News & Business
Research travel grants help to improve rural life
Overseas research grants are available to help improve rural life in the UK – thanks to a new category of Churchill Fellowships. Devoted to strengthening countryside communities,
the
grants are the result of a part- nership between the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and the Prince’s Countryside Fund. They are open for applications until 18 September.
The grants will fund fellow- ships exploring wide-ranging approaches to a range of rural is- sues, such as invigorating trans- port networks, rethinking housing and planning, boosting employ- ment and enterprise, and im- proving access to education, cul- ture and healthcare. Similar to Nuffi eld scholar-
ships, the travel grants fund in- dividuals to research innovative ideas and best practice overseas, then bring their global insights back to the UK and make change happen in their professions and communities. Winston Churchill Memorial
Trust chief executive Julia Weston said: “These Churchill Fellowships will fund people who are inspired to seek new solutions for rural life and keen to make change happen.” Applications can be made on- line at
www.wcmt.org.uk.
Justin Ripman from Mills and Reeve presents the Grey Partridge award to David Clark and Sir Marcus O’Lone at the Royal Norfolk Show. [Photo credit: Nick Butcher]
Royal Sandringham Estate wins sought-after conservation award
The Game and Wildlife Conser- vation Trust praised the commit- ment of the Sandringham Es- tate to boosting grey partridge numbers after the Queen’s re- tiring agent Sir Marcus O’Lone and head keeper David Clark won a prestigious conservation award.
They were presented with the
Mills & Reeve Grey Partridge Award, which promotes the re- covery of grey partridge num- bers across the county, by law fi rm Mills & Reeve at the opening of
the 2018 Royal Norfolk Show. Sir Marcus retired last month after 20 years on the estate, while David retired earlier this year af- ter 17 years of service. Both have both worked extremely hard to re- store numbers of the endangered bird on the estate.
GWCT head of advisory servic- es Roger Draycott works closely with the estate and participates in partridge counts on its land. He said: “We are delighted that San- dringham Estate has been recog- nised in this way.
“Under the leadership of Sir Marcus and David, the estate has achieved a remarkable recov- ery in grey partridges; restoring numbers by 2012 to the level they were at in the 1950s – pre-agri- cultural intensifi cation. “Alongside grey partridg-
es, songbirds and other wildlife fl ourished too. The success at San- dringham showed the art of the possible and inspired many oth- er farms and estates across the country to start their own wild partridge conservation projects.”
Tributes paid to sugar beet contractor Peter Butler
Tributes have been paid to Suf- folk farmer and agricultural con- tractor Peter Butler, 69, former- ly of Green Farm, Yoxford, who passed away peacefully in his sleep on 13 June.
A sugar beet contractor for more than 30 years, Mr Butler offered a full range of services, drilling and harvesting more than 1,200ha of the crop until his retirement. He farmed a further 180ha of tenanted land and also harvested 800ha of cereals a year. Winner of the 2014 Farmers
Weekly Contractor of the Year award, Mr Butler was a well-re- spected and popular man among
6 ANGLIA FARMER • AUGUST 2018
his customers and the wider agri- cultural industry. Sugar beet re- mained his passion and he was a regular at British Beet Research Organisations events. Former British Sugar cen- tral agricultural business man- ager Robin Limb said: “Peter was one of the most hugely commit- ted and hard-working people I have ever met. He never failed to attend all the BBRO demon- strations and conferences on of- fer, hoping to learn even more. “Peter worked tirelessly until the last years of his life, and al- ways placed the interests of his customers before those of his own
farming operations. His funeral at Yoxford Church on 3 July was standing-room only.”
Mr Butler made sure he
changed his state-of-the-art Ag- rifac Big Six beet harvester every two years to avoid hefty overhaul costs. Agrifac regarded him as an ambassador for the compa- ny and he regularly travelled to the Netherlands to test new ma- chines before they went on sale. Agrifac UK managing direc-
tor Andy Carse, said: “We shall greatly miss Peter, and are very saddened by his loss.”
Peter Butler dedicated over 30 years of his life to sugar beet
Mr Butler is survived by his wife Sylvia and family.
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