Big names and big thinking

The flywheel for every conference is the speaker line-up, and we are beyond delighted that Minette Batters accepted our invitation to give the keynote address. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, she’ll be straight from her Farm Profitability Review, sharing her thoughts which will impact the industry at every level.

But in addition to a great keynote, you also need a fantastic line-up of speakers to maintain momentum. Instead of long seminar-style talks, REAP talks are short and energetic, with lots of time for panel discussion and questions from the audience.

Keeping it real with the farmers, we’re going to be following up Minette’s keynote session with a panel of leading farmers – Ali Capper (Stocks Farm, and British Apples and Pears), Laura Rous (Dennington Estate), James Beamish (Holkham Estate) and Jake Freestone (Overbury Estate) comprise our “farmer insights” session.

Everyone always wants to hear from government, but – as recent events have revealed – there is always uncertainty around Ministerial attendance! So instead of elected officials, we invite those who advise the Ministers and we’re welcoming Harley Stoddard, Defra’s Head of Climate Mitigation Science alongside NIAB’s CEO (Mario Caccamo) and AGCO’s Head of Government Affairs, Mark Moore.

The Research Into Practice session will be led Andrew Blenkiron from the Elveden Estate, who’ll be asking the “so what” question of the scientists as they explain their research, and the Start-Up Showcase will reveal a selection of new agritech ventures making their mark in the industry.