The nurturing power of the farming community was highlighted at this year’s 90th Oxford Farming Conference, where YFC members discovered the importance of creating an industry support network.
Jess Radnor from Herefordshire and Sally Griffiths from Radnor attended the conference as NFYFC representatives thanks to funding from The Worshipful Company of Farmers.
The pair were inspired by speakers who shared their experience and debated the future.
Highlights included a talk from Jude McCann, the CEO of charity The Farming Community Network and OFC Chair, who outlined the support system he has relied on during his career and reminded everyone of their ability to help others.
Jess, who attended as a scholar, enjoyed hearing from young farmer Tom York who discussed the challenges he’d faced and described failure as ‘a comma not a full stop.’
“The motivational discussions and talks were positive,” said Jess. “A common theme was building resilience whether that is by being truly honest with ourselves with where we are right now and the steps that need to be taken to move forwards.”
A presentation by Jack Bobo about how young people are more open-minded to change and new ideas, prompted Jess to stand up in a crowded room, which included Princess Anne, and ask a question. Jess questioned whether the national curriculum should advocate for agriculture and the positive impact it can have.
“The discussion was about the future of farming, so I felt education was an important discussion point,” explained Jess who found being a scholar connected her to other enthusiastic young people.
Jess attended scholar workshops prior to the conference, including a day at McDonald’s head office in London for an overview of the Arla sustainability roadmap and to learn how they work with the fast-food giant.
“We also created our own burgers where every aspect had to represent something we were passionate about,” said Jess. “Ours was a McStarter that came with an educational toy – this could be a farmer, vet, butcher etc – and a note describing their role in getting that burger to the table.”
Jess also enjoyed a trip to Harper Adams University to hear from Louise Manning, author of the 2026 OFC Report, who talked about reframing goals and thinking positively. She also heard from professors and toured the dairy unit.
There was also the opportunity for scholars to learn how to market themselves and effectively use social media in the build-up to the conference.
“It was helpful to network amongst ourselves and have other people we already knew when attending OFC for the first time,” said Jess about being part of the OFC scholarship programme. “The other scholars were all lovely and each of us had a slightly different skillset too. The post-debate supper at Christ Church College also warrants a mention. It’s not every day you have a farm to fork three course dinner in what felt like Hogwarts after a great debate!
“The networking and experience as a whole are really valuable, and I hope to attend again one day. I am very grateful to The Worshipful Company of Farmers for my place.”
Opportunities to attend the 2027 Oxford Farming Conference through YFC will be promoted later in the year.
