Chairman & Committee members

Introduction to the Agriculture SIG from the Chairman:

For me it has been a boon to be invited to carry the flag for the Agriculture Specialist Interest Group. My work and travels have, for the most part, taken me out of the stackyard and into industrial warehouses and machine toolrooms, all of which have a certain appeal to the engineer in me, but lack the pungency of the milking parlour. I always enjoy the often basic humour of country folk and their wisdom, and felt that I have been missing much. Thus I was flattered to be invited to head up the formation of the Specialist Interest Group, and pleased to be reconnected to the farming scene, and to many ex-colleagues who are very actively engaged in the market. Farming is a highly mechanised, very technical and extremely organised industry, and the adjustment of agricultural losses demands a high technical ability. It also demands the patience of Job in some parts of the world, and in no other discipline do I know of such a premium put upon good people management with a sometimes cussedly independent community, coupled with a great degree of techical knowhow.

These skills are honed in the field - literally, and the book- learning often picked as you go along, by careful research into your claim. There aren't too many text books for us, and I and my colleagues see the SIG as a tremendously useful vehicle to bring through the next generation of adjusters, and to develop one's own knowledge in a fluctuating and changing market. These days much hangs on political edict and a current knowledge is vital.

So we have had two formation meetings which were frankly, sparsely attended, which underlines the fact that agricultural adjusters are not city centre habitues in the main, but tend to work in the peripheral areas. Thus meetings will always be a problem due to geography, but not an insurmountable one, and the game plan so far is to rely on electronic communication with the present roll-out of the website being the start of the process. We seek copy from adjusters. Whether it be personal experiences, a research question, a case study or comment upon Defra regulations, we want to hear. We should, and I trust shall be drawing upon lectures or articles by representatives of the major agricultural providers from veterinary to seedsmen, machines to bloodstock, and let's not ignore the glasshouse merchants. The well-being and value of stock under glass is prodigious. All this emerged from our meetings and by canvassing comment from adjusters, and I feel that the exchange of views, comment and experiences via the website will be not only useful, but essential to individuals and established practices in the field (no pun intended).

It is up to me and my colleagues - the nascent Committee - to generate this exchange, and for the membership to involve themselves. This is crucial as the oportunity to contribute has never been better. No one is asking for your secrets, for your special knowledge, culled over however many years to be given free (nor for payment actually), just that we seek copy and your views, you personally as a member of the Chartered Institute, your Institute, and your own positive contributions as to how you would wish your SIG Committee to drive forward.

Make no mistake, this is a new and highly interesting development for professionals, students, companies and all educators. Not to mention marketing and PR representatives of Big Business. But most of all it is for you, the member.