What a fantastic achievement. Stalham member and veterinary surgeon Tom Hume swam the channel. With fellow swimmer, Ed Sargent, also from Thurning, they raised £50,000 for the Holt Youth Project. Tom, of Westover’s large animal practice, who is a trustee of the project, applied to do the swim in June 2020 . After two years of training and qualifying, he was given a date for July but poor weather forced a delay until September 11. So, it was third time lucky as he stepped ashore in France after swimming 23 miles in 16 hours and 49 minutes.
Entry added: 12 Jan 2024 |
A great supporter of the Clan Trust, Mid-Norfolk farmer Mike Garrod, has died aged 91 at his home in France. He was a trustee/ director of charity established by Rob Alston for many years until retiring in 1996. Full obituary – see past club members on the left. Entry added: 09 Jan 2024 |
Poultry authority - Award-winning Young Vet of the Year Henry Lamb will be speaking to members at Wroxham Barns on Wednesday, January 10, from 7.30pm. Having advised governments in the Rwanda, India and clients in the United States on avian flu, he is a widely respected authority. Based at Attleborough, he is also well-known to Norfolk poultry producers and will be outlining his thoughts on a future for the industry. Members and guests welcome. Entry added: 09 Jan 2024 |
Wet, wet, wet - It was the wettest year for more than half a century in east Norfolk. More than a metre of rainfall was recorded at Stalham, by farmer Alistair Wright, who logged a total of 1047.4mm or 41.26 inches last year. It followed the wettest October since 1974 when 270mm (10.6ins) was recorded. Records have been kept at Church Farm since 1971 when his late father, Nigel, became an official rainfall recorder. The previous wettest year in the past 52 years was 1987 with a total of 920.24mm, then 886.31mm in 1993 and 878.1mm in 2001. The average rainfall over the last 32 years has averaged 696.24mm. Entry added: 02 Jan 2024 |
Rural mental health support charity YANA is going "live" with telephone access from the New Year. And a social, Yarn in a Barn, free to farmers, will be held at the Norfolk showground on Friday, January 19, 7pm. To book - admin@yanahelp.org
For further details - see Minutes and reports.
Entry added: 18 Dec 2023 |
Welcome to two new members - Farmer Andrew Hill from the centre of Norfolk at Horningtoft, who was proposed by his son James, and Finn Will, of North Walsham Young Farmers' Club and of Stalham-based Nicholsons/ Stalham Engineering at the last meeting of the year. A total of 22 members including guest speaker Anna Hill, of BBC Radio's Farming Today programme, joined the chairman for a tasty supper at Wroxham Barns. Then Anna, who started in BBC local radio at Southampton in 1985, and became part of the team producing and presenting the weekday programme, Farming Today, in 1994, talked about her career and some of the highlights. The programme, which reaches one million listeners, now attracts an increasingly younger audience. Full report - under the minutes and reports tab on the left. Entry added: 11 Dec 2023 |
Whopping beet lifted - Sugar beet judge Sam Summers lifted a whopper in the club's annual best two-acre competition. With secretary Michael Pollitt, they inspected several hundreds acres of beet crops and also took samples for the two-acre competition. It was only thanks to the staff on the chairman's farm that your secretary managed to re-join the judge, who was waiting patiently at Alan and Geoffrey Beck's Brunstead Hall, for his guide. As Will Sands was away, they brought the farm's Landrover down the track and pulled the secretary's car clear of a heap of poultry manure.
Later that afternoon, when they finally arrived at John Tallowin's Willow Farm, Hickling, after lengthy "road closed" diversions from Waxham via Sutton, the sample of beet was knocked and topped. But the third root was out of the ordinary - it measured 41cm from crown to tip. The results of both competitions will be announced at the club's annual dinner in March. A picure of the "beat that" Beet can be found in the gallery on the left.
Entry added: 02 Dec 2023 |
Call for action on flooding threat - A former club chairman Peter Gardiner will be on Sunday’s BBC Politics East programme supporting calls for a “Minister for coastal flooding.” He has had to house his cattle at least a month earlier because of severe flooding. Mr Gardiner has estimated his additional cost at £800 a day. His land near Potter Heigham was covered in several feet of water after weeks of heavy rain. Although pumps are being used to clear the water, Mr Gardiner said the nearby River Thurne is so full it keeps spilling back on to the land. If we have no grazing, we have nowhere to house our cattle next summer. These extreme weather events we're going to get will cause more flooding so having a minister to monitor the situation nationally must help." Henry Cator, chairman of the Norfolk Strategic Flooding Alliance, wants a designated minister to bring more investment and infrastructure to the region. BBC Politics East will be broadcast on Sunday, 3 December 2023 (10am) at 10:00 BBC 1. It will be available on BBC iPlayer after the broadcast. Entry added: 01 Dec 2023 |
Astonishing rainfall total recorded in east Norfolk –
An astonishing rainfall record was set in October in east Norfolk as more than 11 inches was recorded.
More than twice the previous monthly rainfall total was recorded – breaking a near 50-year record.
Alistair Wright tipped out 270mm in the month at the family’s Church Farm – smashing the rainfall total for October 1974 of 125.98mm, recorded by his late father Nigel.
“We had 32mm in the first two and the deluge in the second half of the month as 238mm was recorded,” said Mr Wright, who a former chairman of Stalham Farmers’ Club. “We had several, really heavy showers that came in off the sea on a north-westerly that just sat over us and really topped the totals up,” he added.
As a recorder for Norfolk Rainfall Organisation from 1972 for almost half a century, Nigel Wright, who was a long-serving secretary to the club, noted that his wettest year was 1987 with 920.23mm (36.22 ins).
For previous Octobers, he recorded the following
1974 - 125.98mm
1987 - 109.87mm
2019 - 121.2mm
The average 30-year monthly rainfall (to 2022) was 73.18mm and the 10-year average was 68.84mm.
And given that a total of 89mm has already been recorded at Stalham in November by Mr Wright, it has been an incredibly wet autumn.
Entry added: 27 Nov 2023 |
SUPPER INVITATION – Wednesday, December 6. Join our speaker Anna Hill at Wroxham Barns NR12 8QU for supper. A presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today for the past 25 years and award-winning broadcaster for the On Your Farm programme., she lives in Norwich. Anna also presented the NFU’s centenary pageant at the 2019 Royal Norfolk Show.
Supper, includes a welcome first drink, costs £20. Please let the secretary know if you’d like to join the chairman, Will Sands, by Monday, December 4 (10am) at the latest. Jack Stuttle’s team served a great meal at our opening meeting, which was enjoyed by 17 members. He will be serving -
Seared pork fillet, roasted new potatoes, tender stem broccoli, carrots and a sage and onion gravy
Sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream.
Bookings, in advance to the secretary, michaelbpollitt@btinternet.com or telephone 01603 486997. All bookings will be acknowledged. Meet at Wroxham Barns from about 6pm – supper served at 6.30pm and the meeting proper at 7.30pm. Payment may be made online if convenient - bank details below or cash on the night. Entry added: 22 Nov 2023 |