OFC 2026: Event set to address topic of farming resilience

A strong mix of domestic and international speakers will take to the stage at the 2026 Oxford Farming Conference (OFC), addressing the central theme of “growing resilience”.

Global food systems expert Jack Bobo is set to open the conference (which will be celebrating its 90th anniversary) on Thursday 8 January, reflecting on the past 90 years of food and farming and how far the industry has come.

See also: OFC 2026 to focus on farming resilience

Mr Bobo, who also addressed last year’s NFU conference, is executive director of the Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies at the University of California, having previously led the Food Systems Institute at the University of Nottingham.

His address will be followed by the all-important politics session, with a “devolved politics session” immediately after.

The exact speaker line-up is yet to be confirmed, but the expectation is that it will involve senior representatives from Defra and the devolved administrations to hopefully shed more light on the policy environment ahead.

Other notable speakers for January’s event include:

• Dame Fiona Reynolds, a former director general of the National Trust who now chairs the National Audit Office and the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission.
• Laura Lukasik, president of Numen Bio and co-founder of the Rural Women’s Network.
• Douwe Korting, who co-founded the pioneering Herenboeren co-operative farm in the Netherlands and brings experience in international land and water management.
• Mike Rivington, senior scientist at the James Hutton Institute, who leads research into how climate change will reshape land use, natural capital and ecosystem services.
• Gail Soutar, head of trade and business strategy at the NFU
• Sivalingam Vasanthakumar, a Somerset farmer and chef, who was raised on a dairy farm in Sri Lanka before studying sustainable agriculture in the UK.
• Stuart Armitage, manager of the Warriner School Farm in Oxfordshire, one of the largest school farms in the UK.
• Lucy Jenner, a PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh, who also works as head of natural capital consultancy at Savills.

Other activities

The conference will feature the usual mix of breakout sessions, dinners, church services and early morning runs – not to forget the all-important Oxford Union Debate, which will consider the motion: “This house believes that in the next 90 years farming will become a one-day-a-week job.”

OFC 2026 chairman Jude McCann said: “While our speakers are often the catalyst for new thinking and discussion, it is those continued conversations in the corridors, during coffee breaks, over lunch or dinner that we know provide such a strong return on your investment [from Oxford].

“Our post-event surveys continue to tell us the top benefit of OFC is the connections you make, which often lead to new friendships, collaborations and partnerships.”

The 2026 event runs from Wednesday 7 January to Friday 9 January. Tickets are still available on the OFC 2026 website.