Event
Northern Farming Conference
Now in its fifteenth year, the 2024 Northern Farming Conference will take place on Wednesday 6 November 2024 at Hexham Auction Mart in Hexham.
This annual event is one of the most prestigious events in the north, attracting nearly 250 farmers, industry experts and politicians to network, listen and question a super line up of speakers.
This year’s speakers include:
- Lord Inglewood, MRICS
- Janet Hughes, Defra’s Director for the Future Farming and Countryside Programme
- MP Tim Farron (depending on parliamentary business)
- MP Robbie Moore (depending on parliamentary business)
- Rachael Brown, Chief Reporter at the Farmers Guardian
- Dr Awal Fuseini, AHDB & University of Huddersfield
- Helen Browning OBE, Chief Executive of the Soil Association
- Michael Blanche, Totally Ewesome Farmer from Perth
Farmer Panelists:
- Stuart Johnson, Soil Farmer of the Year 2023, West Wharmley Farm
- Tania Coxon, Founder of the Country Girls UK, arable farmer
- Rich Oglesby, new entrant Beef, Sheep and Red Deer farmer
- Annabel Hamilton, Mixed farming enterprise, Scottish Borders
Also invited:
Daniel Zeichner, Farming Minister
Steve Reed, Defra Secretary of State
Future farming success – owning change
This year’s conference will explore some key elements to farming success in what is an ever-changing operating context. What are the practical ways which farmers and land managers can continue to manage change to their advantage? How do we focus on what can control and acknowledge what we can’t.
It all starts with the natural elements such as soil, water and air, and further down the line, market elements relating to processors and the supply chain, trade deals and macro-economic factors. And finally, farming produce ends up on the consumer’s plates impacting on the UK’s food basket, public health, and well-being.
These elements – always in flux – require a fine balance to ensure successful and sustainable farming. Without profitable farming, farmers can ill afford to ‘make good’ on environmental / climate change concerns. Is there a balance between the three pillars of sustainability: economics (profitability), environment and people?
