SCHOLARCONTEMPORARYNUFFIELDCONFERENCE 2022
Norwich Research Park | 1 CONTENTS Introduction 2 Welcome 3 Keynote speakers 4 - 5 Introduction to the Design Sprint 6 The challenges 7 Infographic 8 Design Sprint – What the Scholars thought 9 Design Sprint – Presentations 10 - 17 Radio interviews 18 Business Hacking Day 19 Visit to Holkham and Houghton Halls 20 Visit to Houses of Parliament 21 Thanks to our sponsors and organisers 22
CHRISTOPHINTRODUCTIONGRAFGROTE,
The Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust is a charity founded some 75 years ago in the UK and awards individuals with life-changing opportunities in their field of food and agriculture, through fully sponsored, eight-week travelling scholarships. Today, the umbrella organisation, Nuffield International, has extended its reach around the world to include countries such as Australia, Brazil, US, Japan and France. We chose Norfolk for our main programme as it’s a county that embraces a long tradition of forward-looking farming, as well as world-leading science in food and agriculture, best explained by the conference title ‘Food-ClimateHealth and the Power of Collaboration’. The aim was to bring practise and science together to debate some key challenges facing our industry and come up with some thoughts for potential solutions. Norfolk made us most welcome. The response by all hosts and participants, and in particular Norwich Research Park, was overwhelming. On behalf of Nuffield International and Nuffield UK, I would very much like to thank everybody for their individual contributions and all the help and time dedicated to making our CSC a great success. I would also like to take the opportunity to sincerely thank the many local sponsors who contributed so generously. Without all of you, we could not have made it such a diverse, inspiring and successful programme. Every year, Nuffield International holds a Contemporary Scholars Conference (CSC) in one of its member countries. As last year’s CSC had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 restrictions, this year, in March, the UK was pleased to host two cohorts totalling over 120 scholars from 15 countries for a week based in Norfolk and London. CHAIRMAN, FARMING SCHOLARSHIPS TRUST CONFERENCE
NUFFIELD
NICK GOODWIN, COO, ANGLIA INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP
He explained that a core focus at Norwich Research Park is translating science into real world applications. Good examples of this were the work carried out in sequencing the COVID-19 virus – the 6th largest amount sequenced in the world - and the development of the Norwich Testing Initiative, the first regional COVID-19 community-led asymptomatic PCR testing programme.
Nick showcased some great examples of businesses that have made a success of being based at the Park including Tropic Biosciences that employs 110 people and raised $28.5m (£22.7m) in 2020, Colorifix whose new dye technology is changing the fashion industry and has already partnered with H&M, Leaf Expression Systems who extract nutrients from plants for use in medicines and Iceni Glycoscience that exploits glycans (complex sugars) in the areas of diagnostics and therapeutics.
Nick was able to share with the audience the advances that have been made in growing Norwich Research Park’s international importance and recognition through the media coverage it has attracted, VIP and overseas visits it has hosted, strong links with Government on gene editing and being in the top 1% for researcher citations.
RESEARCH PARK
He highlighted the key sectors of world-leading research: Food, Health and Microbiome, Climate and the Environment, Genomics, Agro-biotech, Industrial Biotech and Medical Research – all underpinned by Digital Biology and Bioinformatics. In keeping with the spirit of the Design Sprint to come, Nick outlined the importance and proliferation of collaboration that happens on the Park and the fact that it’s now embedded in its DNA. This is evidenced by the building of a co-located community and culture across organisations, active work with businesses beyond the Park’s borders and strong public engagement.
off the session with a slide that neatly summed up why Norwich Research Park is so important on a global scale, quoting Peter van Esse of The Sainsbury Laboratory: “ People come here from all over the world for a reason –the level of research here is world-leading. I’m a Dutch scientist working on a Brazilian problem, with an American non-profit organisation, from The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norfolk. That’s kind of crazy! ” “ International collaborators come all the way to Norwich, because they are confident we will find the solution. ”
Nick kicked off the two days at Norwich Research Park by welcoming the Scholars to the John Innes Centre Conference
Norwich Research Park | 3 AWELCOMEWARMWELCOMETONORWICH
He explained the Park’s global reputation for world-leading science and research that comes from the collaborations between the unique mix of its six Partners namely the Earlham Institute, the John Innes Centre, the Quadram Institute, The Sainsbury Laboratory, the University of East Anglia and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
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Professor Robert Nicholls, Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia (UEA).
