished Lounge, Bar and Shaw Room and the Club’s flagship Farmers Suite – ideally suited to larger meetings and functions, with fine views over the River Thames.

The new Committee members bring a wealth of farming knowledge and experience to the Club, spanning the length and breadth of the UK and all types of farming.

Kevin Beaty is a dairy farmer in Cumbria, currently milking 300 Jersey cows. He attended the 53rd Worshipful Company of Farmers course in Wye, is a Nuffield scholar and was recently awarded Associate of Royal Agricultural Societies.

He was a Board member of DairyCo for six years and is now lead of Eden District Council.

Promoting the needs of the food and farming industry to policy-makers is a key area of interest.

Keith Redpath of Roxburghshire is an arable farmer in the Scottish borders and also a breeder

14 • The Farmers Club Spring 2017

of pedigree cattle. He is an innovative farmer, who also chairs various agricultural organisations, and has been chair of the Scottish panel of CARAS until retiring from this position in 2016.

“I have been using the Club for over 20 years and the recent refurbishment has made such a difference to the facilities we have to offer,’’ he says. “I do like the décor and feel that the interior designer has chosen excellent colours and fabrics in the public areas. The Farmers Suite, which can include the Hudson Room and the Cumber Room, is a great facility for functions and will prove to be very versatile for hosting quality events for many years to come.”

The Club’s food has improved immensely, he adds. “The improvement to the kitchen has made a much better working area, which provides much better facilities for the kitchen staff, and the meals I have had recently have been outstanding.”

John Lee OBE farms near Crediton in Devon and is Chairman of Mole Avon Trading.

He has chaired various organisations, including Devon County Agricultural Association, and was Founder Chairman of Farming and Countryside Education. He is a member of DEFRA’s appeals panel and was High Sheriff of Devon in 2013/14.

Club Members • Charles Abel “I was delighted, as part of my induction as a new Committee member, to look behind the scenes and to meet some of the team that make this Club such a special ‘Home from Home’,” he says. “Given the complexity of Project CREST it was fascinating to see the improvements in detail.”

Christopher Riddle of Cornwall has been Secretary of the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association since 1989. He is a former Trustee and National Chairman of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution; Trustee of the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth; former National Chairman of the Association of Shows & Agricultural Organisations; and Honorary Secretary of the Cornish Winter Fair.

“The Farmers Club not only provides an excellent base for anyone visiting or working in

“I have been using the Club for over 20 years and the recent refurbishment has made such a difference to the facilities we have to offer.”

London but also a very convivial and, since the recent excellent refurbishment work has been completed, a very smart meeting place for those involved in agriculture in the UK,” he notes.

Karen Mercer of Staffordshire was born into a farming family and has always been involved in agriculture. She trained as a farm secretary and was a director of the family’s farm business until 2006. She now has a smallholding and property business. She was Regional Chairman of Coutts Bank Landowners Group for five years and has had active roles in NFYFC, WFU, Ladies in Pigs, Pump Aid, Canine Partners and now the Worshipful Company of Farmers.

As Karen so succinctly puts it: “It is always an absolute pleasure to dine and stay at the Club”.

tside Europe’s main, fears for trade ou Re or e av Le ted vo ers trates…..

Whether Club memb r to the Editor demons tte Le s thi as , me sa single market are the

Dear Editor, A. a free trade relat ionshi p wit h the US ld bui to ing end int are nt me ern gov Mrs May and her t USA markets. However, tec pro to rs rie bar de tra ng ldi bui ily The Trump administrat ion are bus trade agreement wit h the UK. e fre a of a ide e th on n kee y ver are they Have we considered the implications? d their sur plus of beef could an s, eal cer er oth d an eat wh of s plu The USA has an enormous annual sur to dumping this sur plus on the UK. r doo n ope an ve ha to e lov ld wou A feed most of the UK. The US e USA. The UK has not hing to “dump” on th f far ming at a str oke. bee d an ble ara sh iti Br y tro des ld A cou A free trade agreement wit h the US New Zealand, wit h an open d an a ali str Au h wit nts me ree ag de e Add to that suggested free tra iry products, and we could complete th da d an n iso ven on, tt mu b, lam of ses market for their sur plu demolit ion of Br itish Agricult ure. t those of us who voted ges sug I ”. ing mp “du m fro rs me far sh iti Membershi p of the EU protected Br e European Cust oms Union. th not y inl ta cer d an et ark M on mm “leave” did not vote to leave the Co agricult ure at risk. our put at th nts me ree ag de tra e fre enter And we def initely did NO T vote to Yours sincerely, Mart in Deighton r forty years. Suffo lk Far mer (retired ) & FC member for ove www.thefarmersclub.com • 15

Charles Abel • Rural innovation

AOX founder and Farm491 user - Richard Counsell.

