Television presenter to chair conference at Harper Adams

Posted 11 March 2014

Harper Adams University is to welcome television presenter, Tom Heap, at the 2014 Frank Arden Memorial Conference, held on campus next month.

The conference, which takes place on April 24, is supported by the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust and will explore how farming can learn from science to optimise the nutritional value of food.

Mr Heap is chairing the half day event, which will see two Nuffield Scholars – Caroline Drummond MBE and David Northcroft, present their findings following 12 months of travel and research. They will be joined by leading experts from the fields of nutrition, farming and food security.

Mrs Drummond, who received an honorary doctorate from Harper Adams in September, said: “There is a great chasm between the farming sector, the nutritionists and food technologists. 

“In farming we know more about feeding our livestock and crops than perhaps the value that our farming endeavours offer to public health and nutrition, so I embarked on a journey of finding out where we can truly add value to the bottom line – pre-farm gate.”

The conference is taking place in the recently competed Weston Building on campus, a facility housing the university’s largest lecture theatre.

Commenting on his research, Mr Northcroft, Category & Varietal Development Manager for Waitrose, added: “There are scientific opportunities that will continue to develop for years to come, and the food industry needs to work collaboratively to deliver them successfully to the consumer.”

Also speaking at the event is Professor Susan Jebb, Professor of Diet and Population Health at Oxford University; Professor Tim Benton, UK Champion for Global Food Security and Professor of Population Ecology; Professor Tim Brocklehurst, Head of the IFR Food and Health Network; and Meurig Raymond, Deputy President, National Farmers Union. 

To book a place, please visit here or contact Mike Vacher, Director, Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust: director@nuffieldscholar.org.