10 June 2010

The OFC Summer conference held in conjunction with the Cereals Event on the 9th and 10th of June at Robert Law's Chrishall Grange Farm was a roaring success - the marquee was packed for each of the four sessions.

The all-new Arable Conference was sponsored by the BBSRC, HGCA, JCB and the RSPB, and in a debate-style it explored the science needed for the sector’s future and the need for farmers to embrace the Campaign for the Farmed Environment.

Commenting on the Arable Conference, the Oxford Farming Conference Chairman Christine Tacon said: “The sign of a good conference is the quality of the speakers, the audience’s questions and the attendee numbers; I’d give all three a big tick for the Cereals Arable Conference. It was a new venture for the Oxford Farming Conference to work outside Oxford, and outside January, but we are an educational charity and we saw this as an opportunity for letting more people hear quality debate about the industry’s big issues. My thanks go not only to the sponsors who paid for the venue, but also to the speakers and my fellow directors, who all gave up their time for nothing, to bring Oxford to Cereals.”

Panellists included Peter Kendall, Prof John Snape from the John Innes Centre, Prof Ian Crute from AHDB and the host farmer Robert Law (who is also an OFC DIrector).