A funny time to have a conference?  Not, perhaps, if you’re in the rural world looking ahead to the Oxford Farming Conference and Oxford Real Farming Conference, both of them running from 3rd January, side-by-side.

This is a well-known stop in the calendar (not least as a consequence of The Archers' Brian Aldridge, being a fan of the Oxford Farming Conference) and what both conferences offer is the opportunity for reflection and thinking ahead, to take place right at the start of the year, when there is often a little bit more thinking time in the rural world.

Having two different conferences running in the same place and at the same time, on the same subject, is an eyebrow-raiser.  But it has been very notable over the past few years how much the longer-established, commercial-farming focused Oxford Farming Conference and the insurgent, sustainability and land justice-focused Oxford Real Farming Conference now overlap. 

That is particularly so on issues relating to nature, climate change and Natural Capital.  That reflects a shift of the mainstream towards these areas, and perhaps also a recognition that for many involved in rural land, sustainability and stewardship have always been objectives, even if seen through a commercial lens. 

And those themes are expected to be a major part of what is spoken about the sessions at both conferences.  More importantly, they are also likely to form a large part of what is discussed in the sidelines of the conferences.  The presence of a very large number of people involved in the sector in one place is a major attraction encouraging a wide range of attendance.  

The subject and tone of those discussions help to set thoughts for the year ahead, and reflects both what is on the minds of the attendees, and what is being thought of in the sector as a whole.  

There are plenty of reasons not to travel to the middle of England at the beginning of January, but a lot of us make that journey, and swap between the two conferences, to get the best out of both.  It is usually an exhausting few days, as those sideline events around the main conference sessions start early and late, but it is usually a few early January days of real value.  

The Burges Salmon Estates & Land team will be attending both the Oxford Farming Conference and the Real Oxford Farming Conference in January 2024.  Say hello if you see us.