Join us for this year’s Annual Forum focusing on Farming, and practical solutions and innovations to some of the challenges our farming community face.

6 November 2024
Registration from 10am
Main programme starts: 10.30am
A light lunch will be served after the main programme

Venue:
Sheepdrove Organic Farm
Sheepdrove Road, Lambourn, Berkshire

Tickets are free but spaces are limited and must be booked in advance.

Our Forum this year is focussing on farming, collaboration, innovation and system-change in the context of our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme and more broadly.  We have a range of speakers all of whom are practitioners in the farming sector.

After lunch, there will be a number of exhibits in the Courtyard for delegates to explore and discuss until 3.30pm, including compost systems, new machinery and technologies.

Our venue – Sheepdrove Organic Farm – is an award-winning, family-run, mixed organic farm which is Soil Association certified.  The farm is renowned for its exceptional conservation work and habitat creation for birds and other wildlife.

Please Note: our programme is provisional and we reserve the right to change the programme at any point without giving notice.

For more details of the day please see below.

Directions to Sheepdrove:  click here to download instructions or visit sheepdrove.com.  Please note that the postcode will take you to the wrong place and could result in a long detour so you are advised not to use it!

Book Tickets

Programme Summary

10.30 Welcome
Sarah Nichols, Chair, North Wessex Downs NL  Council of Partners

10.40 North Wessex Downs: the year in review
Henry Oliver, Director, North Wessex Downs NL

10.50 Keynote: A  Future for Farming – Julian Gold
Julian is a farm manager of 800 hectares of Hendred Estate in Oxfordshire on the edge of the Berkshire Downs. A specialist in Agroecology and winner of Soil Farmer of the Year 2019.

11.10 Farming in Protected Landscapes in the North Wessex Downs
Jemima Sellwood, FIPL Officer, North Wessex Downs NL

11:30 Break

12:00 Using beneficial microbes to reduce ammonia emissions in farming systems
Peter Wilson – Rudge Farm

12:20 Farmer-led groups, collaboration and the future
Dr Jemma Batten – Space for Nature

12:40 Agroforestry in a Biodynamic farming system.
Dr Richard Gantlett – Yatesbury House Farm

13:00 To be confirmed

13:30 Lunch

Afternoon showcase/demonstrations outside from 2.30pm onwards for an hour

Directions to Sheepdrove:  download instructions here or visit sheepdrove.com
Please note that the postcode will take you to the wrong place and could result in a long detour so you are advised not to use it!

Book Tickets