Social media - temporary fad or essential business tool?

Tags:
early adopter

Posted by Ian Brown on June 14, 2009 8:28 PM

I get excited by new things, it might be policy, electronics, ways of doing things if it is new. Like shiny things to a magpie and lights to moths the attraction is absolute. There is a price to pay for being an early adopter, but I'm generally happy to pay the price. Lee Moor is an example of the long history of firsts that I am so keen on.
My only worry is the saying " It's the second mouse that gets the cheeses!"

Continue reading "Social media - temporary fad or essential business tool?" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Water, water ,everywhere, Nor any drop to drink

Posted by Ian Brown on December 13, 2008 4:34 PM

Bottled water is an icon of the modern world. On a wet December day in Northumberland the idea that water is a precious resource is perhaps a hard sell but believe me pure water will be depleted all around the world and become an even more precious resource. At a personal level I'm lucky, at Lee Moor we have a spring supply, a borehole which produces Natural Mineral Water to EU standards and mains fresh from Northumbrian Water.
The sale of Abbey Well to Coca-Cola has me thinking that maybe I should implement my first ever non-farming business idea some 16 ago!!

Continue reading "Water, water ,everywhere, Nor any drop to drink" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Defra slimmed.....to whom do rural communities look to?

Posted by Ian Brown on October 5, 2008 6:33 PM

It has been an interesting weekend .....starting with the Northumberland and Durham's National Farmers Union(NFU) centenary celebration dinner at The Hilton, Gateshead. The food was very good but there is a certain irony in the location but why not....the urban/rural interface is important.

It was a full spectrum of ages and money raised was for the RABI - the farming industry's own charity for those on hard times........speaking to many of my friends at this glittering event and you soon realise that farming still contains a wide range of economic situations.

Friday also saw a new Government department which will represent climate change and energy.....interestingly that amounts to about half my day to day activity. I'm pleased but worry for Defra which only had one policy....climate change! With that gone they need a reason for being!

Continue reading "Defra slimmed.....to whom do rural communities look to?" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Who shrank my industry?

Posted by Ian Brown on September 27, 2008 2:24 PM

As I prepare for my church's harvest festival tomorrow I am in reflective mood about the State of Agriculture in England. It has been a harvest locally that promised much and delivered less.....extremely cruel to those of my many friends in farming who were looking to move on following a number of poor years.

Let's look at the data for England and the north east. The trend is clear and I have to say depressing but agriculture has a habit of not cycling with the rest of the economy!

Continue reading "Who shrank my industry?" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One Potato, two potato three potato four

Posted by Ian Brown on September 21, 2008 9:04 AM

You might think all potatos are much the same and indeed that one potato farm is much like another....think again and check out Tiptoe Farm.
I was delighted to be present as Tiptoe joined Blagdon, North Bellshill and Lee Moor Farm as a demonstration farms for the organisation LEAF. So with the background of floods, an economic downturn and yo-yo commodity prices what is in the shop window of farming?

Continue reading "One Potato, two potato three potato four" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tribute to a brace of Brewis's who knew a flood or two

Posted by Ian Brown on September 7, 2008 11:49 AM

Henry and William....I salute you. I've done two blogs today because the flood was......well frankly unexpected and yet let's look at the work of diarist William Brewis of Mitford from the Summer 1843 - that must be...about ..165years ago - 'Rain. Tremendous weather, most like Noah's Flood. Never fair.

'Such a disagreeable season never was seen in this part of the country by the oldest person, I cannot recollect since we had a fair day. It is doubtful about the growing crops of corn and grass, the servants are just laying about the place doing nothing, we neither can get on the land or hedges or can even stand out to do nothing. How the turnips will be got in it remains a mystery ...

We need good diarists and the bloggers of today need to see themselves as a reinvention of the something good - the wheel of life keeps turning!...now more about why Henry got me here!

Continue reading "Tribute to a brace of Brewis's who knew a flood or two" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Rain rain go away.....

