Alone we go faster but together we go further.

“Alone we go faster but together we go further” was my starting quote for the group of OFC Scholars attending the pre-conference day. We were kindly hosted by OSI, the company who produce the burger patties for McDonald's UK.

The Scholars aged between 20 and 28 were meeting for the first time and the focus of the day was on networking and learning from each other.

 The tour of the OSI facility was fascinating and provided a good starting point for discussions on sustainable beef production. There were also talks on nutrition and the McDonald's supply chain, but this was not a passive learning experience. Alice Willet and the team challenged the Scholars to come up with solutions to public engagement, nutrition, sustainability and communication with farmers. It turned out to be a lively session and I am really looking forward to seeing how the Scholars engage with the conference theme and their fellow delegates next year.

The day would not be complete without an opportunity to make a burger in a McDonald's restaurant and we were generously hosted by the team at Scunthorpe with a behind the scenes tour.

We finished the day knowing each other, the McDonald's business and the Oxford Farming Conference much better than we had at the beginning.

To find out more about the Scholar's programme email secretariat@ofc.org.uk