Oxford Farming Conference names three new directors

Three new directors will join the board of the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) next January, including food and drink consultant in Scotland Sheena Horner.

She will join CEO of the national institute of agricultural botany (NIAB) Professor Mario Caccamo and farm estate manager David Hill in the voluntary roles, which begin when they attend the 2024 conference from January 3 to 5 next year, and have a three-year term.

READ MORE: Oxford Farming Conference extends bursary and scholarship programme for 2023 event

OFC received triple the number of applications for the role than in previous years and the interview panel were keen to select individuals with experience of research and data, farming and management, and food and drink.

OFC 2024 chairman Will Evans said: "OFC is long steeped in history, going back to 1936, and has a strong reputation as one of the UK’s leading agricultural events.

"To be appointed a director of OFC is a real privilege, helping shape the future of a conference that can impact so many people as well as the wider industry and on a global scale."

Sheena Horner, who along with David Hill, has participated in the OFC Emerging Leaders’ programme, said: "Since first attending OFC I've been inspired and consumed with enthusiasm by the whole experience.

"I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed a Director of Oxford Farming Conference and to bring my experience and expertise to it."

Horner has been involved in agriculture all her life and on returning home to Galloway in Scotland, diversified into farming chillies, and more recently into a range of hardy herbs.

She is also the regional food and drink coordinator in Dumfries and Galloway and in Ayrshire, as well as being a trustee of The Crichton Trust and the Solway Firth Partnership.

Meanwhile, Hill, who manages a large rural estate as part of a charitable trust on the Oxfordshire/Berkshire border and advises on the management of several smaller farms and estates, added: "Since attending OFC as an Emerging Leader in 2019 and experiencing the bond that the scheme created between the attendees, I have found the conference to be an excellent stimulus for friendships and business innovation.

"I very much hope to help build on this in the coming few years."

Finally, a computer scientist by training, Caccamo has over 20 years’ experience in life science research and big data, including specific projects to apply the latest DNA sequencing technologies and bioinformatics methods to advance scientific understanding of crop genetics and the interaction of agricultural crops with their environment.

He said: "I am delighted to join the OFC Council at a time of change for the farming industry, the most profound in generations.

"In the UK, we are leaders in delivering a more modern approach to farming which we should embrace, promote and celebrate.

"The OFC plays a unique role in supporting the farming industry in this transition, and I am looking forward to contributing to it."

OFC is a charity that invests in the agricultural education and knowledge-sharing.

It attracts more than 650 delegates every year, including many people from the wider food chain, retail, NGOs, scientific organisations, media, policy-making bodies and governments from around the world.

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