THE FOOD security crisis and future agricultural policy will be top of the agenda when NFU Scotland stages its annual autumn conference in Dunfermline on 27 October.
The annual event, being staged at the Carnegie Conference Centre will be addressed by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland, David Duguid MP and the Scottish Government Minister for Environment and Land Reform, Mairi McAllan MSP.
To set the scene, the crisis currently facing Scottish farmers and crofters will be mapped out by members representing the Union’s commodity committees – Robert Thomson (poultry), Ian Brown (horticulture), Hugh Fraser (livestock), Jamie Wyllie (pigs), Gary Mitchell (dairy) and Amy Geddes (combinable crops).
Looking at the impact of the food security crisis and unprecedented increases in input prices on the wider supply chain, the conference will also hear from Robert Sheasby, Chief Executive of the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), the trade association representing £8 billion’s worth of business within the agrisupply industry including animal feed; crop protection and agronomy; fertilisers; grain; oilseed and seed.
The hybrid event will allow members to attend in person or participate live online. Sessions will be recorded and made available following the event. The event opens with registration at 8.45am and closes at 1.15pm. Members wishing to register for in person or online attendance can go to: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/NFUSAutumnConferenceRegistration
The conference will be held ahead of NFU Scotland’s #FoodNeedsdAFarmer rally being staged at Holyrood on Wednesday 2 November.
