An invader from the past

In the mid sevenites, and I mean the date and not the temperature, my father - a farmer - found a plant in the edge of his crop of wheat. The green leaves stood out amongst the yellowing heads and the serrated edges gave the leaves a more dubious nature. He was concerned enough to send a sample to both the Police and to Wye Agricultural College, he feared that an illicit plant had been sown near the edge of the crop. A potential crop of cannabis, perhaps. A similar plant had reared its vegetative head in gardens and industrial yards over England - Barking, Surrey, Sussex. What did it look like? It had the ability to grow a foot in length or height in a week, some say eighteen inches in four days; it had a white or violet trumpet shaped flower that would bloom at night; it produced a hard spiked date shaped fruit and that it had a chocolate-coloured stem.

The results came back from various sources, including a Mr. Rose from the Ministry of Agriculture that the plant was Datura stronomium, a thorn apple, also known as jimson weed or stink flower, the latter due to its unpleasant odour. According to the Royal Horticultural Society, it is "is an annual weed of gardens, roadsides and other waste or cultivated land. It is widely naturalised in warmer countries throughout the world, and is quite common in the British Isles, often appearing in waste and cultivated ground." But as it is linked to one of the family that includes deadly nightshade, potato and tobacco, it does have poisonous seeds. The linked website above does give pictures of both the plant and the hard spiked fruit.

Have any of the Eurolink members seen potential invaders in their crops, how have they dealt with them, what have you learnt from other farmers in dealing with these invaders? I would be interested in your thoughts as I am sure others would as well.

A Horn of Plenty

Ceres, the Roman Goddess of Mother Earth and the protectoress of agriculture, is often portrayed with a horn taken from a ram that is filled with flowers and fruits. It has been described as a horn from the head of a goat from which Jupiter was suckled when nursed by Amalthaea, the wife of King Ammon. This description was reworded from The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, which was put together by the Reverend E. Cobham Brewer.

Therefore this post, to those that read this, will be a collection of agricultural nuggets taken from a variety of sources. I hope that they help to remind you of agricultural traditions from your country and I would love to hear from you of these.

There is a nursery rhyme that talks of the Jolly Miller who lived on the River Dee. This was about a real life mill at Chester from the 11th century, who was the envy of Henry the Eighth due to his vast independence and wealth. The mill was burnt down in the late 1800s after the death of the Jolly Miller's last relation. (Mulherin, 1981)

The nursery rhyme of Baa, Baa, Black Sheep has been known for 200 years and even Rudyard Kipling, the Sussex author, used it in his book of the same title (Mulherin, 1981). Maybe it has something to do with a bag of wool going to the master and the master could be the church or the landlord. Anyone know? The phrase "Black Sheep" are often used to describe workmen who will not join in with a strike, they are looked on with disgust by shepherds and are not as valuable as white ones (Brewer 1978).

The nursery rhyme of Oranges and Lemons may have something to do with the citrus fruits, but it also helps to describe the ringing peal of church bells. The first church is thought either to be the church of St. Clement's in Eastcheap, which was near to the wharves in East London where the citrus fruit was unloaded from the ships. It could also be a church that was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the church of St. Clement Danes (Mulherin, 1981).

There are many nursery rhymes and allegorical tales that include farmyard animals. For example, the aforementioned "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep", as well as these ones including "Mary had a little lamb", "This little pig went to market" and hopefully they help to explain animal differentiation for young children. The last rhyme describes one pig who eats roasts beef. There are also a lot of rhymes that describe people with food, Little Tommy Tucker sings for his supper, Jack Sprat with his inability to eat fat and old Simple Simon who never got to eat a pie. Naturally, there are rhymes that combine both food and animals, one example being a of a fox who took a grey goose back to his family in the den. (Mulherin 1981)

We are all in the process of making food or drink for the masses and it is not that amazing that our livelihood permeates both through culture and history. So, are there any of you reading this who know of similar nursery rhymes or allegorical tales that detail our agricultural inheritance? I would love to hear from you. Meanwhile next week, I shall endeavour to translate one of the previous blog posts into a few European languages.

The two books used in this blog post are Brewer, E. C. (1978) The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable" Avenel Publishing and originally written in 1870.

Mulherin, J. (1981) Popular Nursery Rhymes - Mother Goose Rhymes with Explanations and Illustrations Granada Publishing

It was interesting to note that in The Telegraph (22nd of August 2011) that "Farmers are using social media to promote business and boost profits." An online survey by JCB Workwear found that 53% of an interviewed 1,000 people used sites like Twitter and Facebook to find up to date information and sharing information. Have you recently converted to social media on the Internet to help your business?

Getting to Number One

To get to Number One in the charts is not easy. If you have no talent it is, though sometimes you may not think it, impossible. What can you do is to recognise talent and back it.

Global warming is pushing up the temperatures, by the 1980's a few English farmers were growing maize, others were going abroad. I was doing both, mostly short frequent trips to visit French farmers who were newly made friends (Bretons actually, quite different). Early one morning I was loaded into a coach full of farmers. We sped across France along empty roads arriving at a huge conference centre. Time for speeches by the French Minister of Agriculture, then the man from the Ministry of Agriculture. They inspired French farmers, they were contemptuous of British Agriculture. "They are not serious." Spain was a threat, earlier, more sunshine, they could only be matched by more research and better plant breeding. Britain presented a great market to be fought for and won. Spain, well, the farmers cheered, they knew what to do, blockade the border, trash the goods.

