Conference 2010
Date : 28th-30th March 2010
Venue : Askham Bryan College, Askham Bryan, York, YO23 3FR.

           Food for the Future – a Conference for forward thinking women involved in Food and Agriculture

Never has there been a more important issue for food producers and farmers to address than the crisis that awaits us if we do not take action to redress the balance in the importance of our impending food shortage. According to Professor John Beddington, the Governments adviser and Chief Scientist, who has warned that the growing world population and demand for resources means that the demand for food will increase by 50% in the year 2030, are we ready for it?

Barbara Scholefield has organised the conference, on behalf of the WFU, and brought together a diverse, thoughtful and informative range of speakers to address the audience and the issues that we all face.

The three day conference to be held at the prestigious Askham Bryan College, the country’s foremost land-based college providing education and training at all levels.  The Conferences commences with the annual dinner on Sunday evening, conference on Monday and a trip to visit the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s new premises on Tuesday morning which includes the shop and café.
                                                                                                           
Prices: Conference Day Ticket (includes refreshments and lunch) - £15                                  
Conference Dinner - £25                                
Conference Day Ticket plus one evening accommodation ( all meals included) - £75                                  
Conference Day ticket plus accommodation for 2 nights ( all meals included) - £110         

2009 CONFERENCE REPORT

WFU 2009 CONFERENCE, IONWEN LEWIS’ PRESENTATION.

On behalf of the Women’s Food and Farming Union, Ionwen Lewis, WFU President welcomed everyone  to the Conference in Cirencester.  She mentioned how WFU had strived to link ‘The Producer to the Consumer’ for thirty years, also the importance of the WFU Education Programme “FARMING IN THE CLASSROOM”, as today’s children are tomorrow’s consumers.  WFU had always gone to great lengths to promote and protect the Agricultural Industry.

The Conference Title – “WHERE ARE THE SOLUTIONS?”  was chosen because it would give everyone present an opportunity to look towards the future, and examine the new challenges that face British Farming and the need to produce more food for an increasing world population, as the Agricultural Industry is undergoing many changes, and major decisions are being made that will affect us all and the future of farming.

We all have to acknowledge that there is a Global Credit Crunch, but there is also a very high risk of a Global Food Crunch at some point in the near future which we seem to be sleep-walking into.  Last week it was reported the b.T.B. was out of control, Millions of pounds have been spent just talking about it for the last five years – and instead of moving forward with clear purpose we are now moving backwards.  The Independent Scientific Group that researched b.T.B. – because of their inaction slowed down the possibility of eradication for many years, and not until we are allowed to control the wildlife which is spreading it we will ever be able to eradicate b.T.B.

In Wales two ladies, – Elin Jones the Minister for Countryside, Food and Environment and Christianne Glossop, Chief Vet, both from the Welsh Government have announced a plan today to actually eradicate b.T.B. by taking a far sighted approach to tackling  b.T.B. in cattle and wildlife, they want to see healthy cattle and healthy badgers in the Countryside.  Six major organizations in Britain including the WFU have struggled with a Government that have continued to ignore the importance of Agriculture.  There had been too much talking and dithering, and not enough action.

One of the positive outcomes of the ‘Common Agricultural Policy’ Health Check was to abolish ‘set-aside’ and as EU Commisioner Mariann Fischer-Boel stated last year ‘set-aside’ had outlived itself.  When ‘set-aside’ was first introduced in the eighties it was never intended as an environmental measure, it was intended as a means of controlling overproduction, and now that we have entered a period of Global Food shortages, it makes little sense to prevent farmers from responding to clear market demands for their produce. 

Surely, it must now be our duty to produce as much food as possible.  Climate change will dramatically change the pattern of food production across the world and as it changes, we should be in a better position than many Countries in the World to grow more food.

It is going to be a tremendous challenge, and will provide farmers in this Country with great opportunities, as we will be expected to provide more food, for more people, from less land.

It is so important to recognize the advances of Science, Research and Development will have to be given priority.  I do have confidence in our future as farmers will be needed more than ever.

Conference Report
Cirencester Agricultural College March 2009

Where are the Solutions?

Cirencester Agricultural College, in the heart of rural Gloucestershire, was the venue for the WFU conference in March.

The classical college dining room covered with Honours' boards and names of alumni, was the setting for the Conference dinner. The After Dinner Speaker, David Richardson, laid the foundations of the conference by talking about the struggles ahead with the provision of adequate food and water supplies for a hungry and thirsty world. His good humour was enjoyed by all despite the seriousness of the subject matter, which lay ahead of us next day.  His wife and long time WFU member, Lorna Richardson accompanied him.

Our Patron Baroness Hazel Byford, opened the proceedings and Chaired the meeting with her usual accomplished and easy manner.

Professor Diana Bowles OBE, York University.
Biochemist Professor Bowles was the first speaker. Her observations and opinions on bioproducts and biofuels were interesting, as was her work protecting the value of rural sheep flocks, both in terms of genetics and their contribution to the rural economy (one livestock breed has become extinct every month in the last 7 years). She is in a unique and valued position as she works tirelessly for the conservation of farm animal genetic resources and the development of a UK agribusiness strategy. She feels very strongly that we must be more self sufficient in food as we are all exporting and importing water in various shapes around the world and as water is a diminishing resource we should have much more respect for the way it is used both by consumers and producers.

