OFC Arable Conference at the Cereals Event

The Oxford Farming Conference will be holding four debate sessions at the 2013 Cereals Event. The Conference is being held in the Arable Conference Marquee and is free of charge to any visitors attending the Cereals Event.

Wednesday 12th June

11.30    -     Will EU red-tape strangle the UK agri-science strategy at birth?
How can we move British farming forward?

Chairman - Adrian Ivory, OFC 2014 Co-Chairman
Speakers:
•    David Heath CBE MP, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food
•    Meurig Raymond MBE, Deputy President, NFU
•    Richard McDonald CBE, Chairman of the Farming Regulation task force
•    Professor David Harvey, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University

14.30    - Have the wheat claims from last harvest been excessive?
Who are the winners on farmer quality deductions?

Chairman – Andrew Brown, OFC Director
Speakers:
•    Tony Bell, Raw materials Director, BOCM Pauls
•    Howard Leland, Wheat Director, Allied Mills, Chairman of the nabim Wheat Committee
•    Arthur Hill, West Midlands Farmer
•    Rob Munro, Managing Director, Fengrain

Thursday 13th June

11.30    -    Who calls the shots in the grain chain?
In today's volatile markets how do growers find out what the future prospects will be and negotiate a better deal?

Chairman –Richard Whitlock, OFC Director
Speakers:
•    David Sheppard, Managing Director, Gleadell
•    Mark Worrell, Grain Director, Openfield
•    Andrew Watts, Farmer and NFU Crops Board Chairman
•    Chris Horseman, Editorial Director, Informa Agra

14.30    -    Can we break the wheat yield plateau?
Apart from the weather, what's stopping farmers from significantly increasing yields?

Chairman – Dr Tina Barsby, OFC Director
Speakers:
•    Dr Cristobal Uauy, crop geneticist, John Innes Centre
•    Nick von Westenholz, CEO of the Crop Protection Association
•    Dr Richard Summers. BSPB Chairman
•    Dr Sean Rickard, Food and Farming Economist