CHAIRMAN’S
WELCOME
Club president William Donald was applauded by members and guests at the annual dinner and presentation of awards,
Mr Donald, who was formally elected at last month’s annual meeting, joined his other top table guests at the Sutton Staithe Hotel, Sutton, on Wednesday, March 11.
The retiring chairman, Neil Jordan, welcomed the 165-strong company and was especially delighted that Mr Donald, who was recovering from ill-health, was able to attend.
He welcomed the guest speaker, Edward Parker, of the charity, Walking with the Wounded.
Mr Jordan said that one of the club’s strongest supporters and a keen member, Thomas Love, also held office as chairman of Norfolk National Farmers’ Union. He welcomed another leading potato grower, Tony Bambridge, who is the Norfolk county delegate to the NFU Council, and John Newton, also a club member, and the NFU county adviser.
Two of the leading officers of Holt & District Farmers’ Club, the president, Richard Harrison, and chairman, Peter Perry-Warnes, were also top table guests.
Other guests included another member, Sir William Cubitt, who is vice-chairman of Norfolk branch of the Country Land & Business Association, and Ken Matthews, treasurer of Stoke Ferry Agricultural Society and long-standing judge of the club’s whole crop sugar beet competition.
Mr Jordan, who has now been succeeded as chairman by Luke Paterson, also announced that Denis Walsh, of Greenvale AP, had been awarded the EH Wenn President’s Cup for his outstanding contribution to the club over the past 25 years. Mr Walsh has judged the potato competition every year since at least 1990 and possibly for several years earlier.
It was doubly fitting that Mr Bambridge, chairman of Greenvale AP, was able to watch the award to one of his company’s most respected agronomists.
During the presentation of awards and trophies, Mr Harrison, on behalf of Holt & District Farmers’ Club, presented a trophy to Mr Jordan for winning the annual inter-club ten-pin bowling. And Holt had kindly arranged for the engraving to mark Stalham’s success in last month’s competition.
In reply, the vice-chairman Jonathan Deane, who incidentally had suggested Mr Parker as the guest speaker, thanked him on behalf of the members and guests for proposing the toast to Agriculture and the Stalham Farmers’ Club.
Mr Deane presented a tie, featuring the new design of the club’s Stalham swan-necked hoe to the speaker. As he served in the 1st battalion the Royal Green Jackets, Mr Parker was pleased to be able to select a tie in the appropriate colour – green.
Entry added: 13 Mar 2015 |
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO CLUB
A top potato agronomist, Denis Walsh, became the second winner of Stalham Farmers’ Club’s President’s Cup.
Retiring chairman Neil Jordan said that Mr Walsh, of Greenvale AP, who is based at the group’s Norwich office, had judged the club’s annual potato competition for more than a quarter of a century.
The EH Wenn President’s Trophy was re-represented to the society by Jennifer Grier about four years ago to be awarded to an individual making an outstanding contribution to the club.
The first winner was the former secretary Frank Read, then Ken Leggett and last year’s winner was the club’s webmaster Tim Papworth.
Mr Walsh started judging potato crops in the late 1980s and has certainly been involved every year since.
Another guest was farmer and potato grower Tony Bambridge, who is also chairman of Greenvale AP.
The winner of the club’s potato trophy, presented by Rob Alston in 1970, was Robin Baines & Co with a crop of Innovator; runner-up was Nick Deane, of Bure Valley Potatoes, with Markies, and in third place, LF Papworth, also with Innovator.
Entry added: 12 Mar 2015 |
CLOSE CONTEST IN BEET TROPHY
Two surprise awards were made at the club’s annual dinner in front of 165 members and guests at the Sutton Staithe Hotel.
The trophy for the keenly-anticipated competition for the award as the club’s top beet grower was presented to Alison Ritchie, of Ludham Hall.
The Cantley Cup was calculated on total deliveries and sugar percentages through the whole of the campaign by British Sugar’s area manager Sarah Bebb.
As the final deliveries were not made until the end of last week, the result went to the wire. The total average yield for the club’s former president, David Ritchie, was comfortably in excess of 100 tonnes per hectare – and narrowly ahead of the runner-up, CN Beck & Sons, of Brumstead Hall.
The trophy was presented by Edward Parker, co-founder of the north Norfolk-based charity, Walking with the Wounded. He also presented a certificate to Geoffrey Beck, watched by his father, Alan, and former club president, Roger Beck.
In third place, a prize card was presented to James Tallowin, of GA Tallowin, of Willow Farm, Hickling.
Entry added: 12 Mar 2015 |
Hoe many Stalham members are needed to catch a swan? Well, at least three it seems – and a committee member and the secretary. Of course, it helps that one of the latest recruits to Stalham Farmers’ Club, Elliott Simpson, is a fully-fledged veterinary surgeon with Westover and an avian expert to boot. Helen Gibb, who was driving through Aylsham saw the mute swan walking through the centre of the town on Tuesday, February 10. So, armed with a clipboard, she managed to “drive” the year-old male swan into a nearby Loke. At that stage, the secretary, Michael Pollitt, who was wearing the club’s silk tie with unique Swan-necked design, got out to help. Helen meanwhile had summoned her expert colleague. When he arrived 15 minutes later, they managed to borrow a curtain and the swan was cornered. Later, after it was given a thorough vetting, it was taken to Blickling and released. Entry added: 10 Feb 2015 |