Businessman Dr Geoffrey Vernon

CORNWALL Farmers, the 4,000-strong co-operative, has appointed two new directors to lead and support the organisation's continuing expansion.

Dr Geoffrey Vernon, an experienced businessman from Tavistock, and Roland Ley, whose family farms over 400 acres at Holsworthy, raise the Cornwall Farmers board to eleven members, representing all areas of the co-operative's activities.

The two new directors reflect the rich diversity of experience which Cornwall Farmers is able to call upon among its members: Dr Vernon is a former director of Rothschild Asset Management Ltd and holds several board positions on a number of companies worldwide. Roland Ley is a 29-year-old farmer whose life revolves around a 170-strong herd of dairy stock.

"We started the consulting process to find two new members for the board in the spring and are delighted that Geoffrey and Roland have come forward," said Cornwall Farmers' chief executive Andrew Cocks. "Our board is comprised of active members who collectively look after the interests of everyone participating in the organisation. Geoffrey and Roland bring just what we need in terms of expertise, enthusiasm and commitment to the organisation."

Dr Vernon has a high business profile in the venture capital sector but he actually began his working life on a farm. "Having worked on an arable and dairy farm in Cheshire from the age of 13 until I got my PhD I always wanted to return to farming," he said. "Today we farm 65 acres and breed pedigree Ruby Red Devon's. This is the first time I have sat on the board of a co-operative. We exist to support the members and not external investors as I am more used to, so the challenges are the same but I am a great believer in the co-operative structure and activities of Cornwall Farmers and this has only been strengthened by what I have seen and heard at board level."

Roland Ley is a partner of a family-owned dairy farm of pedigree Holstein cows. "As a family we have worked with Cornwall Farmers for many years and now, with the expansion of the organisation into Devon, the time is right to get involved at this level," he said. "There's a lot of challenges to be faced, from the affects of wheat price changes to dealing with global demands. We have to keep Cornwall Farmers as a true co-operative and ensure it is competitive."

Cornwall Farmers is one of the largest and most successful agricultural co-operatives in the United Kingdom. The organisation trades across the entire South West peninsula in four main business areas which combine the farming and food industries with the outdoor life of the West Country's rural communities.

Farmer Roland Ley

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