Following on from the success of last year’s ‘Bitesize’ webinars, the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) has announced their return in 2021 with a series of four starting on Thursday 5 August.
The Bitesize webinars will complement the return of the conference, hosted in January 2022, which will be a hybrid digital and physical event.
“We used 2020 as an opportunity to look at our offering and how we can continue to fulfil the OFC’s charitable purpose – which is to inform, challenge and inspire – in a new and different way,” says OFC 2022 Co-Chair, Barbara Bray MBE.
“Through the OFC Bitesize series, we accessed an entirely new audience and we’re excited for the webinars to continue stimulating important debate alongside our hybrid conference in January.”
The first Bitesize will discuss the topic ‘Family farms: where are the routes to resilience?’ with three farmers examining the challenges they face and their solutions for the future.
Speakers include John Pawsey from Shimpling Park Farms Ltd, Suffolk, England; Jamie McCory from Gorwel Farm, Bryngwyn, Wales; and, John Martin, Gordonall Farms, Co Down, Ireland.
“Our first Bitesize will drill down and question if family farms are resilient for the future. Although they are considered the backbone of Britain’s countryside, family farms often fall into the ‘squeezed middle’, not your niche business or large commercial enterprise.
“Our speakers will examine whether this middle-ground is sometimes overlooked by the industry or pushed to look for their own innovative solutions due to lack of support,” said Barbara.
Each Bitesize webinar will be hosted in partnership with an industry organisation with Nuffield and Nature Friendly Farmers Network partnering the first two sessions.
The Oxford Farming Conference 2022, Routes to Resilience, is co-chaired by Barbara Bray MBE and Sarah Mukherjee MBE and will be held from Thursday 6 to Saturday 8 January 2022
OFC, which first took place in 1936, is held in the first full working week of January every year at Oxford University. This year’s conference will be a hybrid event with a programme of international speakers and fringe events showcasing industry trends, experience and political opinion available both in person and online.
Those wishing to register to attend the August OFC Bitesize webinar, which will debate the Family Farms: where are the routes to resilience? on Thursday 5 August at 12.00 – 13.00, can do so here. Look out for session, speaker announcements and dates on the OFC website and social channels.