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2023 Speakers
His Excellency Vice Admiral Jeremy Kyd, CBE
Lieutenant-Governor
His Excellency Vice Admiral Jerry Kyd CBE was appointed Jersey’s Lieutenant Governor on the 8th October 2022. His Excellency served as an Officer in the Royal Navy for 37 years during which he has held a number of senior appointments.
Most recently His Excellency served as Fleet Commander, which is the Royal Navy’s most senior Warfare Officer and is second in command to the First Sea Lord. As Fleet Commander, His Excellency had Command of the British Fleet across all five arms of the Royal Navy consisting of surface ships, submarines, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the Royal Marines and the Fleet Air Arm. He was also directly accountable for the operational capability, training, safety and well-being of 25,000 people.
His previous appointments included Commander of the UK Strike Force, Commander of the Carrier Strike Group and Commanding Officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth – the Royal Navy’s newest and largest ever warship.
Outside of his military service, His Excellency is involved with a number of charities in the London area focused on enhancing youth education and opportunities across the community.
His Excellency is married Dr Karen Kyd, a GP, and they have four sons.
Peter Le Maistre
President, Jersey Farmers’ Union
Peter Le Maistre was born on the family farm in 1954. He was educated at Landsdowne Private School and then Victoria College. Further education took place at Queen Elizabeth College in London studying Maths and Management. After completing the first year he realised that his passion for farming would always come before any career in other industries. He joined the family farm in September 1974 when its main production was outdoor tomatoes. The eldest of four boys, he was joined by his brothers over the next ten years.
At one time all the brothers had separate businesses but realised that consolidation to produce efficiencies was the way forward and so Master Farms was created. Today the company is owned by Peter and his brother Philip with extra management provided by their sons, Matthew and Philip jnr.
The farm is still a mixed farm with 200 milking cattle being rotated on land that grows potatoes, courgettes and cauliflowers. The holding also farms the Island’s largest area of organic land growing a wide range of vegetables for the local and export market. Master Farms prides itself on connecting with the Jersey public, not only through its social media presence but also its fun family days on the farm such as the pumpkin patch at Halloween.
Peter is a past member of the Jersey Young Farmers’ Club and was chairman of the Jersey Countrymans’ Club. He joined the Jersey Farmers’ Union in 1975 and served on the Outdoor Tomato and Lettuce Committee, and later the Estate and Finance Committee. In 2011 he was elected Treasurer and in 2017 was elected as President.
John Vautier
Sector Lead Rural and Marine, Department for the Economy
Born and educated in Jersey John joined the family farm in Rozel at an early age.
His farming career encompassed Jersey Royal and flower growing, fruit and vegetable retailing and wholesaling as well as aquaculture.
He has worked for the civil service since 2018 as sector lead for the rural and marine economies.
Jess McGovern
Land Based Educator and Seasonality Advocate
There is a notable gap in the age group of current agriculturalists and horticulturalists in Jersey, with the average age of those in the industry at 55. This is not to say there is a lack of interest amongst the younger generation to enter the industry: the hurdles historically have been the absence of educational courses on-Island to encourage those wanting to enter or continue to work in the industry. Currently, there are limited pathways available but there is hope, that with vision, priority, investment, there could be. A vision for skills development in the land-based sector is critical in order to encourage new entrants into the industry, thereby building on the knowledge base on-Island. This is fundamentally the purpose of the Rural Matters report that was concluded in July 2023.
The 'Rural Matters' report owes its existence to many people. Among them are the Howard Davis Farm Trustees, the Royal Jersey Agriculture & Horticulture Society, Jersey Farmers’ Union, the Department of Economy (Government of Jersey), Skills Jersey and The Children, Young People, Education and Skills Department. A special message of thanks goes to the hardworking individuals that make up Jersey’s rural industry. Your feedback and vision form the backbone of this report and we thank you for all you do in particular with regard to the production and supply of food and the protection of Jersey’s natural environment. Jess McGovern, researcher and author of the report, will share the report's conclusions and future vision, at the Jersey Farming Conference.
Deputy Kirsten Morel
Assistant Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culturee
Elected as Deputy of St Lawrence and sworn into office on 1st June 2018.
Doug Wanstall
Re-generation Earth
Doug is an innovative regenerative farmer in Kent and is passionate about the reversal of climate change and biodiversity collapse.
Following his Nuffield Scholarship in 2016, and based upon data, science and experience on his own farm, Doug founded Re-generation Earth – experts in transitioning businesses towards regenerative agriculture and giving the strategic advice, the skills, the tools and the implementation techniques to ensure success.
Doug and colleagues act as carbon project developers working with land managers to plan carbon and biodiversity net gain projects and assess their current net emissions to determine how to reduce them – both carbon emission reduction plans and natural capital led carbon sequestration plans.
Doug led the development of the UK Carbon Code of Conduct which has been established as a central set of standards taking a holistic approach to drive investment into nature-based solutions. UKCCC is a not for profit entity that exists purely to ensure that its standards are continually developed and upheld and to give confidence that the carbon credits it issues are robust and ensure the central pillars are upheld.
Sebastian Lawson
Head of Projects, Digital Jersey
Sebastian has experience in the tech industry, and has held roles in business development, engineering, and general management. He is passionate about using technology to solve real-world problems.
