 Through sheep <unk> , competitions and his contacts within the nobility , Coke soon spread his new ideas and breeds . Initially small events of local farmers , the <unk> soon became 200 @-@ person formal dinners , rising to 300 people in 1821 and 700 soon after , with even the American ambassador Richard Rush attending in 1819 , along with the French Consul and the Duke of Sussex . The Board of Agriculture was formed in 1793 , with Coke sitting as one of the 30 " ordinary members " as a leading agriculturalist ; he was made the Vice @-@ President in 1805 . The Board published a series of county reports for most of the United Kingdom , describing new farming measures being undertaken in various parts of the country . 
