Day One: Tuesday 20 February
10.15 - 10.45am: Opening Address (Hall 1)
Watch live and again here
Meurig Raymond, MBE FRAgS, President, NFU
10.45 - 12.45pm: Political Session (Hall 1)
Watch live and again here
The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Chaired by Meurig Raymond, MBE FRAgS, President, NFU
Sue Hayman MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Chaired by Minette Batters, Deputy President, NFU
12.45 - 2.00pm: Lunch (Hall 3)
2.00 - 3.30pm: Cross Sector Workshops:
Managing change and building financial resilience
Hall 4 - report and watch again will be available after the session
With the risks and opportunities presented by Brexit, this session will discuss the work of the NFU in developing risk management tools to mitigate price volatility. It will also address how we have been engaging with industry professionals to help farmers plan for the change to maximise opportunity and provide business resilience.
Speakers:
John Lancaster, Head of EU Dairy Consulting/Commodity Risk Manager, INTL FCStone
Richard Bower, Next Generation Forum Chairman, NFU
Neil Wilson, Head of Agriculture, HSBC
Rohit Kaushish, NFU Economist, NFU
Chaired by William White, South East Regional Director, NFU
Driving food production with environmental performance
Hall 1 - watch live and again here
In current times of great uncertainty and change, the NFU recognises the pressure its members face to be stewards of our environment as well as commercial food producers.
This session will discuss future opportunities and offer ways our members can use their environmental assets to the greatest effect.
Speakers:
Diane Mitchell, Chief Environment Adviser, NFU
Rob Cooke, Director of EU Exit, Natural England
David Elliott, Group Director - Strategy and New Markets, Wessex Water
Chaired by Andrew Clark, Director of Policy, NFU
Future-proofing your business by safeguarding your people
Hall 8 - report and watch again will be available after the session
An interactive and inspiring session, to explore how every farmer can face up to the challenge of improving safety, health and wellbeing in their business. We’ll discuss how farm accidents are not inevitable and how farmers perceive and manage risks, exploring barriers to change and hearing from farmers who are taking action.
Speakers:
Thomas Price, Farm Safety and Transport Adviser, NFU
Matt Carter, Head of Behavioural Insight and Evaluation, Health and Safety Executive
Aarun Naik, Counsellor /psychotherapist and Nuffield Farming Scholar
Chaired by Adam Bedford, North East Regional Director, NFU
Welsh Agriculture: embracing change for success
Hall 5 - report and watch again will be available after the session
NFU Cymru and key Welsh industry stakeholders will outline their thoughts on how we can achieve our vision for a productive, profitable and progressive industry that can deliver jobs, growth and investment for all.
Speakers:
John Davies, NFU Cymru President
Lesley Griffiths, Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Welsh Government
Andrew Slade, Director of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Welsh Government
Andy Richardson, Chair, Food and Drink Board
Laura Elliott, Chairman, YFC Wales
Chaired by John Mercer, NFU Cymru Director
Launch of EFRA Committee’s Report into Brexit: Trade in Food
Hall 10 - report and watch again will be available after the session
Neil Parish MP, Chair of the House of Commons cross-party EFRA Committee, will be launching the EFRA Committee’s report into Brexit and the trade in food. This report looks at how a potential trade deal could affect farmers, food processors and consumers.
The report aims to highlight to the Government the impact of different trade scenarios on the agri-food sector, and to ensure that the agriculture sector is not forgotten when trade negotiations begin in March.
The session will allow for plenty of debate as to the future challenges for the agricultural sector, and the role of Parliament in ensuring that the Government properly represents the needs of agriculture.
Speakers
Neil Parish MP, Chair of the EFRA Select Committee
Chaired by Nick von Westenholz, Director of EU Exit and International Trade, NFU
3.30 - 4.00pm: Coffee break
4.00 - 5.30pm: Commodity Sessions:
DAIRY (Hall 5)
Dairy’s new dawn
This session will not be recorded
Just short of two years since the Brexit decision, there still remain many questions about what the vote will actually means for UK dairy farmers. To help navigate this uncertainty and provide some clarity on what opportunities lie ahead for dairy both here in the UK and wider afield we’ve pulled together an expert panel including:
Speakers
Robin Manning, Head of Agricultural Trade Team, Defra
Jannes Maes, Belgian dairy farmer and chair of CEJA, the EU Young Farmer Organisation
Michael Oakes, dairy farmer and Dairy Board Chairman, NFU
Sian Davies, Chief Dairy Adviser, NFU
Chaired by
Melanie Squires, South West Regional Director, NFU
LIVESTOCK (Hall 1)
Navigating the future - building opportunity
This session will not be recorded
Charles Sercombe will update members on the activity of the NFU livestock board and his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the UK livestock sector. He will be joined by George Eustice MP and Nigel Gibbens CBE, UK CVO, from Defra, who will talk about government policy on bovine TB, antibiotics, disease threats, international trade and the future of livestock traceability services. The panel discussion will include other industry leads and NFU chief advisers.
