The post-Brexit landscape for agriculture will be the focus of a keynote speech at the Midlands’ premier event for arable farmers next month.
Mark Berrisford-Smith, Head of Economics for Commercial Banking at HSBC UK, will discuss the current prospects for the UK and what implications it will have on interest and exchange rates at the Arable Event on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border on June 20. A question and answer session will follow his talk, which begins at 11.45.
Specialist agriculture IT and software firm Farm Plan will also give a live demonstration and presentation in the main marquee at 2.30pm. Cropping Software Specialist Charley White will explain how farmers can harness technology to take practical steps to improve data management.
Now in its fifth year, more than 1,200 farmers, agricultural workers and contractors are expected to attend the free day-long event that is organised by Wynnstay and GrainLink at Weston-under-Lizard.
Organiser Kelly Dolphin said: “Two years ago we held the Arable Event on the eve of the Brexit vote and the industry is still uncertain as to what effect our departure from Europe in March 2019 will have.
“Mark’s talk will give our visitors an up to date snapshot of the state of the UK economy and what that means in relation to agriculture. He’ll also look ahead to what a post Brexit economic landscape might look like which will be important for those people who run agricultural businesses.
“Managing the data flow through a business is key in agriculture where margins are tight and Farmplan will demonstrate live how it can be implemented on the farm and the difference it can make.”
This year’s Arable Event has a major focus on spraying technology, with working demonstrations of some of the newest equipment available.
RVW Pugh will bring the Fendt Rogator 600 self-propelled sprayer; Rea Valley Tractors will have the John Deere R4050i self-propelled machine; Battlefield Machinery is bringing the Vicon iXtrack T3 trailed sprayer; Edwards and Farmer will have an example of the latest self-propelled Househam sprayers.
The demo spraying will take place on the extensive trial plots which will also be a key feature of the day, with guided tours by agronomists and other specialists, allowing farmers and landowners to see which are the most successful current varieties.
Trial plots, run by Syngenta, include winter wheat, winter barley, oilseed rape, soya and winter triticale and this year there will be also be cover crops, as both individual species and mixtures, including oilseed radish, phacelia, berseem clover, black oats, white mustard, brown mustard, vetch and forage rye.
The soil trench feature returns with specialist Mark Tripney, who will be discussing the benefits and implications of soil health for the farm, linking the chemistry, physics and biology.
Entry is free, as are refreshments throughout the day. Advanced registration is highly recommended through www.thearableevent.co.uk to speed entry on the day with those registering beforehand being entered into a prize draw with the chance to win £250 of Wynnstay vouchers.
Attendees can also gather CPD points from Basis and NRoSO.
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