Final countdown to the Norfolk Farming Conference

Hundreds of farmers and rural business owners will hear about visions for the future of agriculture at the Norfolk Farming Conference on Thursday 20 February.

Precision farming and developments in agricultural technology will be a key theme of the day’s discussions, with presentations from Professor Simon Blackmore, head of Engineering at Harper Adams University, who will discuss Farming With Robots 2050, and an introduction to satellite technology and data driven decision-making from Ursula Agriculture.

The conference, which is organised by agricultural purchasing group Anglia Farmers (AF), will also focus on sugar beet and future prospects for growers. Key industry speakers – including representatives from Royal Cosun (owners of Dutch Sugar), British Beet Research Organisation, British Sugar and NFU Sugar – will take part in a debate and answer questions from delegates.

Farmers will also hear about the latest CAP reform changes from Gail Soutar, Senior CAP and International Affairs Advisor for the NFU, and mid-Norfolk MP George Freeman will discuss agri-technology and the opportunities for farmers in East Anglia to lead the industry into the future.

AF chief executive Clarke Willis said: “This year’s Norfolk Farming Conference promises to give farmers a glimpse of some of the opportunities and challenges which may lie ahead for our industry over the coming decades.


“Agriculture is changing rapidly so it will be a real eye-opener to hear about many of the developments in robotics and automation which will allow the industry to keep up with increasing global demand for food.”

The Norfolk Farming Conference takes place at the John Innes Conference Centre, Norwich.

For more information, visit www.norfolkfarmingconference.org or follow @nfc_2014 on Twitter.

Tickets to the Norfolk Farming Conference are still available. To book tickets, visit www.norfolkfarmingconference.org, telephone Helen Bibby on 01603 881803 or email helen.bibby@angliafarmers.co.uk.