As the only institutional body working on behalf of the European agricultural and cooperative sector, Copa Cogeca represents over 22 million farmers and their family members alongside the interest of 22,000 agri-cooperatives.

Gian Luca has varied experience including project management, research economics, and territorial marketing. He is knowledgeable about the global economy particularly in relation to trade and investments and has proven ability to develop solid partnership with high-level officials to achieve favourable results.

With professional experience in a number of countries Gian Luca will bring a truly global view to panel discussion.  

Cereals grown on the farm are also used to feed his stock, allowing David to use the two businesses to support each other and provide sustainable produce. He also has a very small flock of pedigree poll Dorset sheep.

He has also previously stood as the NFU South West Livestock Board chair and has worked with AHDB as a strategic farm to improve profitability and efficiency.

Prior to the UK Agri-Tech Centre, Phil has had a varied career across food and farming: he led the 50-strong market intelligence team at AHDB (Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board), equipping farmers and processors with the insight to manage market volatility, profitability and policy change; he was also chief economist at the NFU, spearheading the evidence to support a range of lobbying activity.

Other roles include specialising in agri-trade issues at the US Department of Agriculture and advising a range of agribusiness clients with Bidwells.

Phil grew up on the family livestock farm has a degree in agricultural economics.

The home farm is based around arable production but has also diversified into equestrian and renewables.

Tom has represented the NFU from Local Branch Chairman through to Chair of the National Combinable Crops Board.

Tom was elected to the position of NFU President in February 2024.

Responsibilities

• Animal health and welfare incl. bTB
• Trade and standards
• Climate, energy and net zero
• Food supply chain (fair dealing, mergers and acquisitions, competition, regulation)
• Animal ID and movements
• Assurance review
• Taxation and fiscal policy
• Immigration

He is currently chair of his NFU local branch and has worked off the farm as a journalist. Most recently, Hugh presented the Farmers Weekly podcast up until December 2023.

The joint venture has a mix of owned, tenanted and contract farming agreements, growing milling and feed wheat, milling oats, feed and malting barley, peas, beans and, for the time being, oilseed rape. 

Due to the complex nature of the soils in South Herts, ranging from heavy clays to gravel, Jamie and his colleagues cover a wide range of cultivation and drilling methods. However, a happy medium of min-till normally takes place on 50% of the land farmed. All grain is sold through Openfield going to homes relatively locally, usually within 50 miles.

At home, the family farm has diversified, with an 80-horse livery and riding school, with all hay and straw produced in house.

Having been involved in the NFU locally since returning home from Harper Adams in 2005 Jamie has gradually become more and more involved at a regional level and now, as well as being Hertfordshire NFU County chair, he is also East Anglia Combinable Crops Board chair. He is also an ex-Cereals Development Programme participant, and keen to get others involved in these types of initiatives.  

Jamie is passionate about achieving the best for cereal and oilseed producers, and proud to represent the cereals interests of East Anglia members.

Rich is passionate about the potential for UK food and farming exports in a growing world population. He has a vision for UK food and agriculture being able to meet the needs of the world's growing middle classes demand for dairy products, while minimizing the impact of the environment as much as possible. Rich was named as ‘International Export Ambassador of the Year’ in recognition of the scale and impact of Wyke Farms’ global business portfolio.

Rich is passionate about farming, the environment and branding. Wyke Farms developed a groundbreaking on-site renewable energy plant, which is the cornerstone to the Wyke Farms 100% Green mission and enabled the company to be the first UK grocery brand to be 100% self-sufficient in green energy.

She is former chair of the British guild of agricultural journalists and is an accredited CIPR practitioner.

Editor of British dairying magazine, Olivia is also a regular contributor to Farmers Weekly, Farmers Guardian and other specialist publications.

Her PR and journalism business, Agri-hub, specialises in rural and agricultural business promotion.

To this aim he planted 1 ha of strawberries in 1988 as his Agriculture degree thesis and founded Haygrove. Failing totally in the original aim, Haygrove now farms >600ha of berries, cherries and organics in the UK, South Africa, Portugal and China.

In the early 90’s, frustrated by crop loss to weather, Angus began using polytunnels, which he enjoyed testing and improving on Haygrove Farm. By the mid-90s British retailers observed the
advantages of the tunnels and encouraged wide uptake in the UK, prompting Haygrove to manufacture.

Haygrove Growing Systems now supply tunnels and growing systems within them to 60+ countries worldwide, from Chile to Canada, Australia, India, Africa, the Middle East, even to Hawaii, creating a fascinating cultural and geographic exposure to leading growers of high value crops around the world; their business environment, challenges and thinking.

Haygrove’s model is “For Growers, By Growers”, integrating growing with technical innovation. It measures itself monthly across a Triple Bottom Line of Planet, People and Profit. It has been carbon neutral since 2020 and has won a series of awards over 20 years for not-for-profit activities. Angus was awarded an MBE for services to UK horticulture in 2004.

He is a director of Tristram Plants, part of the Farplants co-operative which grows and markets over 2000 plant varieties and generates more than £50 million annual sales through retail.

