The CropTec Show celebrates 10 years of knowledge transfer

Technical arable farming event The CropTec Show celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The anniversary show will be held at The East of England Showground, Peterborough on 23rd and 24th November 2022. Registration for free tickets is available at https://www.croptecshow.com

The event was originally created by Stephen Howe, former development director for the Farmers Guardian group which owns CropTec and LAMMA. Aware of the many changes facing arable growers at the time, Stephen could see the opportunity for a ‘no frills technical event specifically for the sector.

At the time, new EU regulations were affecting pesticide use and availability while UK legislation such as the Water Framework Directive, Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) and cross-compliance requirements brought a raft of further demands for farmers and their operators. Alongside this, cost of agri-chemicals was increasing, and environmental issues posed further challenges.

We wanted to raise awareness among farmers about what was going on right now, what was coming up in the next year or two and what steps they could take now to prepare, he said.

Nick Rainsley, head of marketing for Hutchinsons, was a member of the original CropTec steering committee which launched the event. He said: We wanted it to be about information and knowledge exchange to and from manufacturers, suppliers and growers as efficiently as possible.

Ive been to CropTec every year since and its important for Hutchinsons to be there. The key strength is the quality of the growers. It draws out the more technically minded and those that are looking for opportunity and looking to learn.

Stephen Burcham, director Horsch UK, agreed: Horsch has been exhibiting at CropTec since the start. People come for information, and we like to be part of that by sponsoring the seminars. It is a niche event, but it gives us the opportunity to reach the right people.

Over the years the themes of the event have changed to reflect the hot topics with the continued aim of keeping growers and their advisers informed and inspired. The theme for the 2022 event is Farming in a changing climate: Controlling costs, cultivating resilience with seminar programme addressing environmental regulation, data, natural capital opportunities and disease control.

Gareth Jones, CropTec Event Manager said: Much has changed over the past decade, but the rationale behind CropTec remains the same: To bring together practical know-how and scientific research to equip farmers with the latest information and technology to help them make the right decisions for their businesses. We look forward to welcoming farmers and growers and their advisers to this years event.