The Norfolk Farming Conference returns on February 1 with a broad-ranging line-up of opinion-formers and decision-makers, seeking to illustrate how farmers can take advantage of new opportunities in a changing world.

Eastern Daily Press: Defra farming minister George Eustice speaking at the 2016 Norfolk Farming Conference. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYDefra farming minister George Eustice speaking at the 2016 Norfolk Farming Conference. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Copyright: Archant 2016)

East Anglia's agricultural heartlands face a period of unprecedented upheaval in the grip of political, economic and technological change.

It will bring many challenges, of course, but it is the positive opportunities which will dominate the agenda at one of the region's biggest annual discussion forums.

The 2018 Norfolk Farming Conference 2018, organised by the AF (Anglia Farmers) Group, takes place at the John Innes Conference Centre at the Norwich Research Park on February 1.

It will bring a line-up of speakers spanning the range from senior politicians and multinational decision-makers, to tech innovators, family farmers and young entrepreneurs.

Eastern Daily Press: Tim Mack of Yare Valley Oils in Surlingham. Picture: SIMON FINLAYTim Mack of Yare Valley Oils in Surlingham. Picture: SIMON FINLAY (Image: Archant Norfolk)

This year's main theme is 'market opportunities', examining the possibilities which could be within farmers' grasp following the changes in UK agricultural policy as it separates from the EU.

That political backdrop will be set with a keynote address by farming minister George Eustice, while Norfolk's national importance in the effort to feed the UK will be underlined by a video introduction from the Prince of Wales.

And another speaker will aim to offer an insight into what Norfolk farmers must do to tap into vast consumer market of one of the nation's biggest fast food companies.

Connor McVeigh is the UK supply chain director for McDonald's – a firm with a buying power of more than £1.1bn a year to source the beef, chicken, bread and salads for its burgers.

Eastern Daily Press: Jon Duffy, the chief executive at Anglia Farmers.Jon Duffy, the chief executive at Anglia Farmers. (Image: Archant, Norfolk 2017)

He said there were opportunities for East Anglian farmers – but any producer wishing to become part of this huge buying chain needed to meet the quality, ethical and provenance demands of an increasingly knowledgeable customer.

'Maybe 8-10 years ago, customers coming into McDonald's restaurants would have a set of expectations around quality, value for money and speed of service,' he said. 'We serve 3.8m customers every day across the UK and now the levels of expectations around us has massively moved forward.

'A lot of customers coming in are asking about antibiotics use in livestock, what we are doing from an environmental and sustainability perspective, and our sourcing credentials for UK farmers. The expectation from our customer is very advanced, and more than most people would expect the typical customer coming into McDonald's to have. It is a changing narrative, so it is really important to transmit that back to our farming partners.'

Mr McVeigh highlighted the Elveden Estate near Thetford as a prime example of the long-term partnerships he sought to build. The farm contributes a significant proportion of the £100m of potatoes sourced annually by McDonald's, and is certified as a Flagship Farm, highlighting best practice for thousands of other suppliers.

'We have been working with Elveden for 25 years,' said Mr McVeigh. 'We don't 'flip-flop'. We identify the right farmer and from day one we are clear on our expectations. We work on driving growth and value for all parties in the supply chain.

'There is always a baseline expectation of quality, but as a progressive business we want suppliers who have a mindset about how to keep improving them. The environmental work at Elveden is way beyond the baseline that some of these standards would set.

'I think it is a very healthy dynamic. Where we have got farmers and suppliers who have got the long-term aptitude to develop relationships and understand what our final consumer is looking for, it becomes a virtuous circle.'

AF Group chief executive Jon Duffy said while Brexit generated a lot of 'focus on the problems', the conference aimed to equip visitors with the positive outlook to succeed, regardless of the many variables affecting farming.

'It's very easy to be dragged into the negativity being reported regarding the current political situation and feel you have little control over your future – but this certainly is not the case,' he said.

'Farmers need to get their businesses fit and ready for whatever comes along. If you do, you'll be in a much better position than somebody that hasn't taken a critical look at how they are operating.

'Going forward, the future will bring opportunities for farm businesses to grow and increase in scale, and to explore changing business models – with contract farming agreements and closer co-operation with neighbouring farms coming to the fore.

'We need to remain positive about the future and recognise that, as an industry, we provide the real societal good the public values.'

OPPORTUNISM AND LATERAL THINKING

While international issues and big business will be a key part of the conference agenda, there will also be a chance to hear about innovation and opportunism on a family farming level.

Tim Mack's family has been growing cereals and potatoes at Surlingham, outside Norwich, for a century – but in recent years the 800-acre farm has pursued a diversification drive to add value and get closer to its end consumer.

The farm has established a retail brand in Yare Valley Oils, making cold-pressed rapeseed oil from its own crop of oilseed rape. That venture was initially conceived to generate oil for biodiesel, with the crushed seed by-products feeding a biomass boiler to heat the farm's timeshare swimming pool.

But having seen the consumer potential of the oil, they have created a range of food and cosmetic products which are being sold through the farm shop, opened a year ago. The shop also provided an opportunity exploited by the next generation, as it stocks meat from the grass-fed Belted Galloway herd run by Mr Mack's 29-year-old son William.

Mr Mack said: 'You must not be afraid to do a little lateral thinking. It is not just about bog-standard farming. You have got to think outside the box.

'We started selling rapeseed oil as a foodstuff in 2010. It is a hard market, but the over-riding ambition is to get closer to the customer the whole time.

'I think that is quite important. We produce potatoes too, and there are so many people taking a cut from it. If you look at the price we get for potatoes and the price for which they are sold at the supermarkets – they are charging an extortionate amount and it is all value that we have lost.

'We have done the majority of the work and taken the majority of the risk, but we're not getting the profit. So it is about trying to get that value back for ourselves.

'I look to take as much out of our product as possible and sell it as near to the point of use as possible. With the rapeseed oil business we can utilise the by-product as a protein feed for the cattle and the oil goes off the farm as oil rather than just as rapeseed.'

CONFERENCE LINE-UP

Introductions:

• Chairman, NFU vice president Guy Smith.

• HRH The Prince of Wales (video).

Morning Session 1 – Opportunities for farming beyond 2020

• George Eustice, Defra farming minister.

• Connor McVeigh, McDonalds supply chain director.

• Robin Page, journalist.

Morning Session 2 – Part 1: Innovation Opportunities

• Dale Sanders, director, John Innes Centre.

• Belinda Clarke, director, Agri-Tech East.

Morning Session 2 – Part 2: Identifying Market Opportunities

• Malcom Steven, Banham Poultry.

• Tim Mack, Yare Valley Oils.

Afternoon Session 1:

• Jane Townsend, acting principal and chief executive at Easton and Otley College – Opportunities at Norfolk's land-based college.

Afternoon Session 2– Seizing Opportunities – The Next Generation.

• Will de Feyter, de Feyter Agri.

• Charlie Crotty, Evolution Farming.

• Emily and Lucy McVeigh, Kenton Hall Estate.

The Norfolk Farming Conference takes place on February 1 at the John Innes Conference Centre on Norwich Research Park.

For more details and ticket bookings, see the conference website or contact Anglia Farmers on 01603 881 827.