Trustees

John farms at Coney Weston and is actively involved in the contract farming business Wallace Daniels Ltd., which grows combinable crops, sugar beet and parsley. He has been a director since the inception of TMAF, currently taking special responsibility for TMAF’s farm at Morley. He is also a governor of the Chadacre Trust, is a past member of Bury St Edmunds Borough Council and past chairman of the Minister’s regional Panel. He is a firm believer in independent research.

Simon is a Partner of Irelands, Arnolds Keys and heads their specialist agricultural and rural property team. He joined the firm in 1983, straight from the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, where he studied Rural Estate Management. He is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and a fellow of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV). Originally from Hampshire, Simon now lives in North Norfolk. He is the current Chairman of the Aylsham Agricultural Show Association and is a past President of the Norfolk Association of Agricultural Valuers. Simon has particular interest in the estate and property affairs of TMAF.

Ben runs a family farm, alongside his father Mark, at Flixton on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. Predominately heavy soil, they focus on a mainly combinables rotation as well as some sugar beet and peas, with contract farming agreements running alongside their owned land. Ben achieved a first class degree from Newcastle University in Agriculture with Farm Business Management, with his dissertation ‘The Carbon Footprint of UK Arable Farms’ being an area which he believes there will be much more focus in years to come. Outside of agriculture Ben enjoys sports, including playing rugby for Southwold, running and cycling.

Christine is a director of a family farm in mid-Norfolk which grows combinable crops (mainly grass for seed), sugar beet, potatoes and dwarf beans and runs a small suckler beef enterprise. Having been a science teacher, she is particularly interested in agricultural education and research and was a member of the Governing Body at Easton College, Norfolk, for almost 19 years and was a Board member of the Morley Research Centre before joining TMAF. She is also a Council member of the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association. Christine takes particular interest in educational projects that TMAF invests in.

Sue is an independent crop consultant who has had a long association with Morley as a member, involvement on the Experiments committees & on the TMAF advisory committee. Throughout she has greatly valued the work done & the information produced which she regards as key to giving independent advice to farmers. She is a member of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants(AICC) & a director of Norfolk FWAG. Outside work, Sue is chair of her local RNLI branch & the local tennis club.

Stephen is a retired research scientist with a BSc in Biochemistry and a PhD in Plant Physiology. He studied plant physiology/biochemistry/genetics in the UK and USA before returning to lead a research programme at the John Innes Centre in Norwich. After twenty years of research, winning over £6m in competitive research grants, publishing over 60 peer-reviewed research papers, and undertaking a wide variety of management roles Stephen moved on to become the Science Operations Manager at John Innes Centre. He uses his expertise and scientific background to ensure TMAF invests in the best quality research.

Philip retired as Chairman of The Arable Group (TAG) in September 2006, having overseen the creation of TMAF and the merger of Morley Research and Arable Research Centres to form TAG. Prior to this he was an Executive Committee member of the Morley Research Centre for 15 years and Chair for 5 years.

He has been active in agricultural politics for many years and retired from the Board of Assured Food Standards in 2013.

He is a Board member of the AgriFood Charities Partnership (AFCP) which links a wide range of independent agricultural charities and provides a means of communication and coordination for their activities. It also gives a single point of contact for levy bodies, students and others wishing to liaise with the Charity sector.

Robert is a director of a 768 ha family farm in mid-Norfolk. The company also contract farms 420 ha for other local farmers. Cropping includes wheat, barley, oilseed rape, beans, grass seed and sugar beet. His main area of interest is improving soil structure. In 1996, Robert was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship, sponsored by the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association, to study “The practice and financing of arable crops research and the dissemination of results”. He served for a number of years on the Board of Morley Research Centre.

Nick has been involved with Morley for over thirty years. His career was in practical farm management and he has always been interested in the technical and production side of agriculture. He now works as a consultant with a local company. He is very pleased that TMAF is able to provide funding for quality research and development, and that it is helping young people develop their careers.

Richard is a farm manager for a local farming business Foster Harrison Farms Ltd. The business grows combinable crops on its own land and also for others on contract farming arrangements. Richard is also a board member of the Norfolk Rivers Internal Drainage Board. Richard says “I am pleased to have the opportunity to serve TMAF, an organisation that I have held in high regard for many years”.