THE SPEAKERSKEYNOTE
Professor Martin Warren, Chief Scientific Officer, Quadram Institute. Martin joined the Quadram Institute in 2019 as a Group Leader in the Gut Microbes and Health programme and became the lead for the Institute’s Food Innovation and Health programme in 2020, before being appointed as Chief Scientific Officer in 2022. His own research focuses on how vitamin B12 is made and distributed across the Kingdoms of Life.
Robert has strong interests in the coast, especially on understanding coastal change and adaptation to climate change, with an emphasis on sea-level rise. He has contributed extensively to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, being Convening Lead Author of the Coastal Chapter in the Fourth Assessment Report, Review Editor on the Coastal Chapter on the Fifth Assessment Report and Contributing Author on the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere. He has served on review panels on climate change impacts and adaptation to the Singapore Government, the Delta Model in the Netherlands, and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Professor Graham Moore, Lead for BBSRC’s wheat coordinated (DFW) programme, John Innes Centre. Graham developed the concept of cereal synteny, which enabled genes for major wheat traits to be more rapidly identified and for which he was awarded the Royal Society Darwin Medal jointly with Professor Mike Gale. He characterised wheat’s major domestication locus, Ph1, and identified the gene responsible for stabilising wheat and doubling its grain number. He was awarded the Rank Prize for Nutrition in 2018 jointly with Professor Keith Edwards for their contribution to wheat research. He is on the Board for the CGIAR WHEAT programme covering CIMMYT–ICARDA programmes to breed wheat for the resource-poor in the developing world.
Natasha specialises in climate change, food systems, farming and international development, aiming to influence strategy and technical programmes that improve people’s farming practices and livelihoods across the world. She is fostering a coherent programme of research, policy engagement activity and capacity building, bringing together the wealth of science research at UEA, Tyndall Centre, the John Innes Centre and the wider Norwich Research Park, and their national and international partners.
To end his session, Robbie took questions from the floor about how best to build relationships with politicians, dealing with potential party policy conflict, overcoming natural or party bias and how, on his farm, he deals with plastic waste by recycling.
Robbie gave them a ‘heads up’ that they were very lucky to have 2 hours’ of George Eustice’s and Lord Curry’s time when they visit Westminster when they would listen to their policy ideas. He again stressed the importance of making it worthy through clear messaging for the Government to listen and then take action.
We were delighted to welcome Nuffield Scholar, and MP for Keighley and Ilkley, Robbie Moore to the conference.
Dr Natasha Grist, Group Leader, Norwich Institute for Sustainable Development.
Robbie emphasised the need for clear, concise messaging. He explained the issues MPs face in terms of lots of lobbyists and noise and that because agriculture crosses a number of different sectors and departments including international trade, health and business delivering your messages effectively is paramount. And with that in mind, he said the best people to deliver the messages are those that are in the business themselves; in this case farmers and Scholars.
Robbie Moore, MP, Keighley and Ilkley.
Robbie’s lively presentation focused on encouraging Scholars to play a role in lobbying their local MPs, arming them with the issues they need to feed into Parliament debates.
He explained the structure of the Design Sprint had four phases:
• Deliver – where you select your best idea and develop your solution
DESIGN SPRINT
INTRODUCING THE DESIGN SPRINT
• Define – where you choose the target of your creativity
• The true problem as you see it
• Bring plenty of energy to your discussions
The goal is not to create finished solutions but to develop interesting ideas that could be developed further.
The outcome of the Design Sprint is to produce just one page, with FOUR pieces of information on it that covers:
Will Taitt, Business Innovation Manager at Norwich University of the Arts (NUA), introduced the Design Sprint, its different phases and how it helps people to come to a solution.
He kicked off the session by explaining that a Design Sprint is a focused, collaborative event where people rapidly develop novel ideas to real problems.
• Ideate – where you come up with creative solutions for your targeted problem.
• The solution • Why it could work • How it could be implemented
Scholars were then assigned to 16 break-out groups to work in for Day 1 before being merged the following day to complete the final two phases. Before they left the main auditorium to embark on the Discover phase of the Design Sprint, Will left them with three thoughts to help them prepare for what was to come:
• Open your mind as we are looking for creative ideas over practical ideas
• Take a moment to read the problems, do some background research and get a feel for the topic
• Discover – where you explore the problem and find all elements that could be addressed
By 2050 Africa and South America are in long term drought (while also facing intermittent flooding and other climate related events). How do we feed the population?
