News

On Tuesday 26 September the Master attended the 2023 Graduation Ceremony at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester.

The WCF Prize for Best Agricultural Dissertation was won by Jasper Merrick for his dissertation entitled: ‘An investigation into the dependency of UK agriculture on fossil fuels; motivating change’.

The Master was on hand to see Vice Chancellor Professor Peter McCaffery make the award and to congratulate Jasper personally afterwards.

The Master’s Research Report for 2023 has been published, as some may have seen in the Farmers Guardian on 15 September.

Entitled ‘Future Business Leaders in Agriculture: Who Will Lead the Industry Forward?’, and written by Caroline Nye and Matt Lobley of Exeter University, it has some penetrating insights into the barriers that would-be farming entrants experience.

You can read the report here.

The Worshipful Company of Farmers has supplied four new Middle white piglets to Surrey Docks Farm.

Pictured below is Claire Elson holding one of the piglets, which were delivered by supplier Guy Kiddy (right). Volunteers from Barclays Bank helped them to settle in.

The Annual Livery Halls Walk, wonderfully well organised each year by the Worshipful Company of Environmental Cleaners, took place on Monday 4 September.

It saw 20 Masters and their Consorts crocodile the square mile, visiting 40 of the 41 Livery halls in the City – the exception being the Gunmakers’ Hall which is located, apparently for historical safety reasons, just outside Aldgate and the old City Walls.

The Master completing the Halls Walk – hot but determined

The walk, which lasted all day, was carefully and expertly led by Environmental Cleaners Liveryman, Sean Canty, and shepherded by the Company’s Wardens and Clerk.

The Mistress Farmer and I managed to survive the nine and a half miles but, with temperatures on the day close to 30 degrees and the Masters all suited and booted, wearing Livery gowns, chains, badges and hats, frequent stops for water and other refreshments proved essential, and of course highly enjoyable.

The morning stop for Madeira Wine was at Ironmongers’ Hall, lunch was taken at Pewterers’ Hall, with afternoon refreshments at the Furniture Makers’ hall.

There was a final stop, for a very welcome beer, at Southwark Cathedral.

A brief stop at Haberdashers’ Hall

With representation from across the Livery, from the Great Twelve to the very newest Company; the Nurses, this was a really wonderful opportunity to spread the word about the Farmers and to talk and with other Companies about how they combine fellowship with charitable good works and all their other activities.

A fascinating and very enjoyable, if rather warm, day.

Thirteen riders took part in the inter-livery cycle ride on September 2, with perfect off-road conditions along the Essex Way south of High Easter.

“We plan to hold the event on the same course next year, given how fabulously varied the route was and with three distances; 30, 45 and 65 miles, it is accessible for all,” says Joint Organiser, Liveryman Richard Anscombe.

In the photo above are Liverymen Richard Whitlock and Richard Anscombe, flanking Penny Anscombe and guests at the WCF stand ahead of their 65 mile gravel ride.

Henry Etherington received the WCF award for the best agricultural dissertation of 2023 on Writtle University’s graduation day at Chelmsford Cathedral.

Here he is pictured receiving the award from Liveryman Jeremy Finnis and Chancellor of the University, Jimmy Doherty

Jake Caston has won the £125 Agricultural Students Award at Reading University, donated by the Worshipful Company of Farmers.

Dr Gillian Rose, head of agriculture at Reading University, presenting Jake Caston with his certificate.

“I chose to study agriculture at Reading as I have always had an interest in farming due to growing up on the family farm,” he says. “I plan to have a career in agriculture and have particular interest in potato production.”

On Sunday 9 July the Master Richard Davies with Mistress Farmer Terri Davies, Liveryman Anne Courtney and Apprentice Victoria Rayner attended the Wing Field Day at RAF Northolt, the first since 2019 due to Covid.

Wing Commander Niall Cumming and Flt Lt Christopher Pocock gave the party a tour of the air base and showed some of the activities the Cadets had taken part in during the day, including musical and band competitions, aircraft recognition and banner drill.

They met Acting Pilot Officer Krish Patel who, when a Cadet, had been sponsored by the Livery to attend the International Air Cadet Exchange (IACE) in the Netherlands. He hugely benefitted from this international experience and since returning has attained the qualifications to be a volunteer officer in the Middlesex Wing.

The Master presenting the John Thorpe salver to Squadron 398 for the greatest contribution to Community Service

The two recipients of Livery 2023 IACE sponsorships, Sqn CWO Tyson Lee – who will be travelling to America, based in New York and Washington DC Air Bases – and FS Davila Ajia, who is off to Sydney Australia, gave presentations.

Both were extremely appreciative and enthusiastic. FS Davila, as a keen chef and foodie, is looking forward to eating crocodile! The Wing Commander stressed the ‘worthiest’ are chosen, not the most ‘wealthy’ thanks to the Livery sponsorship. He and the Cadets thanked the Livery for the support.

You may remember the name: Sqn CWO Tyson Lee. Honoured to be selected from all the Cadets in the country, he carried the Union Flag in Westminster Abbey ahead of the Prime Minister during the King’s Coronation in May.

He had a conversation with the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife beforehand, and recognised many personalities and famous people as he processed down the aisle of the Abbey.  He was also interviewed on BBC Breakfast TV the day before.

The Master Farmer’s party heard from the Cadets on the value of leadership skills, as well as the ‘soft’ skills of teamwork, communication, and time management they had acquired since joining the Cadet Service, all of which will be invaluable when they leave school and go out into the workplace.

The Master presenting the John Thorpe salver for outstanding performance in outdoor pursuits to Squadron 14F

After lunch, the Farmer’s party attended the Parade, complete with 250 Cadets and the Wing marching band. No officers on the parade ground at the Cadets’ request, as they had expressly asked to do the drill themselves.

This proved quite a challenge as only about 12 Cadets had had any previous experience of a Wing Field Day, highlighting the recruitment and retention challenges the Wing has faced over the last four years during Covid.

The Master then presented the two Livery trophies:

• The John Thorpe Salver: Awarded to the Squadron which has contributed most to community service throughout the year, went to Squadron 398 Staines and Egham
• The new John Thorpe Salver: Awarded to the Squadron or Cadet that had been outstanding in outdoor pursuits, went to Squadron 14F Northolt.

Alex Everett has won the 2023 Agricultural Student Award at Moulton College – despite not having a strong agricultural background – here he reflects on his journey so far.

“At first, Moulton College caught my eye due to the combination of basketball and agriculture,” he says. “But upon a closer look, whilst giving me a chance to gain a deeper understanding of farming, the agriculture course provided important qualifications that to me would be very useful in the future. This sold me on the idea of coming to Moulton.

“My two year course at Moulton College has not only opened my eyes in agriculture, but also in life. When I first came to Moulton, I had little idea of what farming really encompassed, but through hard work and endless support from my teachers I gradually managed to gain both practical and theoretical knowledge which I could apply in my work experience placements.

“During my time here, I have also been encouraged to think about my future career, and to start making an informed decision between further education or work in the land based sector.

“I chose further education, and with the guidance from lecturers and the careers team I created my UCAS application, selected five courses in different universities and ended up receiving an offer from each one. Currently, I have made Newcastle University my firm choice where I hope to be studying an Agriculture BSc Honours degree.”