Posted by Ian Brown on September 7, 2008 10:51 AM

"Rain rain go away and come back another day", as a child my Grandmother did the weekly wash on a Monday and as such required a dry day to hang the washing out....40 years on and with 4 young children in my house the washing machine is in a constant spin....as is the electric dryer on days like today.

Yesterday our house and that of my aunty next door came within a few centremtres of flooding in a matter of hours but luckily our houses were safe.....unlike many local families, including my retired village school headmistress a mile away.

What can we do to avoid these things happening and how do we keep safe...?

Continue reading "Rain rain go away....." »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Holiday martyrdom.......put on hold due to annual leave!

Posted by Ian Brown on August 14, 2008 5:19 PM

If I had been employed instead of self-employed I would have been given a good talking to by the HR (human resources) team for not taking my holidays. This is the time of year when virtually everybody does off for at least aweek. In rural areas many farmers and tourism businesses of course are needed in their business and frankly for many years that was my excuse.

Martyrdom in its full religious sense may be worthy but at a more mundane definition it is about many of us believing we are indispensible.....my mention of this topic to a friend before deciding to blog it met with a stoical and true statement: - " The graveyard is extremely full of indispensible people." Let's discuss!

Continue reading "Holiday martyrdom.......put on hold due to annual leave!" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Economy versus Ecology

Tags:
Sustainable Environment Agency

Posted by Ian Brown on August 14, 2008 3:15 PM

I am lucky to hold a post for the Environment Agency covering both the north east and Yorkshire/Humberside, as such I got to hear the chairman of the Environment Agency give his retirement speech in London, Sir John Harman came from the world of local authorities (Kirklees) and as such has been at the very centre of environmental politics for the last couple of decades. He is doing other lectures so I will only touch on his conclusion.

It is also relevant to the current thnk-tank controversy. The reason we should not send the population of Sunderland to Oxford is as much about ecology as it is economy!

Continue reading "Economy versus Ecology" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A white flag waved is not always surrender!

Posted by Ian Brown on June 20, 2008 7:53 AM

Communications.....is an essential tool, as a Barclaycard advert pointed out more than a decade ago, "Both fluent .....sadly in different languages". I shall come on to talk about this in more detail later on and indeed to link to Mathew Rippon's blog a few days ago about 'outcomes'.
First though a family tale of country folk working together to make hay while the sun shines - before it had become a metaphor. The 30 second explanation is grass grows with soft refreshing rain until it is at a maximum sweetness when you then cut it and wilt it, the sun dries out the grass on one side you turn it a few times to get all the moisture out and then collect it in to stooks - in the old days - balers now but it into convenient rectangles weighing up to a tonne.
Now that is the text book version - reality/sods law is that you get it just right and then as you are about to collect it in it P**...Pours with soft refreshing rain at the wrong moment, and for the next week.... until the golden hay is a black soggy non-nutritious mess.
Stay with me, our Brown family had cousins who farmed at The Fawns around the time of the second world war, and they used to hang a white sheet flapping out of the upstairs window when they needed extra labourers to get the hay baled, this could be seen instantly for several miles...yes indeed speed was of the essence ....before it PPPPrecipitated down again!
So are we getting the modern day communication right within the business world in the north east in 2008?

Continue reading "A white flag waved is not always surrender!" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Oil, like land....they just aren't making it any more!

Posted by Ian Brown on June 13, 2008 9:18 PM

There is a saying in the farming community that one of the reasons to buy land is that they don't make it any more! To that extent the same is true - perhaps even more so for oil. I am usually a down to earth man who is inclined to ignore conspiracy theories but six months ago the trade was quoting such silly forward prices for diesel that some farming co-operatives refused to buy....but those prices for August may now be in line with where they're now heading.
Interestingly many land prices are rising along with soft commodity values but alarmingly input costs, based on oil based ingredients, are matching the same pace leading to profit margins being nipped.
So back to oil prices, are we seeing a change of behaviours forever? or is it as short lived as our collective memories?

