Farm Diary

At the two-day centenary conference, an impressive line-up of speakers including the Prime Minister discussed food security, climate change, biotechnology and agriculture's place in the world today.

More than 1,000 farmers and guests attended the dinner, where Gordon Brown was guest speaker, well-received by the audience after mentioning food security and praising the ingenuity and resilience of farmers who have faced incredibly difficult times in the past 12 months.

Many commented afterwards on the Prime Minister's speech, surprised by the fact that he had taken so much trouble over the address, mentioning his own family farming background, and that he was so amusing and lively '“ quite unlike the way he is portrayed in the media.

The conference was opened by NFU president Peter Kendall, who gave one of the best opening speeches I have heard, mentioning the moral obligation to maximise agricultural potential in this country as the world faced the need to at least double '“ if not treble '“ its food production in the next 40 years.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette February 27