Challenges for the season ahead

Investigating potential threats and opportunities of the Single Farm Payment will be one of the issues tackled at this year's HGCA Grain Market Outlook conference.

"What is happening across the rest of Europe? Might there be opportunities for the UK if other European countries cut back production," said Alastair Dickie, HGCA's Director of Crop Marketing. "Following CAP reform over 2004/05, we will debate the impact on the UK in terms of prices and income and assess the medium-term outlook."

As well as looking at the challenges for farmers created by political changes, the conference will focus on long-term strategies for surviving in today's volatile markets.

"Early indications are that the UK has a good quality crop this year," said Julian Bell, HGCA senior economist who will be addressing the Conference. "We will be looking at how this will fare in the global market place and the factors likely to influence price direction over the coming season."

The Conference will also cover the commercial potential and initiatives to date within biofuels in the UK, new export opportunities and the lessons learned from the Cereals Industry Forum on improving relationships across the grain chain to help your business. The opening address will be given by Lord Bach, Minister for Food, Farming and Sustainable Energy.

The afternoon session will be an interactive 'Response Forum' with the audience invited to have their say and debate with speakers on how they see the new season's prospects affecting their businesses and how they might deal with the challenges ahead.

The HGCA Market Outlook Conference will be held on Wednesday 5th October 2005 at the Mermaid Conference Centre in London. If you would like to attend the conference or would like further information on the topics that will be discussed visit the HGCA website at www.hgca.com