Over 150 delegates attended this year’s Cirencester Conference held on the 30th November at the Royal Agricultural College (RAC). The Conference, titled “20:20 Vision. What will land management mean in 2020?”, examined the future of land management amid the conflicting demands for food, energy, water and biodiversity.
The Conference featured a number of notable speakers, who explored the traditional views of land ownership, investment and returns against sustainable food and energy needs. They also debated how land owners and rural professionals have to change to shape the future of land management in the UK.
Richard Ashworth, MEP, discussed the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) review, which is set to shape farm support and environmental schemes after 2013, and the implications that this will have for land managers.
Other speakers included Poul Christensen, Chair, Natural England and Mark Thomasin-Foster, honorary president of the European Landowners’ Organisation.
David Cox, Dean of the School of Real Estate and Land Management at the RAC, stated: “The conference was a valuable opportunity to explore the challenges and policy context that will shape land management in the next decade and provided an excellent opportunity for students to interface with leading practitioners and policy advisors in an informed debate. It was gratifying to see so many RAC alumni on the platform and in the hall.”
