Early bird catches the worm with special rate tickets for Oxford Farming Conference

Tickets for next year’s event, held at Oxford University from 3-5 January 2018, are released on public sale from next week with a limited number available at a special early bird rate.

The conference, which mixes inspirational international speakers with political debate, innovative approaches to agriculture and valuable networking, has become a traditional start to the year for a great number of the UK’s forward-thinking farmers and agriculturalists, and their associated industries.

The theme of the Oxford Farming Conference is Embracing Change to tackle the challenges of Brexit and its implications going forward.

2018 chairman of the Oxford Farming Conference 2018, Caroline Millar, is on a mission to encourage as many people from the industry to be part of the debate.

She said: “We are at a critical point in UK farming and we want to open the conference to as many people as possible. This as a valuable and unique opportunity to bring people together from all different parts of the industry to forge a way forward for UK farming and agribusiness. By offering a special early-bird rate we hope to encourage people to the conference who haven’t come before, and to get as great a mix as possible over the three days to share ideas, debate and learn from others.”

Other initiatives to open the conference up to a wider audience include a competition to bring a farming friend for free, launched later this month through social media, and subsidised places on the Scholars programme, aimed at young farmers, and on the second Emerging Leaders programme for leading lights in the industry.

The 2018 Oxford Farming Conference: Embracing Change includes a line-up of visionary speakers from around the world to inspire delegates with their stories of overcoming personal and professional adversity, and how it changed their approach to farming, life and business. The programme also includes panel sessions with key figures from the industry, including politicians, and networking opportunities between sessions and at the impressive banquets in the Oxford University colleges.

The 2018 conference will tackle difficult topics such as addressing behavioural changes needed within family businesses and how digital disruption could step-change British farming into a new realm of possibilities. Caroline Millar said: “This is a really important time for debate and for the industry to work together. The opportunities are huge, but to grow and prosper, UK agriculture needs to question its approach and thinking, and how we as an industry can change and evolve to thrive in a new world order. We need to address now how to embrace these opportunities – at a personal, family and business level. Policy is one direction, but we can start closer to home with collaboration, diversification and digitisation.”

The Oxford Farming Conference is held over three days at Oxford University from 3-5 January 2018.

Early bird tickets are available to purchase online on a first-come first-served basis until 31 August 2017 at www.ofc.org.uk.

Keep an eye on Twitter and the website for details of the Emerging Leaders and Scholars Programmes and Bring a Farming Friend competition.