Eurolink "Agricolae" - What's in a name

"Agricolae" is the name the South of England Agricultural Society has given to British farmers who have taken part in their "Eurolink" exchange scheme with farmers in mainland Europe. These farmers, plus other who have joined them, belong to what we call the "Eurolink Agricolae Club", now extended into a network. Many have wondered why we have have chosen a word that seems strange to English ears. The answer lies in the origin of this interesting word.

The word "agricola" (the singular of agricolae) comes from the Latin "ager" - field and "colo" - cultivate and is the derivative of "agriculture", the science and art of producing plants and animals useful to man. Even before Roman times, hunting was not only the way of obtaining sustenance. As recorded and revealed in Latin works of Virgil and others, herds of beasts were reared and driven as required to suitable pasturage and crops were grown on patches of ground until the soil became exhausted. Man later discovered manures and the value of rotation of crops. Other branches of what we now embrace in the overall term "agriculture" were gradually developed, such as fruit growing and bee keeping and many others. After the decline of the Roman Empire, there continued to evolve this gradual development of agriculture and improvement of methods in stock breeding and tillage and all its ramifications throughout Europe.

What better name can describe the aims of the original Eurolink exchange scheme and the evolvement of a "club" or dedicated group of farmers wishing to impart, acquire and implement knowledge of the latest farming techniques?

"Agricolae" has now become a kind of trademark associated with Eurolink and the South of England Agricultural Society at Ardingly - a name and an enterprise of which we are justly proud.

A. M. Woodhead

South of England Show post 1

So as we enter the first day of the South of England show at Ardingly, Eurolink and International Farmlink is situated at one of the corners of the show ground. It gives us the opportunity to talk about, well alright type about, the current agricultural and rural affairs.

A recent article in the New Scientist (2nd of June 2012) states that traces ofradioactive caesium, from the leak in Fukushima Daiichi plant, has been found in Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) in low enough doses so that it won't harm humans. But it is thought by Daniel Madigan of Stanford University in California that the levels of the caesium may aid the tracking of other marine life such as Salmon Sharks, turtles and seabirds.

A post that I found on the twitter feed of Eurolink (@eurolinkseas) also described the decline of farmbirds. Richard D. Gregory reports for the New Scientist on the 6th of June 2012 that the losses of some "European bird populations are in precipitous decline"..."with a downward trend of 36 specialist farmland birds for the last 30 years equates to an estimated loss of 297 million farmbirds in Europe during that period".

Gregory continues to state that "European agricultural policy needs substantial reform so that it delivers measures to help birds and other wildlife across the continent's farmed landscape...nesting habitats and food in the summer and winter...policies must also support low-intensity farming systems that deliver a range of ecosystem benefits in addition to wonderful biodiversity".

More information can be found here as well as the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme and TEEB.org

 

What is Eurolink?

So you will have noticed this blog deals with things both agricultural and rural related, but what is Eurolink, please read below

The Eurolink Agricolae Club was formed fifteen years ago to enable those who had taken part in Eurolink exchanges to maintain friendships and continue to learn through the exchange of ideas amongst people with similar business or personal interests.

The Club publishes two Newsletters a year, sometimes in as many as four different languages, and these contain reports about Club activities, articles by members about topics connected with their businesses, or just items of general interest.

The Club also holds a Reunion every year in different countries. To date, four Reunions have been held in France, two in the Netherlands, one in Germany, one in Spain, one in Hungary, one in Scotland, and four in England.

The Club has extended its membership by including associate membership for those from land-based industries who have not taken part in an exchange but are interested in joining in the Club activities, and by widening its membership outside Europe.

We would be delighted to hear from anyone who would like to join us.

To find out more about the Eurolink Agricolae Club, either read our blog at: http://eurolinkseas.blogspot.com or email the Club secretary on julia_reynolds@hotmail.com or by post to The Secretary, Eurolink Agricolae Club, The South of England Agricultural Society, The South of England Centre, Ardingly, West Sussex, RH17 6TL.

The Eurolink Blog rises again

After a brief break, the Eurolink Blog returns with a more general outlook on what Eurolink does and what is happening within the farming industry. This way, I hope to add more posts and I am sure that you will want to comment on these postings, all you have to do is add a comment at the box below. Please let me know if you are unable to do this.

I am hoping that our members of Eurolink are not as desperate for water as the counties in England that have been put under a hose pipe ban - but the National Farmer's Union (NFU) has a useful page with current new and it can be found here. It is concerning to note that on the 23rd of March England had only 32% of the long term average rainfall for March. Have any readers of this blog and Eurolink members got any advice on farm management through droughts? Please add them in to the comment box below.

I hope to have good news or at least news of a better nature in the next posting.

The Eurolink Agricolae Club, is part of International Farmlink and the South of England Agricultural Society, and it was formed fifteen years ago to enable those who had taken part in Eurolink exchanges to maintain friendships and continue to learn through the exchange of ideas amongst people with similar business or personal interests.

A new chapter

To those who read this, I have just come from a meeting at the South of England Agricultural Society Showground with the committee of Eurolink. This online log or blog is to continue, it is to continue in shorter posts, but that will probably mean more postings that I hope will be more relevant to the agricultural worker, farmer or rural professional within us all.

So a couple of short postings, on the Saturday the 1st of October and Sunday the 2nd of October of 2011 from 9.00am to 5.00pm, the South of England Agricultural Society Showground presents The South of England Autumn Show and Game Fair. A chance to  have a go at Clay Pigeon Shooting including High Gun and a Ladies High Gun, Fly Casting, Terrier Racing and Sunday has its own Team Shoot Challenge. There will be activities in the arena including birds of prey, bloodhounds and local packs of hounds. More details can be found here. Are there any other agricultural or rural activities that you think should be mentioned here, they cannot be advertised here, but their presence can be brought to the attention of the reading audience.

The other short post is about agricultural regulations - NetRegs (www.netregs.gov.uk) is a government sponsored site that helps all industries to easily find the regulations that control their industry. The pages for agriculture can be found here and there are clickable links to the left of the screen that give all agricultural guidance,  EP (Environmental Permit) / PPC (Pollution Prevention and Control permit) guidance, Quick Start Checklist for Farmers (split easily into four countries) and an electronic learning tool that helps you to learn how to deal with farm waste. You can even sign up for a free monthly update from the Net Regs team, sign up here. So why am I mentioning this now, just to let you know that NetRegs is going to be absorbed into the Business Link website, information can be found here.

If you are reading this from another country, does your government have a similar service? Is it easy to find on the Internet?

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