Agritech support RURAL innovation is flourishing thanks to an upsurge of specialist hubs designed to provide an environment conducive to start-up enterprises with a rural flavour.

The latest is the Royal Agricultural University’s Farm491 based at Cirencester in the Cotswolds a space for innovators to grow their businesses by applying technology to agriculture.

It’s called Farm491 because, as well as providing high-spec facilities created to foster entrepreneurship, ideas generation, and collaboration – it includes 491 hectares of Cotswold farmland for research and testing.

Farm491 is offering start up space both at the Royal Agricultural University’s main campus in Cirencester and at the farm-based Innovation Centre at Harnhill about 4 miles away. The aim is to create a vibrant incubation environment with the potential to influence and benefit the wider agricultural and food production industries.

Affordable and flexible co-working environments where budding agri-tech entrepreneurs can run and grow their businesses.

The goal is to create 55 new agritech companies, employing over 200 new staff, over the next five years. “We’re already seeing fantastic entrepreneurs succeed with their ideas,” says Angela Simkins, Farm491 Centre Director.

Members have access to the university’s support and knowledge network, which includes farmers, entrepreneurs, investors and academics, as well as open access to farming data, research, equipment and resources so they can test, refine and grow their propositions.

AOX case study One of the first organisations to use Farm491 facilities is AOX, an on-line platform to use the ‘wisdom of the crowd’ to deliver better price forecasting and help manage volatility, so the agricultural industry profit or protect itself against

16 • The Farmers Club Spring 2017

price, yield and input cost volatility, with reduced risk and cost of entry.

It is the brainchild of Somerset beef farmer’s son and Nuffield Scholar Richard Counsell, a previous Barclays Bank/Sunday Telegraph E-commerce Entrepreneur of the Year and a finalist in the 2016 Farmers Guardian Agri-Innovation Den. After discovering Farm491 over Twitter Richard chose to take office space at RAU491’s Trent Lodge. “The exclusive access to farming data and support from academics is a major attribute of the enterprise hub and one that attracted me immediately. Farm491 is one of the UK’s most sophisticated and advanced facilities for pioneering agritech research and innovation, helping many start-up businesses, like AOX to flourish and grow.”

Proof-of-concept fund RAU491 has also recently secured support for award-winning Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Programme, which provides students with tailored support through the business start-up journey.

The Amersi Foundation and Inclusive Ventures Group will provide proof-of-concept funding for students testing business ideas.

Farm491 users AOX – online forecasting and volatility platform Landapp – land management software Pasture Fed Livestock Association (PFLA) – fostering an innovative producer community Farm-r – online farmer-to-farmer machinery rental Agrispectral - innovative drone technology Define – new approach to equine data collection DiAgrii – novel livestock monitoring Raw Energy – innovation in energy renewal

Portugal Tour • Lisbeth Rune

The Douro Wine Tour

16th to 19th October 2017

The Club is pleased to be able to offer a customised wine tour to Oporto and the Douro valley this October, organised in conjunction with Uncorked Wine Tours.

The itinerary, for a group of 21, is:

Monday 16th October Lunchtime flight from London Heathrow to Oporto, meeting with guide and transfer to the hotel in the Douro Valley with a brief presentation of the region. Check in to The Vintage House hotel in Pinhão then visit to the nearby Quinta do Bomfim, for a walk through one of the Douro’s finest vineyards followed by a tasting and dinner at the Quinta.

Tuesday 17th October Spend the day in the vineyards of Cima Corgo, where the highest quality wines of the region are produced. In the morning visit Quinta do Noval, which has been part of AXA Millesimes since 1993, and is recognised as making some of Douro’s best wines. Next visit the flagship estate of Ramos Pinto, Quinta Bom Retiro, which also boasts one of the oldest farmhouses in the region, for lunch overlooking the Douro river. The final visit of the day to Quinta de Napoles includes a tour of the modern winery and wine tasting with Dirk Niepoort. On arrival in Oporto dinner would be at the 2 Michelin-starred restaurant The Yeatman, Vila Nova de Gaia.