By 2050 the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry is phased out as new disease resistant animals became available, given that this was achieved with the use of new technology. How did we convince the public that this was good idea?
By 2050 we have achieved net zero carbon agriculture. What did we do and what were the big innovations required to do this?
Norwich Research Park | 7 THE CHALLENGES THE CHALLENGES TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE DESIGN SPRINT 5 6 7 8
By 2050 meat free Monday is a legal requirement, but meat is in more demand than ever. How did we achieve this?
By 2050 we have lost biodiversity. What lessons have we learnt and how can we utilise genomics to biodiversity?increase
1 3 24
By 2050 water insecurity is reduced and its use highly regulated and well managed. What innovations were put in place to keep food production flowing while reducing consumption?water
By 2050 biomethane produced from dairy cattle has more value than milk. How does that change our perception of what a cow should look like?
By 2050 we have managed to slow soil erosion and improve the quality of agricultural soil. How did we do this?
Net carbonzeroagriculture We have lost biodiversity. How can we utilise genomics to increase it? Managed to slow soil erosion and improve the quality of agricultural soil Water reducedsecurityandits use highly regulated Meat-free Monday is a legal requirement but meat is in higher demand than ever The use of antibiotics in animal husbandry is phased out as new disease resistant animals became available Biomethane produced from dairy cattle is more valuable than milk Africa and South America are in long term drought, while also intermittentfacingflooding. How do we feed the population? 8 | Norwich Research Park
“This is really interesting for me as it is my question that has been selected. Some views I know will be the antithesis of mine but I want to be taken out of my comfort zone to hear other views and so far it’s been really constructive.”
Claire Whittle, Scholar, Farm vet, Wales/Shropshire
With a mix of disciplines, gender, nationalities and viewpoints, the four phases of the Design Sprint generated lively debate, heated discussions and serious exchanges. But the Scholars also massively enjoyed meeting their new group workers, sharing stories and making new friends.
Marjin Vermulen, Scholar, Farmers’ Union, Manager of Member Affairs, Netherlands “It’s difficult to get out of your own specialisms but coming to an event like this really does help you to get a new perspective. We have had very constructive conversations and have reached agreement on what the problem is but I suspect we might have some disagreements on what the solutions might be!”
Norwich Research Park | 9
The noise of the group’s voices and the cloud of post-it note activity clearly demonstrated the enthusiasm and gusto with which the Scholars attacked the challenges they were given. They transformed the John Innes Conference Centre and Centrum into a hothouse of ideas as they progressed through each phase towards their final recommendations.
Seanna McTaggart, Researcher Symbiodiversity, Earlham Institute
DESIGN SPRINT
“I’ve not done something like this before. It’s interesting where our conversations have gone as we started off with adopting meat-free days and now we are on to community composting, thinking that is better to stop wasting food than having a meat-free Monday. In my job I am used to making instant decisions and I don’t often have the time to think problems over with other opinions. I would definitely like to do this more often.
Sanu Arora, Researcher (peas and legumes), John Innes Centre “I am really excited about this. I have been impressed by the preparation that the Scholars have done, they have read about this subject and have come armed with their own thoughts. We are enjoying the challenge that the questions have set us.”
James McCartney, Scholar, Sheep and beef farmer, Leicestershire
“I have never been involved in a process like this before. It is very interesting, especially hearing diverse views. What I like is the equality of contribution that is being made. I think it is going to be a challenge to get everything into one idea. I do like the interaction we are able to have with farmers and how we find common ground.”
Bushra Abu-Helil, Zoologist, Quadram Institute
WHAT THE SCHOLARS THOUGHT
“I’ve done similar things before but not a Design Sprint. I am really enjoying the conversations and different views people are coming up with. The process enables everybody to engage in the debate.”
DESIGN PRESENTATIONSSPRINT
After an exhausting afternoon completing the Deliver phase of the Design Sprint all the scholars reassembled in the auditorium to share their presentations.
By implementing these simple and relatively modest investments in education, we will transform the way we look at and interact with food. Farming and agriculture will become a realistic and booming opportunity for future employment.
