Former participants in the Scottish Enterprise Rural Leadership Programme were to the fore at this week’s Oxford Farming Conference.
The prestigious event’s co-chairman, Adrian Ivory from Strathisla Farms at Meigle, took part in the programme, which is facilitated by SRUC (formerly SAC), four years ago.
Mr Ivory, aged 39, is believed to be the youngest ever co-chairman of the conference.
Jane Craigie, a farming industry consultant based near Turriff, is an OFC board member with the responsibility for media relations and communications.
This is no mean feat considering the national and international attention paid to the conference. It is one of the few farming events in the year to be guaranteed coverage in all UK media outlets.
Two of the speakers also honed their skills in the Rural Leadership Programme in recent years.
Farming ladies Caroline Millar, from Auchterhouse, and Sally Wilson, from Earlston, each spoke in front of the OFC’s honorary president, the Princess Royal, on Wednesday afternoon.
The Princess Royal has been a regular attendee since her appointment in 2006, but this year was the first time she had addressed the event.
Mr Ivory, back in Meigle last night, said: “I am proud of what we achieved this week.
“We set out to inspire, challenge and inform, and I think we succeeded.
“The Opportunity Agriculture report commissioned by the OFC directors certainly challenged preconceived views about where the next decade might take us.
“The only disappointment was that we didn’t have more time to question Defra Secretary of State Owen Paterson.”