Wednesday 18th October Visit of the lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, including wine tasting at Graham’s Port Lodge, famous for their Tawny ports. Lunch at the Vinum restaurant, overlooking Oporto city. The afternoon will then be free, to explore the city or relax at the hotel before visiting the cellars of Taylor’s Port Lodge to see where the wine ages. Dinner is to be preceded by a tasting of several of Taylor’s vintage ports.

Thursday 19th October Tram tour exploring the cobbled streets and alleys of Oporto followed by a tour of the Oporto Factory House, home to the British Association, then lunch. Mid-afternoon flight to London.

Tour Cost: £1,550 per person (double occupancy). This includes accommodation in 5-star hotels, 3 lunches, 3 dinners with wine, all visits and flights from Gatwick Airport. £270 single supplement.

To register interest please contact Events Manager Lisbeth Rune events@thefarmersclub.com 020 7930 3751 by 18 April 2017.

A ballot will be held if the tour is oversubscribed.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 17

Robert Adams • Club Wedding

Farming Figures A quick look at… the impact of a potential ban on glyphosate… told through a few key statistics

£540,000,000

Potential reduction in value of production of winter wheat, winter barley and oilseed rape in the UK per year without glyphosate

7.1% Expected fall in production of major grains across the EU due to a ban on glyphosate

€1.3 billion

The annual cost of the predicted fall in production of major grains in the EU

1st The most used herbicide in the world

60%

Amount of bread sold in UK containing pesticide residues, most commonly glyphosate

69,000+

Signatures from across Europe opposing ban

47 days

The average field half-life of glyphosate in soil

28%

Cost saving per hectare from using glyphosate, due to reduced fuel and time required

23 Glyphosate resistant species of weeds known in 2014

9,400,000 tons Amount of glyphosate sprayed onto fields since its introduction Sources: Free to Farm, info@freetofarm.co.uk, Environmental Sciences Europe 2016, NFU, National Pesticide Information Center, The Guardian, Herbicide Resistant Weeds, Integrated Pest Management (11 April 2014).

18 • The Farmers Club Spring 2017

Wedding party On December 3rd the Farmers Club became home-from-home for former U30s Committee member and Inter-Club Rep Holly Adams, now a full member of the Farmers Club, as she prepared for her marriage to James Piers Armitage.

Over the course of the weekend several female members of staff seemed to become part of our extended family, writes Robert Adams, of Mentmore Stud Farm in Buckinghamshire. A very heavy contingent of Farmers Club members from Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire stayed at the Club over the weekend, and enjoyed an excellent light lunch before the service, while the Forty Room became a hairdressing salon and beauty parlour for the day.

“Please record our praise and thanks to the entire staff who helped to make it such a

memorable day,” he continues.

“In particular Marlene – who spent hours patiently shuffling and reshuffling bedrooms to accommodate quite a large party (we all had the best rooms we’ve ever had at the Club), and also the housekeeper, whose Irish name I won’t attempt to spell.

On the morning of the wedding, she was so helpful, even going down unasked to the basement rummaging around to find a huge mirror she thought necessary for the Forty Room activities which was then manhandled upstairs.”

“It was a wonderful day, in no small part due to the Farmers Club staff. It was just like being married from home – without the work and clearing up!”

The wedding itself took place at the Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy, with the Reception afterwards at the Law Society, Chancery Lane.

o book your function at The Farmers Club, contact Liza T Keoshgerian, Conference & Banqueting, 020 7925 7100 meetings@thefarmersclub.com

Art Tour • Jane Whyman

Queen’s Gallery MEMBERS enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of culture on Friday 27th January, starting with a most interesting lecture by Anne Haworth at the Club, writes Jane Whyman. Anne has such a delightful way with words and provided a fascinating insight into the diverse world of portrait painting; and introduced us to many of the paintings that we would be seeing later.

A delicious two-course lunch followed, with time to catch up with fellow guests, before boarding the coach for the Queen’s Gallery.

The ‘Portrait of the Artist’ exhibition features work from within the Royal Collection and showcases self-portraits by artists including Rembrandt, Rubens, Lucian Freud and David Hockney – to name but a few.

We discovered that from the Renaissance onwards, artists have used the self-portrait as a means of self-promotion, to enable them to market their work to a specific audience. They needed to demonstrate their achievements and find fame within a society looking to commission and purchase beautiful works of art. Several paintings show the artist ‘at work’ – demonstrating a deftness of touch and skill to fire the imagination.