David farms south of Horsham in West Sussex with his wife and two sons over 1200 tenanted hectares in the heart of the Sussex Weald.

Starting in 1989 with 70ha the business now has arable, dairy beef, Sussex suckler herd and sheep enterprises. In 2003 the Farm Shop opened and sells a wide range of food from the Victorian stable yard at Westons.

He has served previously within the NFU as Branch Chair, West Sussex Council Delegate, South East Regional Chair as well as four years on Governance Board.

David was elected to the position of NFU Deputy President in February 2024.

Responsibilities

• EU and international relations
• Banking
• Biodiversity
• Food labelling
• Food safety
• Food service and hospitality
• Agricultural transition (productivity, ELMs, stability)
• Plant health
• Assurance schemes
• British Agriculture Bureau
• Health, safety and wellbeing
• Agricultural transport
• Uplands
• Tenants

In the last 20 years the farm has evolved from a milk producer/retailer unit, to a farm that focusses on their beef herd, hill sheep and environmental outcomes. They have also diversified with a holiday let and contracting business.

The business has grown through their ability to change and also by collaborating with their landlord on water management, heather regeneration and hay meadow restoration. Rachel takes an honest approach and has an open mind-set. 

Rachel was elected to the position of NFU Vice President in February 2024.

• Workforce skills and training
• Education
• Science and research and development
• Regulation review and enforcement
• Planning, housing and rural development
• Agriculture supply relations
• Infrastructure (HS2, roads etc)
• Rural broadband and mobile communications
• Rural crime
• Water and air issues
• Organics
• Member development
• Member engagement

The cows are a mixture of Holstein-Friesians and pedigree Ayrshires.

Ian is interested in improving the environment impact of the industry and has recently embarked on a river fencing scheme to reduce potential erosion and water contamination. The farm has since decided to diversify their water source by investing in a pump to drive water from a nearby watercourse for use on farm in an environmentally friendly and cost effective effort to reduce water costs.

Ian currently sits on the NFU’s Dairy Environmental Issues Group and is also the finance director for DCD (Dairy Crest Direct).

A strong advocate of dairy producer organisations, Ian believes in the importance of farmer cooperation to improve the dairy supply chain and is keen to work with the NFU Dairy Board to promote good farmer-processor relations.

As well as analyses of the economy and future of government spending, Paul also considers the economics of climate change and the path to net zero, the effects of inequality, and the long and short-term impacts of shocks including Brexit and Covid-19.

Paul has published and broadcast extensively on various issues in the economics of public policy including tax, welfare, inequality and poverty, pensions, education, climate change and public finances. He is the author of major books on pensions, tax and inequality and is a regular contributor to news and current affairs programmes across the UK broadcast media.

As well as a previous spell at the IFS in the 1990s (including a period as deputy director) Paul has been chief economist at the Department for Education and director of public spending in HM Treasury. At the Treasury his responsibilities included public sector pay and pensions and climate change policy. In the latter role he worked closely with Nicholas Stern on his review of the economics of climate change. Other positions include a period as head of economics at the Financial Service Authority and as a senior associate with Frontier Economics.

Paul was also deputy head of the Government Economic Service. He served on the council of the Economic and Social Research Council and was elected to the council of the Royal Economic Society. He was a founder council member of the Pensions Policy Institute and has led a review into the policy of pensions auto-enrolment. Other roles and bodies Paul has been involved in include the council of the Family and Parenting Institute, the Pension Provision Group, the Commission on taxation and citizenship, the Youth Justice Commission and the Commission on Living Standards.

Aled has previously held a variety of positions across the industry, including holding the post of Chairman of milk recording company Cattle Information Services (CIS) for seven years and being a trustee of Holstein UK for eight years.

Leaving FDF at the end of 2014, he took up the post of DG at the Provision Trade Federation (PTF) looking after the interests of businesses involved in the UK bacon and dairy trade.

Before working at FDF and PTF Terry worked for the NFU from 2002-2011 in a variety of roles including Head of Government Affairs, Head of Food Chain and Director of Communications.

Terry lives in Cheshire with his wife Emma and their two daughters.

The business has a growing local market for home-produced beef and lamb that is dry-aged and butchered on the farm. The business operates on a forage based grazing system and is part of the SFI Pilot scheme. Oli previously ran the neighbouring organic beef, sheep and arable estate and has worked at the Meat and Livestock Commission and as a farm business consultant.

He is aware that farming may change significantly over the next few years but is very optimistic that positive opportunities will arise for the sector.

He is currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Harper Adams University, England’s Premier specialist agriculture and land use University.

The enterprise consists of 1000 head of sheep, including 450 traditional Welsh Mountain ewes; the business produces its own replacements, only buying in tups. The cattle enterprise consists of 60 Limousin and British Blue suckler cows which to go a Limousin bull. Calves are finished on farm.

Robert is a lamb buying agent for Pilgrim Foods. He has also judged livestock at many shows including the Royal Welsh Agricultural Winter Fair. He also recently purchased the Triangle Inn in Cwmdeuddwr.

