Western Morning News (Saturday)
In-person return for NFU 2022 conference
WESTCOUNTRY farmers will be joining their national counterparts next week for the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Conference in Birmingham, which is returning to the city after it was last held fully two years ago.
The influential two-day event was held in entirely virtually in 2021 due to the pandemic, with attendance from Environment Secretary George Eustice, then International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Labour Party leader Sir Keir Stamer.
With the easing of restrictions, the NFU Conference is set to return to the International Conference Centre (ICC) on February 22-23, where a packed programme of sessions will explore the theme, ‘British Farming: A Blueprint for the Future’.
Members of the organisation, which represents over 47,000 farm businesses, will hear keynote speeches from industry leaders and political heavyweights including the aforementioned George Eustice, MP for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle; Emma Howard Boyd CBE, chair of the Environment Agency; and Sir David Ramsden, Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking at the Bank of England.
Speaking ahead of the conference, Minette Batters, president of the NFU and a Westcountry farmer, said: “I am absolutely delighted to be back in Birmingham for our first ‘in person’ conference following almost two years blighted by Covid-19. Little did any of us realise in February 2020 what a gruelling experience the country was about to enter and my heart goes out to those who have lost family and friends.
“I want to thank all 47,500 NFU members for your massive collective effort to keep supplying great British food to the nation. Do we really need a better lesson on the importance of food and farming?”
Mrs Batters, who runs an arable and livestock farm in Wiltshire, added that while British farming has proven its value in times of need, the industry still faces “significant headwinds”, such as the uncertainties of new post-Brexit trade agreements, agricultural policies replacing the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), and economy and labour markets struggling to throw off the impact of Covid-19 disruption.
She continued: “While commodity prices have improved, margins have rapidly eroded with a return of unprecedented input inflation, especially in fertiliser and energy. And there is little chance of cost recovery with the retail food price war continuing unabated. That is why our conference faces into these headwinds under the theme ‘Blueprint for the Future’. Even in times of doubt, we need a plan.”
On day one, Sir David Ramsden will open proceedings with his predictions for growth, interest rates and inflation in the coming years. “At this pivotal time for British farming, the UK economy’s health becomes more relevant,” Mrs Batters said.
The afternoon session sees George Eustice taking to the stage, fresh from addressing the virtual Oxford Farming Conference in January. Mrs Batters commented: “In 2022, Defra’s Agricultural Transition Plan must step up delivery as direct payments wind down
and Environmental Land Management (ELM) and productivity schemes take their place. George has been a long-standing farming champion within Government, but farmers now need to hear and see a lot more detail on Defra’s plans.”
The second day will begin with a keynote speech from Dr Theo De Jager, president of the World Farmers’ Organisation and a farmer in South Africa, who Mrs Batters describes as a “huge advocate” for farming on the international stage. She said: “I am so pleased that he can spend time with us to discuss the challenge of food security in Africa and the role farming must play in climate renewal.”
Farmers now need to hear and see a lot more detail on Defra’s plans MINETTE BATTERS, NFU
Rounding off Wednesday’s programme is “perhaps the most exciting and resonant” session of the whole conference, Mrs Batters added, which will see NFU members from across England and Wales explaining how they are building resilient businesses in times of great change. Among the six panellists is Cornish livestock farmer and contractor Rob Halliday, who together with his wife Louise runs Cornish Valley Farming and Cornish Valley Outdoors at Hepwell Farm in Quethiock, near Liskeard.
After the day’s presentations, the biannual leadership elections will be held to decide the next team of officeholders. Mrs Batters is set to be reelected unopposed to serve another two years as president, after making history back in 2018 when becoming the first female to lead the NFU.
“I am extremely proud of the event we have organised. This is the time to learn more about political plans and what your NFU is doing to shape the future,” she concluded.