Norwich Research Park scientists: John McDonagh, Associate Professor, School of International development, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Sophie Johnson, PhD student, The Sainsbury Laboratory Matt Heaton, Research Associate, John Innes Centre/UEA Scholars: Oliver Chedgey Max ChristopherAndrewThomasJadeAislaColetteEdgleyGlazikJonesKingMerwinRolfeTaylor
1&2
By 2050, we have achieved net zero carbon agriculture – what did we do and what were the big innovations required to do this?
We propose a Cultural Revolution in how our youth interact with our food system. We must educate the future of this planet. Agriculture must become a major component of education, just as valuable as mathematics, science, technology, language and the arts. We propose a number of major policy shifts and additions that need to be part of the national education syllabus.
Norwich Research Park | 11
• School gardens - every school should have a garden or access to a community garden
THE CHALLENGE OUR PROPOSAL Question: We, as Nuffield international scholars, are working to achieve these vital goals. What can you do to help us achieve our vision for a healthier and cleaner future? GROUPS
By 2050, we are on track for massive breakthroughs in agriculture. With improvements in battery technology and carbon-free fertilizer, combined with global incentives for carbon sequestration, farmers are on track to be part of the solution.
• Cooking demonstrations correlated with seasonal fruits, vegetables, fibre, and protein
Food, agriculture and health must become a major focus in schools. We can do this by employing these realistic and valuable tactics:
It is vital for agriculture to take a leadership role in reducing carbon emissions, specifically becoming carbon neutral by 2050. We currently play a massive role in not only feeding the UK but also the world. It is our responsibility to take ownership of our part of the ecosystem, specifically, leading the way in natural capital management (flora and fauna). We also need to take ownership of climate cleaning services in our local farming regions, which would help create a new business sector for farmers.
Sam AnaRenatoSandraKeithAgnèsStéphaneOliviaKeenorChampionCussetDelefortrieGueRobertsRodriguesCarolinaZimmermann
• Improved food quality in schools
• Farm visits seasonally
AoifeArnaudShawnThomasOmidJasmineLoderBoxsellAnsariYoungMoenCharmetantFeeney Charles ShinyaRenataElderCarlosMichaelMatthewDownieBlythBlackbeardZegwaardBrunoRossettoLopesOkazaki 3&4
THE CHALLENGE OUR PROPOSAL
12 | Norwich Research Park By 2050 water insecurity is reduced and its use highly regulated and well managed – what innovations were put in place to keep food production flowing while reducing water consumption? Our focus was on areas of Regulation & Management, Technology and Society. Innovative regulatory framework with three pillars: • Technology • Community • ReflexiveClarity framework promoting self-regulation, responsible stewardship and engagement of pioneers. You can’t manage what you don’t measure – data capture and analytics is our technology focus and includes the implementation of: • Water trading platforms • IOT sensors • Start-up pioneers • Universal overview (dashboarding & data visualisation) Research focus • Natural habitats • Enhanced use and reuse of water supply • Crops and animals • Continuity of food supply while technology developed • Change water education and research • Mandatory country-specific education fund • Global levy on water trading • All groups involved • Seven Continent Water Army
Norwich Research Park scientists: Bruce Lankford, Emeritus Dr Postdoctoral The Studies Dr Hans GROUPS
Sainsbury Laboratory.
scientist,
Professor School of International Development, Water Security Research Centre UEA
Kathrin Thor,
Plant Health
Sam Mugford, Research scientist, John Innes Centre. Plant and insect interactions and identifying genetic solutions to combat diseases Scholars:
Norwich Research Park | 13
By 2050, we have managed to slow soil erosion and improve the quality of agricultural soil. How did we do this? The loss of soil due to erosion leads to food shortage, extreme climatic conditions and economic collapse. A civilization that destroys its soil destroys itself. There are strategies to avoid soil erosion but the challenge is how to implement them in the field. Introduce cover crops at a larger scale in agriculture.