The pub aims to showcase the beef and lamb from Rob’s farm, telling the powerful story of local provenance and a short supply chain. Last year, Rob was appointed as a Fellow for the Royal Agricultural Society.

Formerly Agriculture Manager for Morrisons PLC, Andrew sits on the National Livestock Board of the NFU, the Yorkshire Committee of the CLA and chairs the Beef & Lamb Net Zero Roadmap Group (supported by AHDB).

In 2019 Aimee was named the EPIC Young Poultry Person of the Year and eight months later was appointed NFU chief poultry adviser.

Aimee leads the NFU poultry team on a number of policy issues covering both the poultry meat and egg sectors and manages the national poultry board.

Prior to joining the NFU in 2015, Christine worked across the commercial and supply chain roles within one of the UK largest fresh produce manufactures and is an MDS alumni graduate. 

James is a previous chair of the NFU Poultry Industry Programme and has always been passionate about ensuring the voice of younger members is well represented.

He is keen for the board to address issues surrounding labour shortages, resilience and supply chain fairness and believes these are some of the industry's main priorities.

Rain holds an MSc from LSE and was honoured as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

He is a former director at the Institute of Grocery Distribution and adviser to Arla Foods and the Food Ethics Council.

He works closely with the NFU Sugar board to shape the organisation's policy and plays a crucial role in price negotiations.

Previously, Mr. Orive was the Executive Director of the Central American Sugar Association (AICA) for 19 years. 

He was elected as the MP for Streatham and Croydon North in July 2024.

The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He has specific responsibilities for:

• budget, including Official Development Assistance (ODA)
• international relations
• senior appointments
• economic growth

He farms in partnership with his brother and has a mixture of tenanted and owned farms. He also grows wheat, oats, and oilseed rape.

Previously, he has been a member of United Potato Farmers Limited, a director of Alpha Group, and member of the AHDB potatoes marketing group.

A fourth generation family-owned business based in Southport, Huntapac supplies the major retailers with root vegetables, salads and brassicas. He has been with the business since 2012, but his career in fresh produce spans over 16 years and a total 32 years in the food industry.

Stephen has also played a key role across a number of customer facing working groups such as Waitrose Agronomy Group, Tesco R&D Committee and chairing the Co-op’s Crop Production Group.

He is also a Red Tractor Fresh Produce Board member.

Michael farms in the Fens of North Cambridgeshire and South Lincolnshire, farming 2000 hectares, across three farming businesses. The family has been involved in drainage and farming in the Fens since the 17th century.

The farms grow wheat, spring barley, sugar beet, spring beans, oilseed rape, marrowfat peas and condiment mustard. They are part of the RSPB’s Farmland Bird Friendly Zone, which now covers more than 4000 hectares and landscape scale benefits covering 230km sq. Also with fellow mustard growers, they are working on a landscape scale bee and pollinator project with Unilever.

Michael has also served as NFU county chair and the council delegate for Cambridgeshire, the most farmed county in the UK, chairing the East Anglian regional board for four years, as well serving as chair of the NFU Audit committee.

Michael is chair of the North Level District Internal Drainage Board, serving 34,000 hectares. He spent 10 years on the Anglian Northern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee. He is currently chair of the English Mustard Growers and vice chair of Condimentum LTD for the milling of mustard seeds and processing mint leaf in Norwich, working with Unilever’s Colman’s brand.

Sandra is a director of the Food & Drink Exporters Association (FDEA) a membership community of UK food exporters and professional service members offering peer to peer connections, expertise, contacts and access to a vibrant network.

Sandra also heads up the team at PS8, global exhibitions and events specialists in food and drink.

Sandra is a member of the Food and Drink Export Council and was awarded an MBE for her services to the food sector in 2016.

Not from a farming background, Paul worked in the financial sector before meeting his wife and joining the family dairy business.

Paul joined the national Dairy Board in 2017 as an appointee before being elected as the North East representative. He has served nearly four years as Vice chair in total.

Paul is enthusiastic about educating people of all ages about dairy farming and is keen to continue developing relationships with milk processors and other farmer representatives to ensure a joined-up industry approach to future farm policy.

Paul believes a fair and transparent supply chain is critical if dairy farmers are to meet the demands of a quickly changing society. He also works hard to ensure the dairy sector is represented throughout the supply chain and at government level so dairy farmers can make the most of future opportunities and have a bright and prosperous future.

Rebecca is based in Cornwall and her business produces, packs and processes British free range eggs from their own farm as well as from producers across the South West of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Rebecca is an advocate for women in agriculture and is passionate about connecting farmers and farming practices with consumers to help educate and inform the public about how food is produced and why they should back British farming.

Jon has had a long involvement with NFU Cymru and is currently its Dairy Board chair, having previously been Montgomeryshire County chairman for three years. He is also a County councillor taking particular interest in the running of the Powys County council farms.  

There are currently 470 milking cows at Dyffryn milking three times a day supplying milk to Muller, with plans to increase numbers to around 600 cows over the next two years.

With two daughters both perusing careers in medicine Jon was keen to ensure that the farm could work for them in the future. With this in mind he now works closely with a progressive local farming family who are helping to take the business forwards.