CLA Charitable Trust (CLACT) Scholar at the Oxford Farming Conference

My name is Holly Zeidler, and I am currently in my second year studying BSc Agriculture with Business Management, alongside running my livestock contracting and farm sitting business, The BZy Shepherd. Since April 2025, I have been grateful to have been supported by the (CLACT) - Aberystwyth University Scholarship.

One of the most valuable aspects of the scholarship has been the opportunity to broaden my industry connections, most recently through attendance at the Oxford Farming Conference 2026 (OFC26), centred on the theme of Resilience. An opportunity that, until recently, I would not have even known existed - especially coming from a non-farming background.

Looking back on the OFC26, these are the key points that I keep returning to:

• Are we actually delivering what the consumer wants, or rather what the industry finds easiest to produce?
• As an industry we sit at a crossroads of the environment, economics, policy and society, leaving us in a unique position to influence change across all four.
• It’s clear there is a new and growing cohort entering the industry; however, it is just as important to focus on supporting and retaining people within agriculture as it is to recruit them.

Through the people I met and the different perspectives I listened to, OFC26 has caused me to rethink both my academic approach and the way I continue to run The BZy Shepherd.

Engaging with a wide range of voices from agriculture as well as the parallel industries that operate alongside ours, challenged my existing assumptions whilst increasing my confidence to actively question popular beliefs.

None of this would have been possible without the continued support from the CLA, for which I am extremely grateful for.