• We must educate farmers on the benefits of cover crops
5&6GROUPS THE
• We need to introduce policies to regulate soil quality
• We must provide free cover crops seeds and related incentives (support to grow these crops)
Norwich Research Park scientists: Brian Reid, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Research (APVC-R), Professor of Soil Scientist UEA and Adjunct Professor with the Chinese Academy of Science Dr Maria Hernandez-Soriano, Post-doctoral Scientist, John Innes Centre Scholars: Jess Conlan Kelly ElisaTobyMilesIanDavidBenjaminMcTavishHuntThroupBaggsMiddletonSimpsonBlanco Jo IsidoraRuthAaronPatMarjorieRanaldKellyAngusLambertCollinsdeLongMcCabeMolina CHALLENGE OUR PROPOSAL
BAN BARE SOIL
14 | Norwich Research Park
Norwich Research Park scientists: Dr Seanna McTaggart, Project Manager, Tree of Life, Earlham Institute (Genomics) Dr Sanu Arora, Group Leader, John Innes Centre. Studies natural diversity in peas Scholars: Emily PieterMaudMarjinRaqueebRichardPadfieldCopasBeyAjamuOsagboroVermulenTomesen-HoefnagelWinter
THE
2. Genomic profiling 3. Creating open access, publicly-owned database of
samples and management practice/farming system
• A measuring tool
genomic information Benefits: • Farmers - tools to improve soil health • Customers – improved nutrient density of food • UK Plc – opportunities for business innovation • Environment – improved biodiversity for the world, reduced pollution and enhanced carbon storage This
Jesse Moody Leisa LanceCamillaAnnaMichaelSamsDenshamBowenHayselden-AshbyWoods CHALLENGE OUR PROPOSAL
This will be achieved by: Gathering soil data from farmers soil requires:
By 2050 we have lost biodiversity. What lessons have we learnt and how can we utilise genomics to increase biodiversity?
Soil is the foundation of life on earth. Without healthy soil, we will be unable to feed our growing population. With a healthy, biodiverse soil you improve the entry and storage of water, resistance to erosion, plant nutrition as well as carbon storage.
‘The Farm Genome Project’ profiling of the soil as: for farmers to soil health for scientists entrepreneurs to soil innovations and identify optimal management practices
Metagenomic
1.
and
• A resource
7&8GROUPS
assess
develop new
• Investment in genomic profiling technologies and database development • Integration with ELM scheme soil testing
Norwich Research Park | 15 By 2050, Meat-Free Monday is a legal requirement, but meat is in higher demand than ever. How did we achieve this? ‘Meat us halfway’ Meat-free Monday does not need to be a legal requirement by 2050 because meat production will be carbon neutral by 2040. We achieve this by: 1. Changes in farming practises: • Mixed farming: alternative protein farming, agroforestry/silvopasture • Regenerative • Animal health and welfare • Allotments 2. Learning: • Schools: food, farming, soils • Farmers: peer-to-peer learning • Consumers: dietary changes, growing own food 3. Creating a community: • Bridging the gap between farmers and consumers • Bridging between urban and rural communities 4. Incentives: • Payments for nutrient density - quality over quantity, reward farmers for higher quality products including metrics like biodiversity • Subsidies - rewarding sustainable practices e.g. biodiversity, health and welfare • Taxation - dis-incentivise harmful products/practices, reducing waste, discouraging pollutions/emissions Norwich Research Park scientists: Bushra Abu-Helil, PhD student – Quadram Institute Biosciences. Animal health and sustainable agriculture Grace Lin PhD student UEA. Plant-based and sustainable diets Dr Natasha Grist, John Innes Foundation Fellow, UEA. Sustainable agriculture and climate change Scholars: Joshua Maunder Claire Whittle Dan De FelixMirandaJamesElizabethBaerdemaeckerCresswellMacCartneyTimmermanKili
Luke Chaplain Florie-AnneHavard
Wiel Susan Weaver Ford Nelly van Veelen-Hoorn Johan Leenders 9&10GROUPS THE CHALLENGE OUR PROPOSAL
Rob
YvonneGraemeKosukeThomasBrendanRobertWymanHoweCrosseMasonKuboSharpDzuda 11&12GROUPS
Scholars: Munro Helen
DoriekeLucieDavidKendraEdwardAlisdairHardyCookTowersHallDolanDoumaGoodijk
• We need the necessary policy and a regulatory task force to bring innovations to market in the quickest possibleway. This will be a critical enabling factor as entrepreneurs and scientists work to deliver a muchneeded solution.
By 2050, biomethane produced from dairy cattle is more valuable than milk. How does that change our perception of what a cow should look like?
• With the support of the UK government-led innovation fund, we are confident that the UK can drive research development and innovation into the capturing of biomethane from both slurry and enteric emission.