Some artists enjoyed painting their subjects alongside friends or family members to preserve their likenesses for future generations, a concept that was becoming increasingly recognised within the higher echelons of society.

Before art schools were established, artists would often work together in the workshop, painting each other in a variety of settings to bring the world of the artist to life for all to see.

The delightful painting of Sir Edwin Landseer shows the artist posing with two dogs looking over his shoulders. The one on the right is thought to have been Landseer’s own collie, Lassie, while the one on the left is a retriever called Myrtle, owned by one of his patrons. Sir Edwin Landseer is of course known primarily for painting animals, and so it is rather special to see him featured within his own work.

In addition to the paintings, the exhibition also included drawings, prints, photographs and decorative arts, such as Sevres porcelain tea sets and a collection of fine miniatures.

Afterwards members made their way into the darkening streets of London having enjoyed a fascinating visit.

The exhibition continues until 17th April 2017.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 19

Mary Tait, Chairman; Charlotte Harris, Vice Chairman; Lisbeth Rune, Secretary • U30s

Chairman’s Jottings In my final Chairman’s Jottings I would like to begin by thanking the U30s and Main Club members for making my year as Chairman so enjoyable. I have thoroughly enjoyed planning the U30s event calendar and hope the U30s members have enjoyed hearing from speakers such as Michael Whitehead, Private Secretary to HRH Prince of Wales, as well as visiting the Northumberland Estate and the Arla Dairy in Aston Clinton.

I also feel very lucky to have sat on the Main Club Committee for the past two years, which has taught me a great deal about how our Club functions and all the work of the staff and Committee to make the Club such an enjoyable place to be.

2017 Committee I am thrilled to announce that Charlotte Harris will take over the chairmanship for the U30s from 25th February 2017. She has a brilliant U30s events calendar lined up, which can be seen on the U30s Facebook page. Please add the dates to your diary!

Charlotte will be supported by newly appointed Vice Chairman, Emily McVeigh, and we welcome three new committee members: Matthew Hague, Georgina Knock and Alice Whitlow. John Jaques (Immediate Past Chairman) and Katherine Green will retire from the Committee; on behalf of the U30s I would like to formally thank them both for all the time they have given up to make the U30s a more successful part of the Farmers Club.

A write-up from the New Members Weekend will follow in the next issue of the Journal. Please don’t forget to join the U30s Facebook group to keep up to date with events and news.

Contact Mary for more information Mary Tait U30 Chairman Job Title: PA to Lord Malloch-Brown Where: Piccadilly, London www.thefarmersclub.com /under-30s marycharlottetait@gmail.com

07538 082517

20 • The Farmers Club Spring 2017

Rude Health Eat Right, Stay Brilliant WE were delighted to welcome Nick Barnard, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Rude Health to speak at the U30s November Dining event, writes Mary Tait Chairman of the Under 30s in 2016.

Rude Health is a London-based food and drinks company that started in 2005 with a very simple goal – to make muesli. The goal was to help people think about what they understand by food and to be less anxious about the food they eat. The team of now 16 people based in Fulham creates products that express Rude Health through honest food with a ‘shen-attitude’.

The main concept is to never compromise on what goes into their food, to serve the demand for clean eating.

However, the pressures of commerce mean farmers are somewhat isolated from the concept Rude Health seeks to enhance, as today’s society craves convenience, with means higher levels of salt and sugar in supermarket items.

Nick labels himself as relentlessly inquisitive, which is one of the main reasons the company has been so successful. His great hope is that people can become

more responsible about their food choices. He intends to grow his business to include farm shops promoting Rude Health’s vision.

Rude Health has achieved many awards. In 2010 their Ultimate Granola was awarded two gold stars from the Great Taste Awards, in 2013 they were awarded Specialty World Porridge Champion, and in 2016 Nick wrote ‘Eat Right’, a cook book in which every recipe has been created and cooked by Nick.

Rude Health products are available online and in Waitrose, including Almond Milk, Granola, Porridge, Muesli and Snack Bars. Their website includes recipe ideas, or visit their café on Kings Road if you fancy a relaxed but nutritionally delicious brunch on a Saturday morning!

The U30s received a huge array of samples from Nick during the dinner. The Super Seed Muesli is not to be missed, especially as the Swiss now buy Rude Health Muesli, surely a resounding recommendation! My thanks again to Emily McVeigh for her help in securing such a great speaker.