Speakers
George Eustice MP, Minister for Food, Farming and Marine Environment, Defra
Nigel Gibbens CBE, UK Chief Veterinary Officer, Defra
Charles Sercombe, Livestock Board Chairman, NFU
Chaired by
David Hall, North West Regional Director, NFU
COMBINABLE CROPS (Hall 9)
Brexit, Volatility & Combinable Crops – Influencing Change for Future Success
This session will not be recorded
Arable farmers face managing volatility in their businesses and with Brexit on the horizon hear from Richard Counsell about his ideas for future market based solutions. Alongside Brexit business continues as usual, Mike Hambly and Jack Watts will be giving you their thoughts and priorities for the future. A selection of key industry stakeholders and NFU Combinable Crops Board members will be on hand to contribute to the question and answer session.
Speakers
Michael Hambly, Combinable Crops Board Chairman, NFU
Jack Watts, Chief Combinable Crops Adviser, NFU
Richard Counsell, Managing Director, Stable
Chaired by
Robert Newbery, West Midlands Regional Director, NFU
HORTICULTURE & POTATOES (Hall 8)
Growing Horticulture in a Post-CAP Landscape
This session will not be recorded
Brexit marks the biggest political transformation that a generation of British growers will likely ever see. Farming leaders have a big part to play in shaping agricultural policy for the post-Brexit world. We will be discussing how AHDB and the NFU can help farmers and growers adapt to change, and seize every opportunity to enhance productivity under an ambitious new policy framework for UK agriculture.
Speakers
Tom Hind, Chief Strategy Officer, Agricultural & Horticultural Development Board
Ali Capper, Horticulture and Potatoes Board Chair, NFU
Chaired by
Hayley Campbell-Gibbons, Chief Horticulture and Potatoes Adviser, NFU
POULTRY (Hall 10)
Recipe for change – ingredients for success
This session will not be recorded
The session will cover the NFU’s key policy areas and our ongoing work to achieve the best possible outcome from Brexit for our poultry members, identifying key considerations and opportunities for their businesses. We will also receive an update from Kantar on consumption data, finishing with a Q & A panel.
Speakers
Duncan Priestner, Poultry Board Chairman, NFU
Dr Dylan Bradley, Director, Agra C E A S Consulting Ltd
Tom Keen, EU Exit and International Trade Adviser, NFU
Helena King, Client Executive, Kantar UK Ltd
James Hook, P D Hook (Group) Ltd, Poultry Board member
Chaired by
William White, South East Regional Director, NFU
SUGAR (Hall 7)
What’s the recipe for a thriving home grown sugar sector?
This session will not be recorded
Post quota, the UK sugar industry can grow and sell as much as it is able to. But this is not without challenges: how can larger crops, longer campaigns and volatility in world markets be successfully managed? Our commercial analyst Arthur Marshall will be outlining the world market situation and we will be hearing the thoughts of NFU Sugar Board Chairman Michael Sly and British Sugar Managing Director Paul Kenward on the necessary ingredients for a thriving home grown sugar sector.
Speakers
Michael Sly, NFU Sugar Board Chairman
Arthur Marshall, Commercial Analyst, NFU Sugar
Paul Kenward, MD, British Sugar
Chaired by
Robert Sheasby, East Anglia Regional Director, NFU
6.30 - 7.45pm: Drinks Reception+
8.00pm: Dinner+
Day Two: Wednesday 21 February
9.00 - 10.00am: Trade (Hall 1)
Watch live and again here
Shanker Singham, Director of Economic Policy and Prosperity Studies, Legatum Institute
Julian Braithwaite, WTO Ambassador
Chaired by Meurig Raymond, MBE FRAgS, President, NFU
10.00am - 10.45am: Industrial strategy and investment (Hall 1)
Watch live and again here
The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Chaired by Guy Smith, Vice President, NFU
10.45 - 11.15am: Coffee break (Hall 3)
11.15 - 12.45pm: Businesses preparing for change (Hall 1)
Watch live and again here
David Gunner, CEO, Dovecote Park
Derek Wilkinson, Managing Director, Sandfields Farms
Tomas Pietrangeli, Managing Director, Arla UK
Chaired by Terry Jones, Director General, NFU
12.45 - 1.00pm: Closing Address (Hall 1)
Watch live and again here
Meurig Raymond, MBE FRAgS, President, NFU
1.00 - 2.00pm: Lunch (Hall 3)
2.00 - 3.00pm: AGM
*timings subject to change
+pre-booked tickets only