Continue reading "Oil, like land....they just aren't making it any more!" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

World Environment Day

Posted by Ian Brown on June 5, 2008 11:04 PM

How did you spend world environment day?

Well unfortunately I did not attend the fun things that I would have liked to have attended today and in a twist of fate my Peugot 307 turn from 99,999 to 100,000 miles. A moment that leaves me blushing!

The defence is robust and is focused around me being an essential user, living well off the beatan track. I have though this week been on a bus, in a taxi and on three trains....most journeys though fall to the car! Meanwhile what did my 7 year old daughter attend on my behalf in Wooler?

Continue reading "World Environment Day" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Eat up and speak up...and sit back down!

Posted by Ian Brown on May 30, 2008 8:35 PM

EAT is now over for another year, it goes from success to success and has continued to provoke all the senses.
One week ago I had the honour of announcing the North East Chef of the Year 2008 results - the awards came at the end of a long day of cook offs and being in catering I know the pressure to perform and indeed the rivalry that exisits between the top chefs in the north east, as Wendy Gibson said on the night it is also great that a woman won through in a world that can seem male dominated. My brief was to either give a speech or not...I read the audience and given the time of night kept to reading the names out.....but since I'd given it a bit of thought here is the speech that was never uttered...............

Continue reading "Eat up and speak up...and sit back down!" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Governance and Government....a good thing?

Posted by Ian Brown on May 27, 2008 8:27 PM

We'll do the easily digestable one first... Governance is a good thing and now contains less calories than motherhood and apple pie, I was trained in it this week.

I'm just a simple country lad and frankly a big fan of horse or what you may know of as common sense, for litigious reasons you need to have proof that you are leading your organisation properly. In life it is best to stay on the moral high ground, indeed it would be fair to say nobody ever drowned on the moral highground. Now the link to Government comes from my attendance at the Government Office North East stakeholders day....for a definition read on!

Continue reading "Governance and Government....a good thing?" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Food and Fuel too expensive?

Posted by Ian Brown on May 16, 2008 7:07 PM

I have business interests in food and fuel and I take offence at HMG (the country's management) somehow blaming the downturn in the economy on food and fuel prices rising.

This in a society that wastes a third of its resources i.e. this weeks announcement that the UK puts £10billion worth of food straight from the fridge to the pedal bin....crazy when you think about it.

This week I attended an event organised by Fiona Hall one of the north easts three MEPs ...... for me it focused my mind on the need to act now to survive oil prices in advance of $125.

Continue reading "Food and Fuel too expensive?" »

add or read comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

How's this for a cod piece?

Posted by Ian Brown on May 3, 2008 10:56 AM

With my fellow members of LEAF, I spent last Tuesday in the Lincoln area on a training day which included Grimsby Fish Market.
I now know a lot more about fish, sea fishing and the politics around bringing it ashore. None of this is a fisherman's tale other than in a very literal sense. I also can tell you there is something very fishy about celebrity chef recommended alternatives to cod and haddock which they say are from a more sustainable fish....pollocks indeed!

Continue reading "How's this for a cod piece?" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hands up those who can feed themselves?

Posted by Ian Brown on April 27, 2008 2:09 PM

I have had a food policy theme running in my diary this week. Society generally moves along almost without us noticing but it seems the very slick energy and food juggernaut is easily brought to a halt and since most of us can not produce food or energy directly it leaves us vulnerable to disruption - whatever the cause. Taste and Eat are two northern initiatives worth supporting here in the north east so that people outside of the industry appreciate the difference between the best and the rest.

Continue reading "Hands up those who can feed themselves?" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What a load of Rubbish?

Posted by Ian Brown on April 21, 2008 12:47 PM

On the land I look after I have a zero tolerance to rubbish, so since we are not able to stop people chucking stuff out of their windows I'd better give some time to picking it up myself?
I rent my farm and we have a long drive of some three quarters of a mile, this is to maintain, keep pothole, ice and litter free.
So what is to be found in a kilometre of hedgerow in the backwoods of North Northumberland?

