The Oxford Farming Conference

This event is only for the 2024 OFC Inspire Cohort, and will run from 12:00 to 13:30 at the Examination Schools.

The biggest challenge facing today’s society is building resilience in the face of a continuously changing climate. Farmers are facing the brunt of extreme weather events and global warming could cause a 30% reduction in food production worldwide. This does not change the fact that an ever-growing population needs to be fed and we must find ways to build a more resilient food production system.

Join BASF at the Oxford Natural History Museum for OFC's first partner session of 2024 - a panel session hearing from farmers trialling novel interventions to tackle the effects of climate change and hear a global perspective of the agriculture industry as we look to future proof our food security and care for the natural environment. In keeping with the conference theme of diversity, speakers will share unique insights from different locations, soil types and farming philosophies.

Joining the panel will be:

•    Mary Boote, Chief Executive Officer, Global Farmer Network
•    William Pitts, second generation farmer in Mears Ashby Northamptonshire & founder of Project Fortress, farming on handslope clay
•    Hannah Darby, forth generation farmer near Huntingdon, farming primarily on the Fen with black organic soil
•    Martin Andersson, eight generation farmer, farming a wide rotation in Skåne, Sweden

This session will run from 17:00 to 18:00 at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History followed by an opportunity to network with panellists and guests. Refreshments will be provided.

There are limited tickets for this session so we encourage pre-booking. If you have already booked your main conference ticket, log back in to your ticket and add this to your booking via your member portal. Click here to amend booking.

OFC24 Chairman, Will Evans, officially opens the conference during this special reception at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. A complimentary drink and light nibbles will be available and, for 2024, this event is included in the conference ticket.

This reception is included in your main conference ticket, but space is limited so we do ask that you book a place. If you have already booked your main conference ticket, there is an option to log back in and add this to your booking via your member portal. A link can also be found in your booking confirmation.

This event will run from 19:00 to 20:00

A gentle run enjoying some of the streets of OFC, with runners meeting at the entrance of the Examination Schools.

Hosted at the University College Chapel from 7:30 to 8:00

As we face the challenges of climate change and growing crops that are healthier, environmentally friendlier and profitable, can we sustainably intensify the way we produce food? The technologies and strategies behind regenerative farming stand at the intersection of these challenges. But there is a need to provide the science to scale-up and underpin its credibility.

This session will discuss NIAB’s vision of regenerative farming; that it shares with sustainable intensification and precision agriculture the aim of optimising productivity – producing more from less – while at the same time protecting and improving the condition of the land and surrounding environment.

Speakers:   

• Professor Mario Caccamo – CEO, NIAB  
• Dr Elizabeth Stockdale, Head of Farming Systems, NIAB  
• Dr Juno McKee, Director of Ventures, NIAB  
• TBC - Antony Yousefian, VP Climate and Circularity, Wilmot

There are limited tickets for this session so we encourage pre-booking. If you have already booked your main conference ticket, log back into your ticket and add this to your booking via your member portal. Click here to amend booking.

The afternoon conference will commence promptly at 14:00.

An international and UK perspective

Sarah Dunning OBE, Chair of Westmorland Limited, shares her family story of innovation and inspiration, in this session titled "Westmorland Family - A Story of Rural Diversification"

WWF-UK and NatWest have published a Roadmap for Financing a Regenerative Agricultural Transition in England. This Roadmap explores how to mobilise investment for regenerative agriculture, including the roles of the supply chain, financial institutions, governments, and farmers, to effectively distribute costs and risks of the transition. This session marks the launch of the roadmap, and will be an interactive discussion of the concrete recommendations for actors along the value chain that will support farmers through the initial period of the transition. The recommendations are supported by a series of workshops, interviews and economic modelling including practical input from farmers and growers, which we will draw on in our introduction.

There are limited tickets for this session so we encourage pre-booking. If you have already booked your main conference ticket, log back in to your ticket and add this to your booking via your member portal. Click here to amend booking.

Explore the future of sustainable agriculture with Map of Ag and their panel of speakers, featuring Jonathan Lane, Managing Director for ADM Agriculture, and Hugh Martineau, Technical Director of Sustainability. Facilitating this enlightening discussion is Anna Powell, Consultant at Map of Ag.  

Johnathan will discuss his experiences, including the challenges and opportunities presented, in engaging farmers to deliver a joint impact. Together, they will explore approaches to regenerative farming and their measurement and reporting. This session is your gateway to a more resilient, regenerative agricultural landscape.

There are limited tickets for this session so we encourage pre-booking. If you have already booked your main conference ticket, log back in to your ticket and add this to your booking via your member portal. Click here to amend booking.

Hosted in Christ Church Hall, the post-debate supper offers a special setting to end the first full day of conference. Tickets are limited and charged at £90 plus VAT for a three-course meal, including wine, and can be booked at the same time as your conference ticket, or by logging back into your member area.

The agriculture sector is under intense scientific, media and public scrutiny, negatively linked to global warming, nature decline and decreasing human health.  AHDB and ITN Business’ ‘Farming a Greener Future’ raises awareness and understanding of the importance of livestock, and its role in feeding the population sustainably. But the role of livestock goes beyond the programme’s themes, with emerging farm-based evidence, scientific advancement and scrutiny of data revealing livestock has a unique and invaluable role within society. Following a short screening of the programme, the session explores the diverse role of livestock in sustainable farming systems, nature recovery, climate action and food security

Speakers:   

• Professor John Gilliland OBE, Environment Consultant at AHDB
• Kate Arthur, Lead Nutritionist at AHDB

There are limited tickets for this session so we encourage pre-booking. If you have already booked your main conference ticket, log back in to your ticket and add this to your booking via your member portal. Click here to amend booking.

OFC24 Chairman Will Evans opens the final day of the conference. Please note, that doors to the main auditorium will close promptly and not open again until the break, so please try to be seated by 9am. Our business lounge is open for anyone who arrives after the doors have closed and hosts a live stream. This area can also be used for anyone who wishes to work while the conference is running.

Diversity of work patterns and benefits, skill sets, nationalities and geographical locations, to name a few topics, brings this Question Time style session to life.

One of our most popular sessions each year.

OFC24 Chairman Will Evans reflects on the conference and introduces the 2025 Chairman.