16 | Norwich Research Park
Norwich Research Park scientists: Dr Jack Rhodes, Postdoctoral scientist. Studying Plant immunity. Jack grew up on a mixed dairy and arable farm Emily Evans, MSc International Development & Climate Change (UEA), Livestock Farmer and Environment Lead at Fen Farm Dairy, Suffolk Andy Chen, PhD student, JIC and BiotechYES winner (designed and promoted a fictitious company to use seaweed-based feeds to reduce methane emissions in cows)
Our solution will be three-fold:
The focus of our challenge is to change the perception of the dairy cow from ‘pollution to a solution’. Through innovation, policy and communication we believe we have identified another critical step in achieving our NetZero goal.
• ‘Cowmunication’: like the ‘Got Milk’ ad campaign of the 90s we need to demonstrate the benefits of dairy cows to consumers. With scientificallybacked information, we intend to change public perceptions of the cow from a contributor to pollution to part of the solution to climate change. Telling the story of how cows can provide multiple benefits to society, including energy, social, ecosystem services, protein and health.
THE CHALLENGE OUR PROPOSAL
Our focus was on what the possible technologies could have been, how plausible they were and whether the public would accept the changes.
Rick van Rijn
Sarah PieterMohammedIngridAlexVictoriaFlowersBallantyneEiversJohnstonBuarivanJaarsveld
13&14GROUPS
THE CHALLENGE OUR PROPOSAL
The solution was a series of new technologies such as Phage technology, gene editing and super colostrums. We also managed to convince the public through mainstream media, documentaries and movies.
Norwich Research Park scientists: Dr Mehmet Tufan Oz, Postdoctoral scientist. Earlham Institute. Synthetic biology/gene editing
By 2050, the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry is phased out as new disease-resistant animals become available. Given that this was achieved with the use of new technology, how did we convince the public that this was a good idea?
Scholars: Mauricio Britez
Dr Peter van-Esse, Principal Investigator of the 2Blades Group in The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL)
Adam KenPhilipAdrianGaryJosephVanessaWilliamsonChiamuleraLeonardThompsonMarshallOdendaalColes
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Penny Hundleby, Senior Scientist at the John Innes Centre
Peter van Esse The Sainsbury Laboratory Bushra Abu-Helil, Quadram Institute Oliver Chedgey Scholar, UK Tom Merrick Scholar, USA Aoife Feeney Scholar, Ireland MEDIA INTEREST BBC RADIO 4 FARMING TODAY Such was the interest in the Nuffield Scholars’ Conference being held at Norwich Research Park, that Anna Hill of BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today programme was despatched to the event to record some interviews with a selection of Scholars and researchers. The interviews were broadcast on 1 May. EASTERN DAILY PRESS The Eastern Daily Press (EDP) ran an article on the conference. The EDP is the UK’s largest circulation regional daily newspaper and is highly regarded by the Norfolk business and farming community. The article appeared in the farming supplement on Saturday 12 March. Jasmine Boxsell Scholar, Australia Sandy Roberts Scholar, Zimbabwe Chris Graf Grote Chairman, Nuffield UK 18 | Norwich Research Park
2. Hacking – the team then had to agree on a recommendation to the business for how it should respond and move forward with its challenge.
The Scholars were tasked as a team to understand, relate and analyse the real-life challenges and to prepare a pitch for each business offering a way forward.
Each business presented the Scholars with an introduction to their company and the challenge they were facing that they would like their help in resolving.
2. Fischer Farms - creating a revolution in farming with its scalable, nextgeneration, ‘Vertical Farms’.
1. Business overview and challenge presentation – which included sufficient background from the business owner or a member of the senior management, to provide the Scholars with a basic understanding and a ‘feel’ for the business. Details of the challenge were presented and there were opportunities to ask questions relevant to the challenge.
At the end of the day the Scholars were given feedback on their pitches which proved to be an enlightening and rewarding experience for all. On Friday 11 March, the Scholars spent the day at the Food Enterprise Park just outside Norwich to visit four businesses to participate in a business hack at each.
3. Condimentum – mustard and mint growers have joined forces to create Condimentum and form a chain from seed to harvest to processing.
1. AF Group - the largest member-owned farm buying group in the UK with a turnover of over £250m.
EACH BUSINESS VISIT LASTED 90 MINUTES AND INCLUDED THREE CORE ELEMENTS:
4. The Goat Shed Farm Shop - a farm shop stocking the very best of Norfolk’s artisan producers, founded by Nuffield Scholar Sam Steggles.