Continue reading "What a load of Rubbish?" »

add or read comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The birth of bouncing baby businesses

Posted by Ian Brown on April 15, 2008 9:55 PM

I am pleased to have been at the inception and indeed birth of many businesses. In rural areas there now is as broad a spectrum of business as in urban areas, indeed with the north east having broadband access second only to London we are well placed to start new business here and indeed encourage entrepreneurs to the area with their families to start and grow businesses. It was thus great to see the new incubator space in Berwick The Workspace is fantastic and I think farmers should be thinking about how they can diversify off the farm into such sites.

Continue reading "The birth of bouncing baby businesses" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

King Canute .... The Great!

Posted by Ian Brown on April 5, 2008 9:07 PM

King Canute was indeed Great and like most anecdotal stories about historic characters there is a lot more to him than meets the eye. I will talk about managed realignment later but have been reassured that - due to climate change - by 2050 Northumberland will be the most pleasant part of Europe in which to live. My certainty comes from having a role with the Environment Agency which helps me understand the potential shape and climatic conditions of the north east in the future

Continue reading "King Canute .... The Great!" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Following the Leader

Posted by Ian Brown on March 30, 2008 9:30 AM

There is a long running method of giving mainly European money to communities called Leader indeed I have been involved with Leader I, Leader II, Leader + and the leader approach.Given they last over 5 years each I'm getting older.
Talking about my mid-life crisis I was interviewed in London for the second series of Alan Sugar's The Apprentice a few years ago and I am glad to say I failed to get short-listed - it is as close as you get to a certificate of sanity!!

Continue reading "Following the Leader" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yes Minister to yes minister....short week then?

Posted by Ian Brown on March 21, 2008 5:31 PM

As a self employed bod I'm less effected by poor bank holiday weather but I have to say even by my standards we've had a crazy week. Putting in 56 hours in 4 days and then working through the bank holiday comes with the territory - so why would I? Well,my energy comes from the fact that I'm doing good things with great people and I'm at the age where I can resolve most problems that come my way
So if you want to know which ministers I've been working with read on, needless to say I've been backing church and state this Easter Week

Continue reading "Yes Minister to yes minister....short week then?" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Views to and from Lindisfarne

Posted by Ian Brown on March 12, 2008 10:40 PM

The Barn at Beal is open for business and I am impressed.....it has a view of Lindisfarne or if you prefer Holy Island that takes your breath away.
The second event I went to was last Sunday at St Mary's Church in Morpeth where the New Archdeacon of Lindisfarne was 'collated', licensed or if you prefer inaugurated.

The common theme is that the special landscape and visionary leaders can create one of the most special environments anywhere in the UK....and it is on our doorstep!!!!

Continue reading "Views to and from Lindisfarne" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No rhyme, no reason?

Posted by Ian Brown on March 6, 2008 8:27 PM

Dear Defra

I've had to write you a letter because like 15% of farmers in the region you have not sent the payment that is due to us! Now before you hide behind the "we don't have to pay you before the 30th June" may I remind you it was the 8th of August last year....no interest yet!

You know the crazy thing about grant funding on farms - or indeed anything else - it is the risk of distortion of the market and the forces of capitalism taking advantage and not paying a fair price at the farmgate!

So what is the answer.....my wife has written Defra a poem, the friendly man at RPA asked if it was a nice poem....I looked at my metaphoric wellies and said I thought not!

Continue reading "No rhyme, no reason?" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

fi.fie.fo.fum

Posted by Ian Brown on March 1, 2008 10:53 PM

The innovators deserve the rewards. I was at the launch of the Society of Wildlife artists at the unusually named fi.fie.fo.fum in the Tyne Valley in Northumberland. These artists rarely display outside of London and the region is lucky to have this display on until 30th March. The wider point from the night is about innovation in farming....why are some farming families better at it?

