Nuffield Calendar

The conference will be held at several iconic locations throughout the city, including the Belfast Assembly Rooms, Europa Hotel, and Titanic Belfast. ‘Belfast 2024’ will have a three-day agenda featuring a welcome buffet, a formal Annual Dinner, and two days of Scholar presentations, including presentations from the first Nuffield Farming Next-Gen Scholars.

The Belfast 2024 Nuffield Farming Conference is not just restricted to Scholars and is open to anyone with an interest in attending. Ticketing and other information will be made available in 2024.

For those currently completing an application or those who wish to do so in the future, Charlotte will host regular drop-in sessions.

These sessions will be informal, via zoom. There will be a short 5-minute presentation followed by 25 minutes of Q&A, answering all questions, big and small.

TO REGISTER PLEASE EMAIL: [email protected]

The Chairman & Committee of the Northern Ireland Nuffield Farming Scholars’ Association request the pleasure of your company at an afternoon reception & briefing event on Thursday 16^th May 2024 at 3.30pm in the President’s Pavilion, Balmoral Park.

With two guest speakers:

Barbara Bray MBE FIFST is a food safety and nutrition consultant and a professional speaker. In 2017 Barbara was awarded a Nuffield Farming Scholarship looking vegetable production for specific nutritional needs. She was recently Co-Chair of the Oxford Farming Conference.  In 2019, Barbara was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her ‘Services to Food Nutrition’.  Barbara is currently researching diets to protect health of older adults in a doctoral training programme at the Centre for Public Health at Queen’s University Belfast.

And

Cormac White MRCVS - Having been born and raised in Belfast, a career in agriculture was an unlikely path but a winding one through Veterinary Medicine led to a passion for the agricultural industry and sustainable food production. He currently works as a Farm Vet in Somerset having previously worked in Egypt and New Zealand. Sustaining and supporting agricultural businesses that support rural communities and economies drives me in all that he does. Cormac was recently awarded a Nuffield Scholarship on “Developing a sustainable grazing-based small ruminant dairy system suitable for new entrants with supply chain models”.

Also present at the reception will be new Director of Nuffield Farming UK, Rupert Alers-Hankey.  At the reception we will formally awarding the first three Nuffield Farming Next Gen Scholarships (all of whom are from Northern Ireland).  We will also be unveiling the programme for the 2024 Nuffield Farming UK Conference which will take place in Belfast from 19-21 November.

To book please follow this link Balmoral Show or alternatively email Jason Rankin: [email protected].

For those currently completing an application or those who wish to do so in the future, Charlotte will host regular drop-in sessions.

This session will be informal, via zoom. Claire Taylor  NSch will be sharing his Scholarship experience.

TO REGISTER PLEASE EMAIL: [email protected]

2022 NUFFIELD SCHOLAR – EMILY PADFIELD invites Scholars and potential Scholars to visit Hill Farm, Banbury Road (A423), Watergall Ladbroke, Warwickshire, CV47 2XP

Emily is a 2022 Nuffield Scholar who has just presented her scholarship: “The Mob-Grazed Flerd: Improving soil, biodiversity and farm incomes”. During and following her scholarship experiences, generously supported by the Elizabeth Creak Trust, management changes have been made to facilitate adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing wherever possible with infrastructure changes to support the shift. 

Emily farms beef and sheep alongside her husband Mark Warner in Warwickshire and also does some freelance journalism. The lowland heavy-clay farm has transitioned from an 800-ewe indoor-lambing intensive sheep enterprise to one that now includes suckler cattle, a smaller lower-input outdoor lambing flock, property lets and a new equestrian partnership as well as a Mid-Tier Countryside Stewardship Scheme which utilises grant opportunities wherever possible. The couple are also looking into BNG opportunities as well as other diversification opportunities and Emily is currently undertaking a Nicole Masters CREATE coaching course to enable her to coach other farmers wishing to adopt regenerative principles on their farms. 

The event is free, registration is mandatory. Please register with Rob Burtonshaw at 07813 064615 or [email protected]

PROGRAMME FOR THE DAY

1.30pm                         Meet at Hill Farm (CV47 2XP)

2.00pm-2.30pm            Introduction and presentation

2.30pm – 4.00pm         Farm Walk around Hill Farm

4.00pm – 5.00pm         Tea and cake and depart

Orchard Park Farm, Hornblotton, Somerset, BA46SF

Scholars and future applicants are invited to the South West’s first farm walk of the year!

Orchard park farm is 115ha of modern cider orchards and extensive sheep grazing under various environment schemes, existing woodland, and new woodland planting under a EWCO Scheme. Owner Neil Macdonald NSch 2014 is creating numerous diversifications including events, dog walking fields, paintballing, bike tracks, wholesale firewood, fruit pressing, cider making and, more recently, a large focus on farming biodiversity through new schemes for woodland, grassland, and pond creation.

Neil will take us through his journey so far on the road to Biodiversity Net Gain, Carbon Capture, Phosphate Offset, Habitat Creation and Management with his attempt to de-risk a risky business. The farm walk will be followed by a tour of the cidery businesses, with cider tasting, wood-fired pizza, updates from current Scholars and plenty of discussion time after.

Please join us for thought-provoking conversations and a chance to catch up and share in a way that only Nuffields do. Contact [email protected] to register.

Join us for an informal drinks reception at the Marks and Spencer stand.

Meet Nuffield Scholars, ask questions about our scholarships or just to say hello, both Potential Scholars and our Alumni are invited.