• www.rudehealth.com 212 New Kings Road, London, SW6 4NZ

U30s • Mary Tait, Chairman; Charlotte Harris, Vice Chairman; Lisbeth Rune, Secretary

U30 OFC 2017

Lucy McVeigh secured an Under 30s scholarship to attend the Oxford Farming Conference

Five interesting facts from OFC 2017 1. 40 bottles of Scottish Whiskey sold every second 2. Average US citizen eats 1 tonne of food each year 3. 79 million cups of coffee drunk each day in UK 4. UK Food Service market worth £87.2bn in 2016

IT was a great privilege to have been awarded the Under 30s scholarship to attend the Oxford Farming Conference earlier this year. My family have been farming since 1640 making me a 12th generation farmer. From our family farm in Suffolk we run various enterprises of which I am primarily responsible for livestock. I also manage the butchery, marketing and sales of our meat through our farm shop, cookery school, mail orders across the UK and suppling top London restaurants and butchers.

This year, the conference theme was ‘Thrive or Survive’ which was particularly fitting given agriculture’s current situation, following the Brexit vote. The conference consisted of three full days of debates, case studies, political question and answer sessions, and inspiring talks from business leaders on how they have created thriving global agricultural businesses, mainly in the processing of food and drink.

There were plenty of opportunities to network with influential delegates, market leaders and political figures throughout the day, and also at the two dinners I attended in Keble College and Christ Church College, each drawing over 500 delegates.

Potatoes in the desert For me, the most inspiring case study was ‘The World’s Your Market - Potatoes in the desert’, a session led by Jack Hamilton, who manages his thriving family business Mash Direct. The Hamiltons began selling champ from their farmhouse kitchen in Northern Ireland and now export their products all over the world.

One Mash Direct product is now being sold somewhere in the world every 15 seconds.

Jack’s passion for farming and his enthusiasm for business were for me inspiring and thought provoking. The conference reiterated the fact that the United Kingdom is known for its great quality of food and drinks products, the provenance and traceability of food, and of course the potential there is to export globally.

The Oxford Farming Conference was the perfect platform to learn, engage and network with influential speakers, like-minded farmers and to gain a better understanding of public opinion and government policies.

As part of only 6% of the farming population under the age of 45 years, the Conference was stimulating and hugely beneficial in helping me with future business decisions and understanding the agricultural industry in greater depth.

Family farm future A highlight of the conference was the Oxford Union debate, which I attended with then Under 30s Chairman Mary Tait. The motion was ‘This house believes the biggest threat to the family farm is the family itself’. Only 52 votes passed the motion, to my surprise.

The debate was particularly interesting, as I work with my family and we have a fantastic working relationship. However, I know from experience that this is rare.

I was delighted to attend The Oxford Farming Conference and would highly recommend it to all in our industry. I made fantastic contacts, expanded my knowledge on agricultural policy and left feeling truly inspired.

www.thefarmersclub.com • 21

The Farmers Club • Club Information

Club Information

020 7930 3557 • www.thefarmersclub.com Office Holders

Canaletto and Venice

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 2017 VICE PRESIDENTS Barclay Forrest OBE, Mark Hudson, Norman Shaw CBE, Mrs Susan Kilpatrick OBE PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN Tim Bennett TRUSTEES Jimmy McLean, Mrs Nicki Quayle, Julian Sayers (Chairman), Paul Heygate VICE-CHAIRMAN Peter Jinman OBE HONORARY TREASURER Richard Maunder IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN Richard Butler CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND SECRETARY Andrei Spence CLUB CHAPLAIN The Reverend Dr Sam Wells COMMITTEE Elected 2015: Tim Bennett, Matt Dempsey (Communications Sub-Committee), Richard Maunder, Gerald Osborne Elected 2016: Robert Alston, Andrew Brown (Membership Sub-Committee), Lindsay Hargreaves, Nick Helme (House Sub-Committee), Peter Jinman OBE Elected 2017: Kevin Beaty, John Lee OBE, Karen Mercer, Keith Redpath, Christopher Riddle, Allan Stevenson (re-elected), Campbell Tweed OBE (re-elected) Co-opted: Mary Tait (Chairman Under 30s), Charlotte Harris (Vice Chairman Under 30s) THE FARMERS CLUB CHARITABLE TRUST TRUSTEES Stephen Fletcher (Chairman), James Cross, Vic Croxson DL, The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Club (ex officio).

