Governance
The Company is governed by a Court consisting of a Master, a Senior and a Junior Warden who are elected from the Court and between fifteen and twenty four Assistants. All members of the Court are elected from the Livery. The majority of the Court of Assistants must be engaged in the farming industry. Past Master Assistants, in descending order of time since passing the chair, leave the Court in turn.
The Clerk to the Company is responsible for carrying out the policies and instructions of the Court and for the efficient running of the Company involving the traditional work of a City Livery Company, servicing and attending Court Meetings and its principal Committees, organising Livery events and maintaining the Company’s Administration and Accounts.
The following Honorary Officers of the Company are appointed annually by the Court:
- The Honorary Solicitor
- The Honorary Surveyor
- The Master’s Chaplain
- The Honorary Archivist
- Charity Co-Ordinator
There are four Company Stewards, appointed from amongst the Livery, to act as officials at Court and Livery lunches and also at social events.
Meet the Master
Jeremy graduated from University College, Oxford and worked for ADAS, becoming County Adviser for Herts in the early 80’s. ADAS provided superb training and experience, with leading farmers as well as some of the best scientific minds in the industry.
An opportunity then arose to return to the Civil Service fast stream in Whitehall, where he spent the next six years on a range of policy areas including EU enlargement, border controls and launching/over-seeing the £100m Marketing and Processing Grant Scheme.
He has been farming in Essex in partnership with wife Diana and family since 1997; two sons Toby and Ollie are now in the business, together with recent ABM alumnus James Cole and his mother Sue. The two main farms extend to some 2500 ha and are largely arable, with irrigated potatoes and field vegetables on the better land.
Jeremy’s Livery ‘career’ has included chairing the Fellowship Committee, Chairing Farmers and Fletchers Hall Ltd and editing the Newsletter, plus of course, tenure as Junior and Senior Warden.
There are four Company Stewards, appointed from amongst the Livery, to act as officials at Court and Livery lunches and also at social events.
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Thank you Tracy for your support for our industry leading post experience course .
For those interested in applying to join @FarmersCompany' 75th Rural Leadership programme through the autumn and winter of 2026/27, here is a further video from last year's cohort.
Tracy Wathen-Jones, Rare Breeds Survival Trust & Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, tells
