Future proofing your business: Women farmers from across Europe to exchange experiences
20 September 2021, UK: Agricultural resilience is critical across Europe, but how can individual farms ensure they are ‘future proofed’? This question will be at the centre of an international online event to be held on Tuesday 21st September (8 – 9.15 pm), co-hosted by Women in Agriculture Scotland and the EU-funded NEFERTITI and NEWBIE research projects, both supported by the James Hutton Institute.
This interactive evening webinar brings together leading female farmers from across Europe to share their experiences and perspectives on ‘future proofing’ farming enterprises. Speakers from Norway, Germany, Wales, and Scotland will describe their route into agriculture as new entrants, how they manage their farming businesses, and the actions that they are taking to support farm resilience. Examples include innovative direct sales initiatives, as well as low carbon farming through soil and grazing management.
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The final part of the webinar will involve a discussion between the speakers and based on audience questions regarding the common ground between the different farming communities across Europe, what concerns may feature in the future of European agriculture, and how best these may be overcome for the sustainability of the industry.
Audience members will be invited to share their thoughts on the future of agriculture in Europe.
The webinar is part of Women in Agriculture Scotland’s ‘educate, inspire and inform’ events calendar. The NEFERTITI project supports farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange to encourage young people to see farming as a future and worthwhile career. The NEWBIE project aims to support and facilitate opportunities for new entrants by demonstrating innovative business and entry models.
June Geyer, chair of Women in Agriculture Scotland, who is co-chairing the webinar with Dr Annie McKee from the James Hutton Institute, said: “This webinar offers a unique opportunity to hear first-hand what challenges and opportunities female farmers in other countries face. Their farming systems do differ slightly from ours, but there are many lessons to be learned in how they overcome their barriers.”
Dr McKee added: “This is a great opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and the sharing of lived experience between new entrant and women farmers in different country contexts, in order to contribute to innovation uptake and agricultural sustainability across Europe.”
