Oxford Farming Conference

23 March 2010

The Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) will partner the Cereals 2010 Event on the 9th and 10th of June to bring a summer conference to the industry’s flagship technical arable event. The move will see thought-provoking speakers tackle two topics; applied arable science and the Campaign for the Farmed Environment, both issues inextricably linked with the sector’s future and its competitiveness. 

This new conference has special significance for the OFC because the Cereals Event will be hosted by an OFC Council member, Robert Law at his farm near Royston.

“The OFC is associated with a high level conference at the start of January in the formal surroundings of Oxford University,” explains OFC Chairman, Christine Tacon. “So we are really excited about teaming up with Cereals 2010 to run a conference at the Event. The Oxford Farming Conference’s charitable remit is very clearly a leadership and educational role, yet we are restricted in the number of people who can be at the conference by the capacity of the Examination Halls at Oxford. Teaming up with Cereals allows us to debate some of the arable sector’s big issues in an open and ‘all-welcome’ forum, with some high-profile leaders.”

Two sessions will be held on both days of Cereals starting with the ‘Science in the Arable Sector’ at 11am and the ‘Campaign for the Farmed Environment’ at 2.30pm.

“The science session will highlight some of the latest arable innovations and will explore where future R&D needs to be focused to meet the objectives of both farmers and the supply chain,” says Christine Tacon, who is also Managing Director of The Co-operative Farms, itself a large arable business. “The Campaign for the Farmed Environment session will tackle how the campaign is progressing and its commercial viability on arable farms.”

All four sessions will be chaired by The Oxford Farming Conference Directors.

The organisers are encouraging visitors to come and join the debate. “The conference will be open to all and held in a large, airy marquee with plenty of standing room at the back, for those who just want to wander in and listen,” Ms Tacon adds.
For more information on the Cereals Event go to www.cerealsevent.co.uk  

6 January 2010

Farmers, scientists, the food industry and the Government must work more closely if UK agriculture is to increase production while protecting the environment.

That was a key finding of two pieces of unique research into future agricultural science needs revealed at the Oxford Farming Conference today (6th January 2010).

The OFC research was carried out in association with dairy nutrition company Volac and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It consisted of a survey of 600 farmers by the National Farm Research Unit and the views of 10 technical specialists in the food industry gathered by the IGD. The results were presented to conference delegates by Professor David Leaver, former Principal of the Royal Agricultural College and a member of the Government’s Council of Food Policy Advisors.

Crop protection may have been seen as the most important past agricultural science advancement by farmers, but plant breeding was identified as the most important future production development, with GM technology seen as playing a significant role. Soil and water management techniques were also regarded as very important if farming is to be sustainable in the future.  Prevention and control of animal diseases were also seen as key areas for research, as were animal genetics, nutrition and welfare. 

The farmers were also asked who they believe currently delivers agricultural science research to them and who should do so in the future. Nearly 60% said the agricultural supply industry is the most important deliverer of science, with just 21% saying the Government is. However, 56% believed the Government should be responsible for agricultural science in the future. Only 10% thought the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board is the most important deliverer of agricultural science now and just 7% thought it should be in the future.

An estimate of current funding on agricultural research prepared for the conference suggests that there is a significant mismatch between who is perceived to do the research and who is actually doing it. In contrast to the farmers’ perceptions, annual funding of agricultural research by the Government is currently worth £264 million – 75% of the overall total of £350 million. Funding by the agricultural supply industry is worth £56 million – 16% and by farmers (largely through the AHDB) is £29 million – 8%. Public funding for research is also expected to increase by around £16 million a year as the Government has committed £80 million over the next five years through the Technology Strategy Board.

Farmers also suggested that science research needs to be more applied and simpler to understand if they are to derive the greatest value from it. Communication of research is seen as key with around 80% saying that the press is the most important means of communicating scientific developments.

“These are very important pieces of work and should help politicians and the food and farming industry identify what the future direction of agricultural science should be and who should deliver it,” says Prof Leaver.

The 10 food industry members included retailers, processors, wholesalers and foodservice operators. They rated the importance of primary agricultural research to their business as eight out of ten, but judged the usefulness of current agricultural research at just five out of ten. They wanted more research on improved cultivation techniques and methods of withstanding climate change, while improvements in the food processing and supply chain from farm gate to consumer were also important. The group also saw new technology as playing a key role in the future. However, they warned that – without the right research – food prices and imports are likely to rise, further eroding the UK’s competitive advantage. Meanwhile, a fragmented approach to research would lead to duplication and confusion.