Continue reading "fi.fie.fo.fum" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ideas to fruition

Posted by Ian Brown on February 18, 2008 8:47 PM

BBC countryfile celebrated the 100 years of the NFU - National Farmers Union by pointing out they had helped secure £100billion of taxpayers money without throwing the defence argument effectively. What I want to mention in this blog is that this is the moment to draw a line under the previous century of subsidies as we look forward to a more transparent, managed UK countryside where the people doing the work and those helping to pay for it understand the relationship they are in. Now what is the land for and what could we do with it?

Continue reading "Ideas to fruition" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

They have Taste in the north east

Posted by Ian Brown on February 9, 2008 5:50 PM

Taste is very important to our quality of life and is tied into smell as two of the most crucial of our human senses. You may rememeber how lacking your food seemed during your last dose of flu. With valentines day and indeed 'Love Week' coming up during the next seven days then try the concept of Continue reading "They have Taste in the north east" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Chicken..it's a basket case!

Posted by Ian Brown on February 8, 2008 9:45 AM

Well after all the television we have the announcement today of the Tesco £1.99 roast whole chicken minus its soul and giblets no doubt!

I have a family of six and understand the dynamics of household budget but we in the UK are putting a huge chunk of the market into an industrialised, low prices category - despite the consequences which will involve more than damaging our collective health and well being.

I am writing this blog on the first train out of London following an all day meeting yesterday with the national leads on rural for the regional development agencies and Defra.....frankly I'm concerned!

Continue reading "Chicken..it's a basket case!" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Localism versus Parochialism - round II

Posted by Ian Brown on February 3, 2008 9:17 PM

I'm lucky that Alnwick Gardens is literally 5 minutes away. This week the CRC Commission for Rural Communities) had an event to look at how we improve democracy!!

In rural areas it is very difficult to reach a polling station and yet turnout tends to be high, so having been an elected councillor at County Council level I know how the farming and landowning community lack the 'hand on the tiller' they once had. Lets work out how honest rural people can penetrate the unfathomable world of democratic structures...especially as we enter new unitary structures in 2009.

Continue reading "Localism versus Parochialism - round II" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As Green as Green can be?

Posted by Ian Brown on January 27, 2008 8:38 AM

I was at the Evening Chronicle/Environment Agency sponsored Green Awards this week and I am once again inspired to help people do the right thing for their environment!

Scrapmen - I say this as someone who has yet to meet a scrapwoman - were arguably the first reusers and recyclers and I spent many hours as a child in the company of my Dad and these early green entrepreneurs. My father, Eddie Brown collected vintage farm machinery which came from the scrap yards of these cash only, down to earth folk or from farm sales where he had to bid against the scrapmen.

My father eventually owned several hundred pieces of farm bric-a-brac which had to be catalogued and sold after his death in 1986. He told many stories of dealing with a scrapman who had a gas cutting torch a few inches over a prized rural heirloom ...as my father was clearly not paying the going rate for scrap plus a premium to reload and remove the item. As a child I also remember coming across the pearly gates in a scrapyard in South Northumberland....

Continue reading "As Green as Green can be?" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Let's renew our collaborative vows

Posted by Ian Brown on January 16, 2008 8:33 PM

Several things have happened this week to make me think about collaboration and indeed co-operation; two sides of the same coin me thinks!

As a third generation farmer I was brought up on borrowing, lending and bartering. In more recent times I have of course come to recognise that all business transactions where services and or goods are exchanged must show the appropriate level of VAT- Can you tell I have just had my third VAT inspection? Although at the rate of one per decade, when I have several businesses, I am content they don't see me as non-compliant?

So in renewables and rural diversification who needs to work with who?

Continue reading "Let's renew our collaborative vows" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

High ambitions for agriculture

Posted by Ian Brown on January 8, 2008 7:55 AM

The weak winter sun seeped through the heavy curtains that protected it's student community from the glare of the modern world; almost ambivalant behind the 16th century facade. St Edmund's College Oxford provided the starting point last week for Ian Brown to attend The Oxford Farming Conference - the truth is it's cheaper than the conference hotels and somehow - rather like classical music - perhaps helps one lift ones gaze in the first days of 2008 away from the hum drum.

