On the 29th and 30th of November, the CropTec event will take place at the NAEC, Stoneleigh for the first time, with a packed seminar programme.
The first session on both days will be ‘Breaking down access to new markets to cultivate business resilience’, chaired by the NFU’s chief economics advisor Rohit Kaushish on day one, and vice president David Exwood on day two.
Mr Exwood said: “In a fast-changing world, having more opportunities to provide new and diverse income streams for farms is vital.”
Mr Kaushish hopes that the sessions will offer clarity on the emerging support schemes and environmental markets. “Farmers are looking for new diversified income opportunities to manage market risk and uncertainty and are increasingly being approached by project developers in environmental markets about new potential income streams. There are a lot of questions being asked at the moment on the potential of such markets at farm level. It is therefore a really good time to be exploring these markets in more detail.”
Former AHDB chair and past NFU president, Sir Peter Kendall, will chair the second session, focusing on crop nutrition. Panellists will include Mark Tucker, business development and head of agronomy at Yara, and independent agronomist David Boulton.
“Anyone who has lived through the last 12 months of fertiliser prices will be considering really carefully all available options for plant nutrition in their system. Now is a great time to plan for the future,” said Sir Peter. “I am looking forward to being part of this year’s CropTec at its new location. The show comes at a great time of year when we have the chance to review our previous harvest and plan for the spring season ahead of us.”
Farmers’ experiences will be shared in the third session, ‘Connecting bold thinkers in a time of change: Real stories from boots on the ground’. Andrew Francis, from Team Ag, will chair the session and hopes the presentations will show a diversity of approaches.
“It is always good to challenge yourself in how you go about doing the day job. Whatever the components of your business are, any time is a good time to change,” he said.
Andrew Williams, manager of Home Farms in Nacton will discuss his experience with robotics on the Suffolk farm producing conventional arable crops and organic vegetables. Robotics and other technologies are being developed at pace, so being prepared to make swift investment decisions is essential,” he said. “These innovations are going to arrive, come what may, so farming businesses need to get to grips with developments coming down the road.”
Jack Smith, farm director for AG Wright & Sons, will explore the importance of data in decision-making. “There is a ‘sitting in the office’ answer, which needs to be squared with the ‘standing in a field’ answer,” he said. “It’s about taking insights from both and coming to a sensible informed decision.”
The final session of the day will tackle crop protection and changing regulations, with expert input from agronomists and plant breeding. David Schaffer of RAGT will give an overview of breeding research to improve levels and durability of varietal resistance for UK farmers.
This will include RAGT’s work on barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) resistant wheat as well as new selection technologies to complement field scoring. Other speakers include James Bairstow, agronomist and associate director for Strutt & Parker who will share his expertise on Integrated Pest Management and Dave Bench, chief executive of CropLife UK which represents the plant science industry.
Verity Hyland, event director for CropTec said: “With the arable sector facing such historic changes, our seminar programme is designed to equip growers with the knowledge they need to meet the challenges head-on and maximise opportunities.
“As before, the CropTec seminar programme will bring the specialist knowledge of scientists, plant breeders, agronomists and policymakers together with the ‘boots on the ground’ expertise of some of the country’s most innovative farmers to create a unique learning opportunity. I would encourage anyone with an interest in the sector to come along and be informed and inspired. We look forward to welcoming you to Stoneleigh in November.”
Tickets for CropTec are free. For more information go to www.croptecshow.com