Patron Mrs Stella Muddiman

Friday 30 June This exhibition in The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace presents a spectacular selection of eighteenth-century Venetian art, with Canaletto’s greatest works shown alongside paintings and works on paper by Sebastiano and Marco Ricci, Francesco Zuccarelli, Rosalba Carriera, Pietro Longhi and Giovanni Battista Piazzetta. The exhibition explores the many delights of eighteenth-century Venice, from the splendours of the Grand Canal and St Mark’s Square to its festivals, theatre and masked carnival.

Our outline programme starts at 12.00 noon with a lecture by Anne Haworth in the Club, followed at 1pm by a two-course lunch with wine at the Club, before a 2.30pm departure by coach to the Queen’s Gallery for a 3.15pm entrance to the exhibition. Members should make their own way home. This event is limited to 40 places. Cost per person is £62.50, including lunch, exhibition ticket and coach transfer. Applications should be received by 3rd April. If over-subscribed places will be decided by ballot. To register interest complete the booking form enclosed with this issue.

Henley Royal Regatta SUNDAY 2 JULY

NEXT ISSUE

Once again, through the good offices of Club Member, Mr Tom Copas, what better way to spend a quintessential summer’s day than amongst fellow members and friends at Temple Island Enclosure during Henley Royal Regatta. Enjoy your day within The Farmers Club private chalet, an idyllic riverside setting where rowing passes you by and drinks continue to flow as you relax in the riverside chalet and garden. The day starts with morning coffee at Temple Island Enclosure at 11am and finishes at 5.30pm.

The Summer issue of the Farmers Club Journal arrives in mid-May, with all the latest Club news, including a report on the Club’s second Monday Evening Lecture of 2017, in which DEFRA Secretary of State Angela Leadsom is to give Club members an exclusive briefing as Brexit negotiations get under way.

The package includes Admission to Temple Island Enclosure; Champagne, Pimm’s and Canapés Reception; River Cruise; Four course luncheon; Afternoon Tea with strawberries and cream; Complimentary bar throughout the day; Reserved car parking and an optional coach transfer to and from The Farmers Club. Cost is £190 per person, or £210 per person including coach transfer. Applications should be received by 3rd April.

To register interest complete the booking form enclosed with this issue.

22 • The Farmers Club Spring 2017

Club Information • The Farmers Club Deaths It is with regret that we announce the death of the following members: Mr J Bartleet Essex Mr E Roy Chapman Lincolnshire Mr I Davenport Leicestershire Mr I Duguid Lincolnshire Mr P Ford Essex Mr R Haydon OBE Sussex Mr A Little Somerset Mr K McDougall Norfolk Mr R Orlik Isle Of Wight Mr W Price Buckinghamshire Mr R Price Merioneth Mr A Shephard Surrey Mr M Vanhoutte New Zealand New Members The following were elected: UK Members Mr C Baillie-Hamilton Mr S Barnes Mrs S Battye Mrs G Billington Mr D Brookes Mrs C Cree Miss C Dempsey Mrs L Greenish Mr R Hallam Mr T Handy Mr R Hawnt Mr S Hewitt Mrs T Hood Miss R Jagger Mr N Jones Mr R Jones Mr H Jones Mr A Knight Mr W Lawrence Mr R Moulding Mrs L Newman Mr S Orledge Mr A Parrott Dr A Raymond Miss A Shropshire Mr H Smith Mrs J Stout Mr J Tasker Mr M Thatcher Mr H Waterer Mr P Whittal Mr G Williams Mr R Wills Mr J Worsnip Overseas Mrs S Cunningham Mr P De Schouwer Mr W Taylor Mr B Teale Under 30s Mr J Archer Mr M Barker Mr A Bennett Mr W Biggar

Gloucestershire London Yorkshire Lancashire Cheshire Nottinghamshire London London Hampshire Gloucestershire Herefordshire Worcestershire Lincolnshire Shropshire Herefordshire Northamptonshire Pembrokeshire Bedfordshire Pembrokeshire Leicestershire Essex Cardiganshire Staffordshire Yorkshire Nottinghamshire Northamptonshire Worcestershire Essex Somerset Suffolk Herefordshire Nottinghamshire Hampshire Somerset USA Netherlands Switzerland Ecuador Dorset Kent Surrey Kirkcudbrightshire

