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The agricultural and rural business community stood at a pivotal moment with the transition to a Labour Government. To address the pressing questions and opportunities ahead, Farmers Guardian, in partnership with Carter Jonas, hosted an exclusive webinar on Thursday, August 1, 2024 for viewers to join industry leaders and fellow farmers in a crucial discussion about the future of the sector under a Labour Government.

WATCH THE RECORDED WEBINAR NOW ON YOUTUBE

READ NOW: FG Insight Report on what farmers and rural businesses need from Labour

Key topics

• Planning reforms: How can these benefit rural businesses?
• Renewables policy: Has Keir Starmer's Government already misfired?
• Sector investment: What does the sector really need to thrive in the next five years?

This dynamic session, led by Farmers Guardian editor Olivia Midgley proved to be a rousing call to action for our new Government. It offered an opportunity to have your voice heard and to shape the future of farming and rural business.

Expert panel

• Ed Barker, AIC

Ed Barker head of policy and external affairs at the AIC (Agricultural Industries Confederation). With a Suffolk family farming background, his former roles have included working for the CLA as an agricultural adviser and as a parliamentary researcher in Westminster.

• Patrick Holden, Sustainable Farming Trust

Patrick Holden is the founder and chief executive of the Sustainable Food Trust. Patrick's extensive advocacy work centres on the importance of transforming our food and farming systems to address climate change, reverse biodiversity loss, and improve public health. Farming in West Wales, he produces award winning Hafod raw milk cheddar cheese.

• John McCulloch, Young Farmer

John McCulloch who farms in Dumfries and Galloway, is a trainee auctioneer and is a former National Chair of the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC) Agri and Rural Affairs Committee.

• Minette Batters, House of Lords peer and former NFU President

Minette Batters led the NFU between 2018 and 2024, representing 47,000 farmers. A Wiltshire tenant farmer running a fully diversified business and wedding venue, she has been included in BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour Power List, and in 2021 was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant to Wiltshire. She was recently honoured with a life peerage. 

• Lizzie Wilson, Chief Executive, National Pig Association

Lizzie has worked in the pig industry for the last 19 years and joined the NPA in 2011. Lizzie has been responsible for liaising with members and Government on planning and environmental legislation, and played a central role in securing a more sensible interpretation of the Farming Rules for Water, delivering a huge benefit to members.  She also specialises in crisis management, with regards to animal rights activism and anti-farming rhetoric.

• Mark Charter, Partner and Head of Estate Management, Carter Jonas

Mark Charter is a Partner and Head of Estate Management at Carter Jonas, based in Oxford. Over the last 30 years, Mark has worked with a vast range of landowning businesses, from educational institutions to farming families, and specialises in understanding the client and working with them to develop and implement a strategy for optimising their holdings, whatever their objectives.

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