Patrick Tomlinson Head of Agriculture at HSBC.
He acknowledged that ‘financial sustainability’ was the aim, but that he was mostly concerned with the ‘here and now’.  He stated that banking lessons had been learned from 2008 and that it was fundamental to your business to understand cash flow and the balance sheet, especially with the demise of subsidies. He spends a lot of time encouraging farmers to generate more cash and to communicate with their customers. He forecast that the value of sterling and the dollar was not going to change much for a year.  By 2012, we must be out of the subsidy mindset, be prepared to move our businesses forward and to learn to negotiate more successfully for our end product price.  The long-term global requirement for food is undoubted but will UK producers benefit? Only if they look to the future with a business plan and determination.

David Fursdon, Crown Estate Commissioner, past Chair of the CLA.
David Fursdon told us about his estate in Devon, the need for a business plan, his interest in local food, affordable housing and trying to make the landlord/tenant system work better. Just as we were all harvest dependant hundreds of years ago, the security of our food is still by no means secure.  He was adamant that we are not encouraging our young to produce food and that the family farm issues and the difficulties of generations working together has got to stand outside of the business. It is no good waiting until you are way past retirement age to hand over the cheque book .  We have a moral responsibility to produce food and we need young people bringing up the rear so that we can continue to do so. Incentives are necessary, not only to the young in farming, but also to the consumer who needs to see a much more positive image.

Lucy Neville-Rolfe Executive Director of Tesco.
On the same theme of climate change, rising populations, challenges with food production etc. Lucy Neville-Rolfe, maintains the population will have grown by 10 million in UK – that is equivalent of 10 Birminghams.  This provides a need for food and should therefore lead to a positive increase in food production in the UK, therefore increase the market for our food. Whilst we increase production we have to cut carbon, not be complacent, deal with recession and advocate correct land use. Price and value are always important – being green is the 4th most important driver to consumer purchase. Healthy eating, convenience and local provenance are all to be considered.  The catering sector is equal to the retail sector in size and there is still work to be done to encourage caterers to have more of an acceptable buying policy and accuracy within the menu.

Joanne Denney-Finch OBE : Chief Executive of IGD.
How can British farmers make the most of such an opportunity?  By keeping in touch with the consumer, by forging partnerships and by building for the long term.  We are a little more recession resistant than many other businesses.  Everyone in the food chain needs to be able to make some money and have some payback for service and efficiency. It will take negotiation, understanding and respect.

Sir John Houghton Scientist:
Farmers have to take their responsibility for their part in climate change. 1kg of beef is responsible for 15kg ob CO2 emissions.  1litre of milk produced uses 1000 litres of water to produce it.   If in doubt read ‘Six Degrees’ by Mark Lynas.  The good news is that we have the commitment of the scientific community to look positively at containing the problem. We have technological innovation and we have God’s commitment to his Creation. Don’t be greedy and we can all move to a morally responsible goal to save the planet.

Dr Colin Ruscoe, British Crop Protection Council. BCPC.
He highlighted changes to the regulatory system, from risk based to hazard based criteria. Consequently we need to look at the 2009 edition of the Pesticide Guide and remember that under some proposed EU legislation we would not have coffee, booze, botox or the pill available to any of us. We must lobby to ensure that the legislation is interpreted and confirmed correctly. Product availability could become a problem as new products take  a long time to be brought to market.

John Gallagher Bvet Med DTVM MRCVS.
We must not be slow to understand the effects of Blue tongue Belgium alone have lost 20% of their national flock. The pressure for animal health regimes to be up to date and pertinent is as urgent as ever. TB of course is a huge worry and with recalcitrant official the problem will only get worse – apparently it is now appearing in cats and dogs. He is in favour of gassing badgers – the Thornbury trial proved successful. The effects of TB are huge in terms of social pressure and on the health of the national herd.  Ionwen Lewis now on the DEFRA committee for TB asked Gallagher to accompany her on the next visit to put forward his very strong case and he agreed.

Cedric Porter – Director of Supply Intelligence.
Organic sales have slipped – apparently provenance and welfare friendly meat sells. There is a 28% increase in sales of ‘conscience meat’.  In order to keep up the supply of meat we have to take welfare to the highest order – vaccination against everything possible as climate change encourages viruses such as bluetongue and Rift Valley Fever. Every enterprise will soon be responsible for itself with the demise of subsidies and as an industry we need to invest – best practice is vital. Decoupling means farmers need more business skills and greater foresight – we must be the best at providing top quality responsibly produced food. We must face the fact that we need to invest in research and development and we have to learn the skills to fight for our right to make profits and earn a living. Control the supermarkets more – stop being afraid of them and their clout – develop the skills.

Finally.
The conference ended at 5pm and the evening was taken up with another memorable dinner and the Principal of Cirencester, Professor Christopher Gaskell, providing an excellent overview of the challenges and solutions facing the College and its students as it applies itself to the changing nature of food production and management. He invited delegates to a tour of the facilities of the Food Department of the College.

This proved to be an interesting and well thought out project aimed at school catering staff and cooks, many of whom have had no formal training and so were keen to learn meal planning and preparation skills to enable them to provide high quality school meals on a fixed budget.