Miss I Brown Mr O Brown Dr J Cooper Miss M Gaden Miss M Grierson Mr A Hall Mr J Hamilton Mr W Langer Miss J Orr Miss L Parrott Mr T Payton Mr J Poulton Miss S Russell Mr H Russell M E Taylor Mr J Walton Mr M Winkler Associate - Whitehall Court Ms L Clayton Mr E Fukumuro

Leicestershire Leicestershire Shropshire Gloucestershire Yorkshire Essex London Wiltshire Cheshire Staffordshire Worcestershire Sussex Lancashire Lancashire Shropshire Worcestershire Lincolnshire London London

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 Liza Keoshgerian ext 109 or direct line 020 7925 7100 or meetings@thefarmersclub.com

Website Registration Whilst the Club has around 5400 members, less than half of these have so far registered with the website – www.thefarmersclub.com The site offers the opportunity to keep fully up to date with all that is happening at your Club, to book events, book bedrooms, see your account on-line, and pay it if required.

To get the best from the site you do need to register – which is very easy – simply visit the site, click the ‘Members Area’ tab at the top of the left-hand menu, click ‘Register’ at the bottom of the LOGIN menu, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Should you have any problems do contact the General Office, e-mail: generaloffice@ thefarmersclub.com tel: 020 7930 3751.

Club Contacts THE FARMERS CLUB

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

Chairman 2017: Tim Bennett

Chief Executive and Secretary: Andrei Spence

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 Liza Keoshgerian ext: 109 or direct line: 020 7925 7100 functions@thefarmersclub.com Events & U30s Lisbeth Rune ext: 103 events@thefarmersclub.com General Manager Virginia Masser ext: 102 generalmanager@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

www.thefarmersclub.com • 23

Gloucestershire Tour 17th to 18th May 2017

The Club is visiting Gloucestershire in May – to explore the amazing success story of Gloucester Services and some of its local food suppliers.

The itinerary, for a group of 50, will start from Hatherley Manor Hotel, where members can arrive between 9.30 and 10.15am on Wednesday 17 May to register. At 10.30am members will be taken by coach to visit Jess’s Ladies, a multiple award-winning organic dairy farm, to hear Jess Vaughan’s story and meet the ladies that have made this enterprise what it is today. We will continue to Cinderhill Farm for lunch, including their famous sausage rolls, followed by a talk and a show around the farm, which is well known for raising rare and native breeds. Dinner and over-night stay at Hatherley Manor Hotel.

On Thursday morning we travel to the only family-run motorway service station on the UK road network, Gloucester Services, on the southbound M5, to hear Sarah Dunning (Chief Executive) and John Dunning (Founding and NonExecutive Director) explain how local food has helped create such an amazing shop-front for UK farming. Both Jess’s Ladies and Cinderhill Farm are suppliers.

After exploring the wonderful farm shop and a buffet lunch members make their own way home.

See enclosed booking form to register interest.

Wonderful West Wales 5th to 7th June 2017 Join Club Chairman Tim Bennett and his wife Susan to visit some of the farming and cultural highlights of West Wales this June Monday 5th June Arrive in the historic market town of Llandeilo for lunch at Cawdor Hotel.

Afternoon visit to Gelli Aur agricultural college for talks on eradicating BVD, slurry de-watering and entrepreneurs in dairying, plus farm walk.

Afterwards travel to Aberglansey mansion to tour heritage gardens with head gardener, followed by drinks on the terrace and dinner in the marquee.

Tuesday 6th June Visit to Delaucothi Estate to see how sheep farmers cooperate to produce quality lamb for Sainsbury’s. Lunch at Carreg Cennan Castle, a spectacular ruin in Brecon Beacons National Park. Bernard Llewellyn MBE, former NFU Cymru Rural Affairs Board Chairman, will explain how he combines farming with a thriving tourism enterprise and showcasing rare breeds, including Longhorn cattle. Dinner at Cawdor Hotel with guest speaker Andrew Slade, Welsh Government Director of Agriculture, Marine, Environment and Forestry.

Wednesday 7th June Visit 18th century Dinefwr landscape park for tractor ride of medieval deer park and rare White Park cattle, before a tour of Newton House, a ‘hands-on’ mansion giving an atmospheric experience of life in 1912.

Finish with Lunch before members make their own ways home.

To register for either Tour complete the booking form enclosed with this issue or contact Events Manager Lisbeth Rune events@thefarmersclub.com 020 7930 3751.