Cotswold Chatterblog

Thursday 24th January 18.30 The Annual General Meeting will be held at their HQ Bisley House

The Gloucestershire Root, Fruit and Grain Society (GRFGS) was established in 1863 and its aim is to encourage the improvement of all forms of agricultural practices and products. Its Patron is The Prince of Wales.

Annual Report 2007 - President’s Report

“Possibly the strangest year on record for agriculture with the confusion of Foot & Mouth and Blue Tongue restriction zones compounded by flooding in July!

Bearing in mind that many people had their houses flooded and their summer totally disrupted, the cancellation of the Tillage Event cannot be viewed as a disaster but this certainly dampened the spirits of members this year.

Throughout these trials and tribulations however, our members have remained buoyant and resilient and this has paid off to some extent with increased optimism in the arable and dairy sectors.”

Annual Report 2007 - Competitions Officer’s Report

“This year we reciprocated the Championship Judging with the Banbury Agricultural Society; another area of which few of us had any great knowledge or experience. As in past years the opportunity to visit and examine the farming in a new territory was much enjoyed by the judges from both Societies.

The flooding on 10th July had disasterous consequences on many farms whether stock or arable, and disrupted our judging schedule somewhat as can be imagined. The only casualty for the Competitions was the Arable Championship which was not finally judged, a big disappointment for those who had entered some excellent crops.”

However, after prolonged scrutiny of the results the Premier Award for the most points won in the Competitions was a tie between Springhill Estate, Seven Wells, Moreton-in-Marsh and Ponsonby Farms, Lechlade.

Boddington Estates, Boddington, Cheltenham won The Farm Championship and for the second year running Springhill Estate won the The Livestock Championship. A new class this year, Oilseed Rape Establishment, was won by Ponsonby Farms and the Kingston brothers from South Farm, Wootton-under-Edge and Tresham Farm, Tresham won The Best Dairy Herd, Best Managed Grassland and Clamped Silage Classes between them.

A full list of 2007 Trophy Winners is included in the Annual Report but our local farm (local to this website) R & J Baldwyn, High Crest, Hidcote Boyce, Chipping Campden had a good year getting equal 5th place for most points scored in the Competitions with the following results;

Arable Championship - Cotswolds Region - 3rd Place (with a 1st Place in the Barley section), Profitable Wheat Class - 4th Place, Malting Barley Class - 2nd Place, Bagged Silage Class -4th Place, Fodder Beet Class - 2nd Place and Best Managed Grassland - 2nd Place. Well done.

Gloucestershire Root, Fruit and Grain Society
BK
Bisley House
Green Farm Business Park
Bristol Road
Gloucester
GL2 4LY
Telephone 01452 880101
www.grfgs.com

Tags: animals | banbury | chipping campden | competition | cotswolds | countryside | farming | floods | gloucestershire | hidcote | moreton

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