A new Business and Policy Conference is to be held in London on Wednesday 18 October, announced the RABDF today (8 June). ‘Scoping the Future’ will be the theme of the event, which will focus on the UK dairy industry post-Brexit and herald a return to RABDF’s popular conference format which offers leading farmers opportunities to rub shoulders with policy-makers and supply chain leaders.
This inaugural conference will be held in conjunction with The Trehane Trust and will include the key findings of Trehane Fellowship recipient Mike Houghton of Andersons, who has been researching future options and opportunities for the sector at home and abroad.
RABDF president Lord Curry will open the conference, then The Policy Group’s Simon Ward will outline what is happening behind the scenes in regards to trade, subsidies, market access and labour. Arla’s Graham Wilkinson will look at processor perspectives and independent industry commentator Chris Walkland will talk about future issues, trends and action points.
Matthew Knight, managing director of RABDF, says the high profile line up of speakers has been carefully selected to talk about the potential effects Brexit could have on UK dairy farmers from different industry perspectives.
Mr Knight says: “We already know that moving forward, farmers need to be more competitive, more switched into markets and more aware of global impacts on their businesses, regardless of the systems they use or the market they supply.
“With the future of production-based support still unclear, the day will aim to elevate the discussion beyond the obvious challenges and look instead at opportunities to reshape the industry.”
Lord Curry, RABDF president, says he is pleased to see RABDF have secured a high calibre of industry leaders to speak, and looks forward to hearing their views and strategies on a post-Brexit UK.
He says: “We are planning the afternoon to include a discussion about access to overseas labour led by the Dairy All-Party Parliamentary Group chairman. The University of Bristol’s Dr Kristen Reyher will then talk about strategies to help the dairy industry reduce antibiotic use.”
A full programme with further information on all speakers can be found at www.rabdf.co.uk The conference will take place at One Birdcage Walk, London, starting at 10.00am and concluding at 3.15pm. Tickets are available here with substantial discounts in place for RABDF members. Should you have any queries please contact the office on 02476 639317