As COP27 continues to dominate headlines, the impacts of climate change on farming was the hot topic at the Thrings Agricultural Seminar.
The firm’s Agriculture and Planning teams led a packed agenda in front of a 200-strong audience of representatives from across the food and farming world, covering a range of in-depth topics from the national picture and the challenges faced by the sector to the potential opportunities businesses have to benefit over the long term by adapting and improving practices now.
Guest speaker Richard Bramley, farmer and Chair of the NFU Environment Forum, opened the event at the Royal Agricultural University on November 11 with a summary of why there is a need to reach Net Zero in the agriculture sector and the work being done by the NFU to provide support in achieving that goal.
Ros Trotman, Harvey Davies and Ian Goodwin led a discussion on the importance of, and procedures behind, using agricultural land for environmental gain, as well as the opportunities and risks of biodiversity schemes for landowners.
The team of Alex Madden, Fred Quartermain, Rebecca Stanton and Kiran Maher delivered a series of whimsical takes on a variety of newsworthy rural planning issues currently progressing through the High Court, summarising their relevance to the agriculture sector.
Presentations by Jonathan Thompson and Mark Charter respectively also covered how a strong environment and a strong economy go hand-in hand, and contractual issues surrounding solar and battery storage agreements.
Andrew Morris looked at family-run businesses and how and why to establish appropriate, resilient and robust succession planning – as well as why they should consider taking the NFU Legal Health Check – and Richie Rees discussed the importance of understanding rules, impacts and pitfalls around Rights of Way.
Robert James gave a brief summary of the recent Proprietary Estoppel case that he successfully acted on in the Supreme Court.
Closing the event, the audience was then treated to a video on farm diversification featuring Thrings’ clients Wadswick Farm and Country Store.
Duncan Sigournay, head of the Thrings’ Agriculture team, who chaired the event, said: “The complexities of navigating a successful farming business whilst playing a role in our combined efforts to tackle Climate Change are proving more and more significant these days".
“It felt only natural that this year’s seminar, taking place at the height of this year’s Agricultural Week, and with COP27 in full swing, that we would help to address this fundamental topic and we were delighted to be able to provide a wealth of expertise to an engaged audience of clients, sector professionals and like-minded individuals at the event.”