Since my first bash at education (remedied later at Durham University) was an HND in Agriculture I still feel a little self conscious amongst the spires of Oxford.

So what future was unveiled in Oxford for the farmers of Northumberland and the North East?

Continue reading "High ambitions for agriculture" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Holiday for most?

Posted by Ian Brown on December 30, 2007 4:43 PM

The festive prelude to the festive break saw press releases going out about the number of workers turning in to do a shift on Christmas Day - the number was 140,000, double that of the previous year. Now coming from a group of 160,000 full time farmers and 190,000 part timers I wonder where these figures come from since I know most land managers will have some duties to carry out, accepting that arable farmers are on standby during most of the winter break.

I had a good family Cristmas and even got caught up with that pile of papers (to be read when I get 5 minutes) lurking near my armchair, but for many like me who have downsized their farming what do Christmas futures look like??

Continue reading "Holiday for most?" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Final Frontier.....

Posted by Ian Brown on December 19, 2007 5:09 PM

I have been on nearly 40 business visits to Europe - and neighbouring countries - in last 20 years and each time come back full of determination to utilise the opportunities described.

I have spent the last 36 hours in Brussels helping to determine a new Erasmus scheme to host entrepreneurs across the 27 states of the EU.

As an entrepreneur I welcome this programme as I have learnt just as much off my fellow business colleagues over the years than from agencies. As David - a like minded Hungarian said to me - I learn most during the coffee breaks!

So why don't we in the north east think of european business opportunities more easily?

Continue reading "The Final Frontier....." »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

While shepherds watched their flocks...

Posted by Ian Brown on December 16, 2007 2:45 PM

Is tradition a good thing? By definition it is something tested by time and the views of many -against an ever changing background. Two nativity plays at school and church have set this theme running in my mind. As regional chair of LEAF I also understand about a mix of traditional actions - such as rotations - being interlinked with the techno' solutions, such as GPS mapping of nutrient levels.

Christmas and New year is - while accepting the cultural mix elewhere in the UK - a time to think carefully about what course we should take in the next twelve months - farming circles have even more reason to be taking stock.

Continue reading "While shepherds watched their flocks..." »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Climate change on my doorstep

Posted by Ian Brown on December 9, 2007 9:19 AM

If 80% of the population are primarily motivated by fear or greed how come only half of them believe climate change is real?

I am passionate about statistics, but when I say that I love them that is only true about 92.4% of all statistics! However, when it comes to getting a clear message about climate change across in my back yard I think we need to be working at a level that does not have the words over-arching/strategic or mission critical in it!

At a conference this week organised by Northumberland Strategic Partnership at Linden Hall Hotel we focused our minds on what it means for my four children - and thier friends - as they grow up in the north east and Northumberland in particular

Continue reading "Climate change on my doorstep" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Farmer's Markets - who owns them?

Posted by Ian Brown on December 1, 2007 9:43 AM

I'm Ian Brown a third generation tenant farmer from one 'limb' of the Brown family which goes back to Elsdon, Northumberland in the reiving 1600's but I am the first generation to see myself as a businessman and land manager.

Of course surviving in Rennington - or indeed anywhere else where the concept of public transport is just that a concept and where 'log on' tends to refer to a roaring open fire rather than wifi enabled laptop - is not easy but I am going to let you see the truth behind the green curtain. Although my feet are now rarely in wellington boots I am still 'hefted' to rurality - see my website for more understanding of the complexity Lee Moor Farm.

My first blog is all about my yesterday - the last Friday of the month is of course Alnwick farmers market and I have indeed some thoughts that I want your comment on

Continue reading "Farmer's Markets - who owns them?" »

add or read comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Search the site

About this site

Recent comments

Recent Posts

Tag cloud...

Sponsored links

Feeds

Blog Authors

Archives

Links

Sponsored links

Ian Brown