The Oxford Farming Conference

Bitesize 1: Family farms: where are the routes to resilience?

Hosted in partnership with Nuffield Farming Scholarships

Are family farms resilient for the future? Do they have the skills and resources required to operate a viable business? And most importantly can they get access to the “routes” required to give them a fair playing field? Family farms often fall into the “squeezed middle”, not your niche businesses nor your large commercial enterprises but those who sit in the middle ground of agriculture and are often overlooked by the industry or pushed to look for their own innovative solutions due to a lack of support.

During this bitesize, we hear from three farmers who are embedded in family businesses and have felt the squeeze. They talk about the challenges they face and their solutions for the future.

Speakers:

  • John Pawsey - Arable, Sheep, Renewables, Machinery Sales, Organic - Shimpling Park Farms Ltd, Suffolk, England
  • Jamie McCoy - Dairy, Sheep, Pigs, Pumpkins - Gorwel Farm, Bryngwyn, Wales
  • John Martin - Sheep, Dairy Heifer Rearing, Arable, Renewables - Gordonall Farms, Co Down, Ireland
  • Host: Barbara Bray - OFC Co-Chair 2021-22 Hosted in partnership with Nuffield Farming Scholarships