3. Pitching – the Scholars had just two minutes to pitch their recommendation to each business.
THE FOUR BUSINESSES THEY VISITED WERE:
HACKBUSINESSDAY
Houghton Hall was the first visit of the day with a morning of organised activities. The Houghton Estate is farmed organically. The Scholars were welcomed by Lord Cholmondeley who explained his ethos for organic farming.
On completion of the tour, the Scholars listened to a talk by Charlie Crotty, Technical Director and Tom Rawson, Operations Manager, at Cholmondeley Farms Limited (CFL), a farming business split between the 1,533 hectares on the Houghton Estate and the 745 hectares at the Cholmondeley Estate in Cheshire.
The Scholars were then split into two groups to visit the dairy and see the 600 milking cows, which produce a tanker of milk every two days. The tanker itself was in the yard collecting milk when the Scholars arrived on their tour of the whole estate, that was conducted in trailers towed by tractors!
CFL’s focus is on farming cows, deer, arable, dry stock and berries where conservation is a key objective. CFL is managed by Evolution Farming Ltd, which manages 3,300 milking cows covering 4,000 hectares and employs more than 60 people on 9 dairy farms.
The next stop was Egmere, Bunker Hill, to visit the vast grain storage facility and farm centre belonging to the Holkham Estate. The estate has a total of 3,558 hectares of land that is managed by Holkham Farming Company, originally set up in 1996 to act as a contractor service for the seven in-house family farms covering 2,500 hectares of arable land. The remainder of the land is under agri-environment, game and conservation.
Saturday 12 March offered the Scholars an opportunity to visit two working estates in North Norfolk that had different aims and employed contrasting farming practices.
THE HALL,HALLVISITSCHOLARSHOUGHTON&HOLKHAMNORFOLK
A tour of Holkham Hall estate followed, starting with a walk to the Holkham Monument where the Scholars listened to an interesting talk from Michael Pollitt, Professor of Business Economics at Cambridge Judge Business School about the history of farming, Lord Coke and his considerable influence on agricultural methods in Britain. Then, in the Holkham Hall courtyard, they were greeted by Poul Hovesen, Director of Holkham Farming Company, and his senior team, including Conservation Director Jake Fiennes, who spoke to the Scholars about the estate management and specialisms at Holkham which include forestry, livestock and potatoes.
The day concluded with a drinks reception and dinner at Holkham Hall that was hosted by the Earl of Leicester.
The tour took the Scholars on a journey through the lanes of the estate to visit fields which showed the diversity of farming at Houghton Hall and the importance of soil care and crop rotation.
After a question and answer session, the Scholars pitched their solutions to some of global agriculture’s biggest issues, which they had developed in the previous week’s Design Sprint in Norwich, to the Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice MP and Lord Curry of Kirkharle CBE. Such issues included becoming agricultural net-carbon zero by 2050, improving soil quality, improving water security, reducing emissions from livestock and dairy farming and reducing antibiotic use in animals.
The Scholars were taken on a tour of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, taking in the iconic debating chambers, the majestic robing rooms and the Lobby that spawned the whole concept of ‘lobbying’.
Moving to one of the Bill Committee rooms, our host and Scholar, Robbie Moore MP, explained how potential laws, such as the recent Environment Bill in which he was involved, to and fro between the two Houses before making the statute books.
WESTMINSTEROFVISITSCHOLARSTHEUK’SSEATPARLIAMENTIN
THE
On Monday 14 March, the Scholars visited the Houses of Parliament at Westminster in London. It was the largest visit to the Houses of Parliament since the pandemic began.
The Scholars began the day in Westminster Hall. Built in 1097, it is the last surviving remnant of the original Royal Palace of Westminster, which was supposedly, at that time, the largest hall in Europe.
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THANK YOU
On behalf of the Scholars and all of us at Nuffield International and Nuffield UK, we would very much like to thank everybody for their help and support in making this conference week such a great success. We would specifically like to thank the Anglia Innovation Partnership team at Norwich Research Park for making us so welcome and for organising such a spectacular couple of days there. We would also like to sincerely thank the many sponsors who contributed so generously. Without all of you, we could not have made it such a diverse, inspiring and successful programme. “ “
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