The future for grain supply and demand;  the impact for trade; and effect on profitability for both cereal and livestock producers as the UK leaves the European Union, will come under the spotlight at a one-day technical seminar being held at the Farmers Club on Monday, September 24. The event, organised by the Club and BCPC, follows the success of last year’s joint conference involving the Farmers Club, the BCPC and the Voluntary Initiative.

A SUCCESSFUL, well managed UK cereal harvest is essential for UK farmers, the countryside which they respect and protect and for the national economy which benefits to the tune of nearly £4bn.  As the NFU’s excellent Your Harvest Guide points out, the UK produces more than 20m tonnes of grain each year which is used across our food manufacturing and animal feed sectors.

The NFU’s statistics are very revealing. About 11m tonnes of grain are used by the UK’s livestock sector helping to produce 25bn pints of milk, 10.5bn eggs, 1bn chickens and 10m pigs. The contribution to food manufacturing is equally staggering with the UK crop producing more than 5m tonnes of flour used to make 11m loaves of bread.  And that’s only part of this success story because the UK arable sector also nurtures the iconic British countryside, as Essex farmer and NFU Crops Board Chairman Tom Bradshaw stated in his launch of the NFU’s Guide.

So, because of the importance of maintaining a profitable, viable UK cereals sector, the Farmers Club and BCPC –  two not-for-profit organisations dedicated to championing and improving the well being of UK farming and the countryside –  are holding a one-day technical seminar on September 24. It will consider the likely outcome of this year’s harvest, the global position impacting on supply and demand, and the prospects for the UK industry after it leaves European Union. It will also focus on ways for growers to remain profitable against the background of the government’s 25 year environment plan, trading outside the EU framework and possible changes in farm support.

Seminar programme

10.30 to 11.00 – Registration and Coffee 

Chairman: Tom Bradshaw, Essex Arable Farmer and NFU Crops Board Chairman

11.00 The UK 2018 harvest – what we know to date
Cecilia Pryce, Head of Research, Openfield Agriculture
An over view of this year’s harvest taking into account supply, quality and demand from buyers at home and abroad.

11.30 The performance of our global competitors 
Cecilia Pryce, Head of Research, Openfield Agriculture
How the UK measures up to its global competitors: What are the prospects for the future taking into account the interaction between consumers’ demand, the prices buyers are prepared to pay and UK arable farmers’ ability to produce competitively?

12.00 A review of the function and efficacy of biostimulants for UK Cereal & Oilseeds 
Kate Storer, Research Scientist Crop Physiology, ADAS, High Mowthorpe
The interest in biostimulants has been given new impetus following the government’s Health and Harmony paper and its 25 year environment plan. What are these products? What is the evidence for their efficacy and how do they fit in to integrated crop management programmes.

12.30 In the buyers’ view
Alex Waugh, Director General, National Association of British and Irish Flour Millers (NABIM)
How NABIM views this year’s harvest; what it wants Brexit to deliver for its members and how it views the government’s 25-year environmental programme which might encourage greater use of biostimulants.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch – hot and cold fork buffet

2.00 Implications for the UK’s livestock industry
Jack Watts, NFU Combinable Crops Adviser
Every year about 11m tonnes of UK cereals are used in livestock rations where changes in supply, quality and prices have a big impact on profitability across this diverse sector. Here’s a look at what the future may hold in the run up to and after the UK leaves the European Union.

2.30 Making every hectare count
Matt Ward, Services Leader for Hutchinsons’ Omnia Precision Agronomy
Producing grain profitably in the future will necessitate finding new ways to minimise costs. Here’s how to pinpoint your farm’s poor performing areas; understand how to make them perform better, or take them out of production; and how to identify your best yielding areas to make them even better.

3.00 Discussion

3.30 Close

To book your place visit please book online at www.thefarmersclub.com, or contact