NFU Cymru members were delighted to once again visit the ICC in Birmingham for NFU Conference 2026, with this year’s theme of ‘Building Farming’s Resilience’.

They joined farmers from across the UK in making the journey to the West Midlands to hear from a great line-up of speakers across the two days, including NFU Cymru member Dylan Jones, a Welsh beef farmer from Anglesey and a passionate advocate for progressive, environmentally responsible farming.

Day one started with the opening address from NFU President Tom Bradshaw. Tom outlined the challenges faced by the industry and the pressure that many farms across England and Wales continue to feel. In light of this, Tom highlighted that the focus of this year’s conference was the future, particularly the need for, and the path to, a resilient farming industry. To this end, the conference began with the launch of an important new report, Building Farming’s Resilience, setting out the solutions that can be delivered to unlock overdue investment in UK agriculture.

Next, conference delegates heard from Professor Tim Lang, Professor Emeritus of Food Policy, City, St George’s, University of London. He told delegates that the UK must be less complacent when it comes to food resilience and posed the question, “Could you feed your region?” in the event of a shock. This was followed by Farming Resilience: An International Perspective, chaired by NFU Cymru Deputy President Paul Williams, where Harry Smit, a Senior Food System Analyst from Rabobank, set out the global context for farming and food production in the years ahead.

After lunch, outgoing NFU Cymru President Aled Jones welcomed Dmitry Grozoubinski, Director of ExplainTrade, and Gail Soutar, NFU Head of Trade and Business Strategy, to the stage to discuss ‘Trade: Building Farm Business Resilience’. This was followed by the political keynote address from the Defra Secretary of State, Emma Reynolds MP. This session was chaired by Tom Bradshaw, NFU President, and provided members from England and Wales with the unique opportunity to ask questions directly to a member of the UK Government’s Cabinet. Members then broke off into smaller groups to join the sector-based sessions.

Following a dinner in the evening, NFU Cymru Meirionnydd member Hedd Pugh was recognised by NFU Cymru as the Wales winner of the prestigious Meurig Raymond Award, named after the former NFU President. I’d like to pass on a huge congratulations to Hedd; he is a very worthy winner indeed.

The next morning, the conference heard from Ashwin Prasad, UK CEO, Tesco, before moving on to a panel chaired by NFU Cymru President Abi Reader on data, artificial intelligence, and the role they will have in resilient farming. Panellists included Tim Gordon, Founder of Best Practice AI; Professor Jasmeet Kaler, Professor of Epidemiology and Precision Livestock Informatics, University of Nottingham; and David Speller, CEO of OptiFarm.

After a quick break, the final session of the conference was ‘NFU Members’ Panel: Resilience in Action’, where members shared their stories of farming resilience, featuring NFU Cymru member Dylan Jones and other members from across the regions.

It is an incredible event to experience, and all sessions are available to watch back on the NFU website.