Star speakers at the 2024 Northern Farming Conference

‘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?

This year’s top-notch speakers include:

• Janet Hughes, Defra’s Director for the Future Farming and Countryside Programme
• Lord Inglewood MRICS
• Robbie Moore (MP for Keighley and Ilkley) – subject to parliamentary business
• Tim Farron (MP for Westmorland, Furness and Eden)
• Rachael Brown, Chief Reporter at the Farmers Guardian
• Helen Browning OBE, CEO at the Soil Association
• Dr Awal Fuseini, Visiting Research Fellow, University of Huddersfield / AHDB
• Michael Blanche, The Pasture Pod, Totally Ewesome Farmer, Perth

Also invited: Steve Reed, Defra Secretary of State and Daniel Zeichner, Farming Minister

Farmer Panel:

• Stuart Johnson, Soil Farmer of the Year 2023, West Wharmley Farm
• Tania Coxon, Founder of the Country Girls UK, arable farmer, Sunderland
• Rich Oglesby, New entrant Beef, Sheep and Red Deer farmer
• Annabel Hamilton, Mixed farming enterprise, Scottish Borders

This annual event is one of the most prestigious events in the north, attracting well over 200 farmers, industry experts and thinkers to network, listen and question a super line up of speakers.

The event is renowned for its mix of formal and informal debate and has cemented its position as the 'go-to' conference for the sector in the North.

The conference is a joint venture between Armstrong Watson, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Hexham and Northern Marts, HSBC, Womble Bond Dickinson and Youngs RPS.

For more information and to register please visit: www.northernfarmingconference.org.uk. To get the latest conference news and updates, follow @NorthFarmConf on Twitter.