“The key messages from this research are that for UK agriculture to be competitive, we need a functioning R&D chain which can deliver the new technologies needed to satisfy the food production and environmental demands of the future. This will require greater co-operation and engagement by all as well as more clarity as to how research is funded, prioritised and applied,” says Professor Leaver.

8 January 2010

Over 500 delegates braved the sub-zero temperatures to attend what is being described as “a momentous Oxford Farming Conference” by delegates.

For many attendees Hilary Benn’s choice of words used to launch in 2030 Food Strategy plan constituted a “new dawn” where agricultural production is the primary focus for farmland.

“Food was put very firmly at the top of the agenda in the Government’s announcement of the new food strategy,” says Christine Tacon, the newly appointed Oxford Farming Conference Chairman. “Mr Benn said that we need to produce more food and to do so sustainably.”

The Minister added that “people power can help bring about a revolution in the way food is produced and sold, and that food business, including supermarkets and food manufacturers, would follow consumer demand for food that is local, healthy and has been produced with a smaller environmental footprint.”

One delegate, Lincolnshire farmer Matthew Naylor said: “the Oxford Farming Conference is the best place to analyse the health and mood of UK agriculture and to understand the direction in which it is heading.  The 2010 conference will be remembered as the dawn of a new age - the one where words began to be turned to action. A new spirit of unity is emerging between producers, politicians, scientists and NGOs and Oxford is the place where these alliances are formed.”

Commenting on the Oxford Union Debate, the motion ‘This House believes that all farmers should retire at 60, Mr Naylor added: “Although farming is as tough now as it has ever been, the increasing number of young delegates and the humour and insight displayed in the Oxford Debate demonstrate that the industry is still in a healthy shape.  We should return to our farms feeling positive about the enormous challenges ahead.”

The conference organisers also announced two pieces of research undertaken to support the annual conference. The findings of the study identified that farmers, scientists, the food industry and the Government must work more closely if UK agriculture is to increase production while protecting the environment.

The OFC research was carried out in association with dairy nutrition company Volac and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It consisted of a survey of 600 farmers by the National Farm Research Unit and the views of 10 technical specialists in the food industry gathered by the IGD.

The research highlighted that crop protection may have been seen as the most important past agricultural science advancement by farmers, but plant breeding was identified as the most important future production development, with GM technology seen as playing a significant role. Soil and water management techniques were also regarded as very important if farming is to be sustainable in the future.  Prevention and control of animal diseases were also seen as key areas for research, as were animal genetics, nutrition and welfare.  

Another strong theme for the 2010 Conference was succession planning. The Mercer family who have successfully engaged more than one generation actively in their farming business, took questions from the floor on how they had made it work. Communication, taking responsibility and a well defined strategy were identified as key.

Following the succession planning theme, at the light-hearted Oxford Union debate, delegates voted for the motion that ‘all farmers should retire at 60’. The proposer of the motion, Barrister Joanne Moss, made it clear that the “should retire” was an “ideal” where circumstances allowed it to happen, for example where pensions were adequate and the successor was ready and able to take over the reins.

30th November 2009

“This House believes that all farmers should retire at 60” will be the motion for debate in the Oxford Union at the Oxford Farming Conference on Tuesday 5th January 2010.

“The motion is sensitive and emotive and I’m fully expecting some heated exchanges of views to get the temperature rising in the magnificent surroundings of this famous Union,” says Jack Ward, organiser of the debate and one of the Conference directors.

Proposing the motion will be Joanne Moss, a Barrister at Falcon Chambers and opposing the motion will be Andrew Densham CBE, former senior partner at law firm Burges Salmon and current Chairman of RABI. Seconding the legal heavyweights will be Douglas Jackson and Katherine Sealy respectively, both office holders with the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs.

“We are delighted to have pulled together such a well qualified team of debaters to share their ideas and thinking with the audience; I have no doubts at all that this will be a thought-provoking and entertaining evening,” Mr Ward adds.
The Oxford Union Debate welcomes contributions from the floor and anyone attending is encouraged to prepare their views on the motion.

“There have been many erudite, exceptional and highly amusing contributions from the floor over the years of Oxford, so we’re encouraging conference delegates to spend some time over Christmas preparing some verbal ammunition to throw into the ring!” he notes. “What’s more, we’ll make it worth your while; not only will the winning contribution from the floor win a prestigious accolade of a debating award at Oxford University, but we will also present them with a bottle of champagne.