OUSE & CHERWELL TRADING COMPANY LIMITED - Key Persons
Antony farms 1500 acres in total with his brother and have been in partnership together for 36 years. Antony has farmed at Whitfield, Nr Brackley for 43 years where he runs a 300 suckler herd and arable. Antony is married to Claire and has 2 daughters (Mary & Frances) and a son (James) who also works on the family farm. The Bonner family have been Members of O&C since the 1970's and Antony joined the Board of Directors in 2013.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Chairman / Richard Lewis - Company Secretary
Geoff grew up on his family farm on the edge of Brackley, Northants. He obtained a HND through Harper Adams and Seale Hayne Agricultural Colleges. Having worked on various family run farms to large estate's like Woburn, Geoff returned to the family farm in 2001 becoming a partner in the business in 2003. Geoff with his wife Lizzy took over the farm 8 years ago and have become the third generation to be involved with Ouse and Cherwell.
Geoff was a board member of the NFU combinable crops scheme from 2009-12 and became a Board Member of O&C in 2013. He is passionate about the Group being successful and is looking forward to moving the Group forward over the coming years. Geoff was elected as Vice Chairman in November 2014.
Matt is married to Mary and they have two young boys, Thomas and Charlie. He was asked to be a Director in 2023.
Matt runs the family farm with his parents in Lower Brailes, Warwickshire. It is a mixed farm with arable crops, beef cattle and sheep, and some contracting work alongside. The farm has been in the family for over 100 years. Matt's grandfather joined Ouse and Cherwell when it was formed. Matt & his wife have diversified by offering Pick Your Own Sunflowers, Daffodils and Pumpkins on the farm which is proving popular!
Before returning to the family farm in 2006 and becoming a partner, Matt went to Lackham Agricultural college in Wiltshire before working for Bruce Hopkins Ltd from 1999 to 2004 as a John Deere tractor mechanic. He then worked in New Zealand for two consecutive harvests and has remained great friends with the farming family there.
His hobbies include kayaking on the river Avon with Mary & his boys and bodyboarding in Cornwall every year.
Murray is married to Anne and father of three teenage boys, Alex, Will and Oliver.
Peter is married to Sarah and has 2 children, Sam and Jessica. He has been a Director of Ouse and Cherwell since 2012 and then elected as Chairman in November 2014.
Before becoming a Director Peter has been a Member of the Group for quite a few years. His family farms around 1300 acres in the Launton and Bicester area of Oxfordshire. The farm is mixed consisting of a beef suckler herd, sheep and combinable crops. The family has been farming in the area for over 500 years.
Peter is a graduate of the Royal Agricultural College and is also an insurance assessor for the NFU Mutual.
Job Titles:
- Company Secretary
- Chairman / Richard Lewis - Company Secretary
- Charlie Payne
Richard lives in Brackley, Northants with his wife Natasha and children Jenni and Robert working as an agricultural accountant.
Since the age of 7 Richard has been involved with diary and beef farms. After 10 years working for an international bank, Richard switched to working full time rearing and finishing cattle which he built up to an output of over 500/year. Due to an accident he then had to cease farming full time and concentrate on expanding his accountancy work locally.
Richard joined Ouse and Cherwell in 2000 and became involved with the financial side in 2001. He then joined The Board in 2002 as Financial Director and during 2011 took on the role as Company Secretary.
Interests are travel and showing with the family their pedigree cattle at several agricultural shows annually.
Roy is a 3rd generation farmer based in the South Northamptonshire village of Syresham, Nr Brackley. He runs the family farm of beef and arable alongside his eldest son Alex and wife Jenny. Roy and Jenny's youngest son, Ben farms in Wiltshire and their daughter Annabel is a nurse.
Roy is one of the original Member's of Ouse and Cherwell when it started in 1967 and his father was one of the earlier members of the Ouse Trading Company before it became O&C. Roy has been on the Board of Directors for longer than he can remember! His interests are country pursuits, farming and family life.
Sam is married to Nicola and has two sons Henry and Billy who are currently studying at Harper Adams and Hartpury College.
Sam farms 1,300 acres as a tenant of the Althorp Estate at Wormleighton on the Warwickshire/Oxfordshire border. His family has farmed at Hall Farm, Wormleighton since 1970, and have been members of Ouse and Cherwell since 1992.
The Farm is mixed with arable and 900 breeding ewes. Prior to 2007 the farm was also dairy with 130 pedigree Holstein Friesians. It was not unknown for Sam to do the milking on a Sunday morning still in his dinner shirt on his way home from a former job he had as a party DJ.
Since the cows left, Nicola along with Sam has grown a successful Sport Horse Stud livery business, caring for a herd of 110 broodmares and youngstock and delivering some 40 foals in a typical season.
Sam completed an HND at Shuttleworth College and is a recent graduate of Dr Elain Ingham's Soil Food Web School. He is a past Chairman of Wormleighton Young Farmers and also of Banbury Agricultural Association.
Sam has been a regular partaker in all things country sports and more recently enjoys off-road cycling and supporting sons at Southam Rugby Club.