After the political fire, I sat with 100 farmers to eat a four course lunch with some great wine. The conference centre was the hub of a research station so I wandered. Finding plots of maize of outstanding merit, notes were made and a choice, which seemed suitable for England, made: returned home resolved.

Enquired about seed - none available; wrote to France - the French never reply or write letters; phoned to say I was coming to France to collect seed legally or illegally; ten days later without warning seed for 17 acres was delivered, no invoice just a message, "We may come to inspect" - they didn't. A few more bags on the truck were heading to experimental stations.

So we grew 20:80 (also known as LG 20:80 Maize Seed) - WOW! Now forgotten but top of the charts through the 1980's it started a revolution in maize growing, feeding cows, fattening bullocks, rearing calves. Two years later they came to make a film about 20:80, no-one ever saw it, I was the star but ended up on the cutting room floor, gutted.

Eurolink introduced me to those French farmers, still visiting. It is good to know your enemies, to understand their codes, to learn. Try it. By the way, the conference was organised by I.C.I., remember them?

Paddy Cumberlege

The Creation and the Evolution of Eurolink

Eurolink was created over thirty years ago. It was the brainchild of an established Sussex farmer, launched with the help of a small enthusiastic Committee and myself, as an executive with international experience and contacts. It was supported and sponsored by the South of England Agricultural Society, a well-known bank and a shipping line.

John Cyster blazed the trail by journeying to Libramont in the Belgian Ardennes, where there was and is a large agricultural show similar to Ardingly. After many glasses of wine he persuaded the officers of the show to participate in the new scheme, whereby Belgian farming couples could stay with English farmers for a week at Showtime and return the hospitality at some time during the year. This was a unique concept in the U.K. and allowed farmers of different nationalities to have an in-depth experience of each other's farming methods, to discuss their problems in a relaxed manner, and to help with solutions.

A similar visit was made to the agricultural show in Rennes, resulting in French farmers participating in Eurolink, and later included in the Netherlands, and in due course, Germany, Spain and Hungary. The buzz in the International Pavilion at the Ardingly Show grew and grew and attracted important visitors from ambassadors and royalty from this country and dignitaries from abroad. Prime Ministers gave it their blessing.

In order to facilitate the continuation of contacts made during the exchanges, the EUROLINK AGRICOLAE CLUB was formed for those have taken part. It arranges annual reunions in the different countries, with agricultural and cultural interest, and keeps everyone in touch through regular newsletters.

As the years went by the supply of farmers with the interest and spare time to enter the original Eurolink scheme dried up, due to the many difficulties besetting the industry. A new scheme was then devised, with grants given by the South of England Agricultural Society to groups of farmers for a short visit to another country to study the specific aspect of a land based industry. The International Farmlink Committee was formed to manage this.

The Eurolink Club, however, continues in the same format and has expanded to include anyone with an interest in meeting farmers from other countries. As they have not had the experience of a Eurolink exchange they are known as Associate Members.

The Eurolink Club welcomes new members of any age and invites anyone to get in touch.

Alison Woodhead

Part Three of the River Tour from Eurolink's 2010 Reunion

From, last week's, point, we progressed to the Thames Barrier, which we passed through and, during this time, we heard more about flood risk management from Sarah Lavery. The Barrier is one of London's most striking and famous landmarks, with its distinctive stainless steel piers, it spans 520 metres across the Thames near Woolwich. It has 10 steel gates that can be raised into a position across the river Thames if a tidal surge is predicted, and it became operational in 1982. When raised, the main gates stand as high as a five storey building and as wide as the opening of Tower Bridge. Each main gate weigh 3,700 tons. Unusually, one of the gates was closed for maintenance, which enabled us to see what it looks like. The Thames Barrier is one of the largest moveable flood barriers in the world. It protects 125 square kilometres of central London. This includes 1.25 million people, historic buildings, including the Houses of Parliament, offices, power supplies, tube lines and hospitals to name just a few.

The Environment Agency maintains the Barrier, as well as the other flood defences of the capital, which include flood gates, i.e the Barking Barrier, and raised river banks. The planning of flood risk management in the Thames Estuary is looking 100 years ahead.

Over £80 billion worth of property lies within the Thames tidal flood plain, the majority of which is in  London itself. This property is protected to a high standard, and London and the Thames Estuary currently have one of the best tidal defence systems in the world, which will provide a high standard of protection to well beyond 2030. However, the effects of climate change  present an unwelcome picture for the flood risk of future generations. Planning for "flood risk management" in the Thames Estuary is an initiative by Anglian, Southern and Thames regions of the Environment Agency, to develop a strategy for flood risk management in the Estuary for the next 100 years. One of the studies will examine London's vulnerability to storm surge today and in the future, and develop options to ensure the sustainability of London in the face of this increasing threat.

On our return to Greenwich, the increasing number of reed beds re-establishing themselves along the river banks were pointed out to us, and they reach as far as the Globe Theatre. These have aided the return of much of the river wildlife, including birds, insects, plants and mammals. We saw other examples of flood risk management by lowering of the river walls outside the O2 Arena (formerly known as the Millennium Dome).

During the course of this trip, we enjoyed a delicious lunch aboard the William B, which everyone appreciated whilst sailing down the river. Finally, we disembarked at Greenwich, where we said goodbye to our speakers and Niek Ruyter gave a vote of thanks and made a presentation on behalf of the Club.