The Scottish Farmer caught up with some young farmers who were down at the Oxford Farming Conference, to find out what they thought of the event.

Lucy Mitchell

“Almost anything of interest that has happened in history, has come from rocking boats – that was the most important statement that I took away from the Oxford Farming Conference,” said SAYFC national chair Lucy Mitchell, recounting her experience of attending the OFC.

“It was so interesting to see many agricultural leaders driving the industry forward by doing exactly that, ‘rocking boats’ through change, creativity and innovation.

“Scottish agriculture is ahead of the game in this regard, examples being the James Hutton Institute, a whirlwind of innovation with projects such as its International Barley Hub and its world leading research in nanotechnology.

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“Feeding the planet will be a massive opportunity for the agricultural industry as the population grows and our climate changes. The conference highlighted that by 2050 all forests would need to be eliminated to have enough land to feed the world, if we don’t change how we do things.

"Consequently, becoming more sustainable in terms of producing healthy food at a profit while having a positive impact on the environment was a key theme throughout the conference.

“Rocking boats is something that I have at times been complimented on, or even criticised for, but I feel now, more than ever, our generation needs to find boats and learn to rock them,” she concluded.

John McCulloch

National vice-chair of SAYFC Agri and Rural Affairs, John McCulloch, shared his reflections:

“I had a brilliant time at Oxford and relished the opportunity to meet lots of new people and soak up all the different sessions in the main hall,” said John, who is a stockman with George Barbour and Co, near Dumfries.

“It was very useful to listen in to the UK policy session, where Government minister, Mark Spencer, announced new policy and although it may not affect Scotland directly, it was valuable to hear how farmers in England will navigate the changes and how that could impact farming north of the Border.”

John reflected that his highlight at Oxford was being part of the OFC Scholars Programme 2023, which aimed to give young people the opportunity to attend the conference, take part in different training sessions and build their farming network

“It was an amazing opportunity to spend so much time with a whole new group of young, like-minded people. We will all be going through the industry at the same time, and I now have a brilliant network I can pull on in the future.

“I’ll also never forget Paralympian Samantha Kinghorn’s speech, as it reminded us that life can change at any moment, and not to waste time doing something you don’t love.

"It was an important message for many of us to hear, as we sometimes get stuck in the daily grind and need to take a step back and evaluate what we are doing.”