The National Farmers’ Union conference scheduled for 14-15 February at the Birmingham Metropole will examine Farming at the Heart of the Economy and welcome Defra secretary of state for agriculture Caroline Spelman as a main speaker. The conference promises to take stock of the current and future economic drivers and will look at how farmers and growers might respond. Delegates will also hear from top flight speakers from the food industry and commodity markets as they outline what input and output prices might do as farmers and growers plan for the future. In a break-out session the horticulture team will re-cap on 2010 and provide an overview of the issues for the sector this year led by Sainsbury’s head of agriculture Annie Graham who will lead a discussion on building sustainable supply chains in the produce industry.
Other speakers include Dennis Turner, chief economist at HSBC Bank plc, Paul Conway senior vice president at Cargill and Graham Bartlett, md of E.ON Energy.
