Published 30/05/2023

Scotland has a rich farming heritage and, according to research into land registry by The Scottish Parliament, 80 per cent of the country's land is still used today for some form of agriculture.

Recently, Agriconnect the parent company of several agricultural shows including LAMMA, CropTech and Farmers Guardian announced its new event, Future Farming Expo Scotland, which will take place across from 10th to the 11th October 2023 at P&J Live in Aberdeen.

We caught up with Nick Ornstein, Managing Director for Agriconnect to learn more about the new event and its programme.

Future Farming Expo

Over recent years the fabric of primary agricultural production in Scotland, and across the world, has drastically reshaped and now it is more important than ever to help producers prepare for the future, become more sustainable and manage innovation for change.

With its proud farming heritage and global importance when it comes to food production, Scotland is the perfect place to continue to support farmers in dealing with the serious challenges they face, which is why we created Future Farming.

The event will centre around a series of hubs and debates, with more than 100 exhibitors and has been developed after in-depth research amongst Scottish farming businesses. Future Farming will help Scottish farmers, advisors and rural businesses become more resilient, look at ways to re-think their businesses and face challenges head-on.

Topics covered at the event will include:

  • Business and Personal Resilience Hub: Our exhibitors, speakers and clinics will focus on helping farming and rural businesses be at their most resilient and ready, and to deal effectively with challenges.
  • Carbon and Soils Hub: With Scotland's work on soil carbon making rapid progress, and discussions about links to farm payments, understanding carbon and soils has never been more important. This hub will help everyone - from those with zero knowledge upwards, to understand what it is, why it is important in their business and what impact it might have over the longer-term.
  • Arable Hub: With input costs running at all-time highs and an uncertain global market, this Hub will look at how Scottish arable businesses can make the most of opportunities to become more efficient and contend with current market conditions.
  • Livestock Hub: Scotland's livestock sector is facing some big challenges politically, environmentally and financially. This Hub will offer plenty of practical advice for specific issues, as well as looking at the future direction and opportunities for the sector.
  • Renewables and Energy Hub: This Hub will feature all the renewable and energy opportunities available, as well as looking at how to practically implement them on-farm, from initial discussions, through planning, to options for running these renewable/energy diversifications. Visitors will be able to discuss their situation and seek advice from experts, exhibitors and speakers. 
  • Diversification Hub: Diversification opportunities such agritourism, farm shops and visitor attractions have been a success for many Scottish farm and rural businesses. This Hub will help farm and rural businesses see the opportunities that may be right for them, with speakers and exhibitors who can talk in-depth about the options.
  • Horticulture and Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA): Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is a new and novel approach to growing horticultural crops and could provide an opportunity for farmers, rural businesses and those based in towns and cities. This Hub is an opportunity to explore whether vertical farming be something new for your business
  • Robotics: With the UK National Robotarium opening at Heriot-watt University in Edinburgh last autumn, Scotland is set to play a leading role in the use of robots in agriculture. This Hub will feature exhibitors who are deeply involved in developing and using robots in agriculture and our speakers will look at the potential for their use practically on-farm.

As an additional benefit, visitors to the event will also be able to visit the innovative anaerobic digestion energy centre, which powers, heats and cools P&J Live using food, agricultural and garden waste from around Aberdeen.

VisitScotland Business Events has been able to support Future Farming through activating the new national Transformation Protocol. The Transformation Protocol is a service that connects event organisers with key organisations in Scotland, who can bring important expertise and knowledge to delegates, and ensure the world leading innovation and research we are doing in Scotland finds a global audience through the power of events.

Scotland is a farming nation, and our land-based sector is hugely important for the future of Scotland. Our farms and rural communities produce our food and can generate our energy. They also protect our soils, our natural heritage and an important way of life.

We've been delighted to help Future Farming connect with some of our leading innovation centres and pioneering organisations. Partners such as CENSIS, CivTech, the AI Alliance, DataLab, and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society are doing amazing work across a wide variety of land based and agricultural projects. We're really inspired by the event Agriconnect are pulling together and hope it becomes an important annual forum in Scotland to discuss the future of farming and our rural economy.

Find out more about Future Farming Expo visit - https://www.futurefarmingexpo.com/