South of England Farming Technical Forums
Our Farming Technical Forums address a variety of subjects in land-based industries with leading experts in their field and those with hands-on experience.
Forums are generally held online, two times a year, are free to attend and are available to book online.
6th June 2026: "Smarter Decisions, Stronger Margins"
Live at the South of England Show
Chaired by Mark Campbell
In today’s agricultural climate, profitability is increasingly shaped by the quality of decisions made both inside and outside the farm gate. With rising costs, tighter margins, labour pressures and constant industry change, successful farm businesses are those that are learning to focus less on simply being busy and more on being purposeful, strategic and commercially minded.
We will explore what it means to manage farming as a modern business and move beyond operational efficiency to examine the mindset, leadership and decision making needed to create resilient and profitable farming businesses for the future.
This technical forum will be held online and in person at the South of England Show. If you are attending in person you will also need to purchase a ticket to the South of England Show.
A huge thank you to Savills for sponsoring.
Our Speakers
Olly 'Blogs' Harrison
Farmer, entrepreneur and influencer, Olly is the face behind popular YouTube channel @OllyBlogsAgricontractfarmer with 500k followers on social media.
Olly has led the farmers rally against the tax tarriffs on farms and has become the voice of agriculture and an influential figure in heading the campaign as seen in the national press, is a contributor on BBC News and BBC Radio 4 and is Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside.
Charlie Burgoyne
Farmer and former Chair and 2026 President of the South of England Agricultural Society, Charlie manages a beef, arable and formerly dairy farm, land that has been in his family for four generations.
Charlie also manages the 600-cow dairy operation at Heaselands Estate selling milk to Sainsbury’s and currently serves as chair of the Sainsbury’s Dairy Development Group representing 150 farmers nationwide who supply all the supermarket’s milk.
Natalie Gaibani
Natalie is Head of Farming at Strutt & Parker, formerly she had a range of roles at Promar International including overseeing Defra’s Farm Business Survey, and a stint as MD. She started her career as a police officer in Slough where she spent 12 years as a PC and sergeant.Â
Natalie left the police to run her family’s farm in Berkshire, where over 7 years she instigated a programme of change starting with the closure of the dairy farm to concentrate on arable, and then expanding other income streams such as a solar farm, equestrian, and commercial lets. Having made the move into consultancy, she is passionate about driving change in farming, and also acts as a mentor for new entrants to the industry.
Peter Appleton - Dairy Farmer
More information coming soon.
Andrew Flake - Sheep & Arable Farmer
Andrew Flake is a 5th generation farmer running 900 ewes, 70 pedigree Sussex cattle and 500 acres of arable over his 1000 acre family farm on the South Downs.
“Every year we open our gates to 20,000 people who visit our working farm during the lambing season with the hope of educating the public in all aspects of our farming enterprise.”
The farm also boasts multiple diversifications for which they deal with the public on a daily basis.
Previous Farming Technical Forums
Fine Margins, Big Impact: Driving Efficiency on Farm
Watch previous recordings by clicking the button below: