Congress Programme
| MONDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2026 | ||
| 18.00 – 19.00 | Pre-congress drinks reception and presentation of BCPC Awards The Imaginarium Suite, Cedar Court Hotel |
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| DAY 1 – TUESDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2026 | ||
| 08.00 – 09.15 | Registration and refreshments | |
| 09.15 – 09.25 | Welcome and introduction Julian Westaway (General Manager, British Crop Production Council, BCPC) |
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| Morning session: The forces shaping UK agriculture today | ||
| 09.25 – 09.30 | Chair: tbc | |
| 09.30 – 10.00 | Keynote speaker: The Lord Curry of Kirkharle Kt CBE |
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| 10.00 – 10.30 | Keynote speaker: Looking ahead: drivers of UK agriculture in a volatile world Prof Tim Benton |
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| Morning break: exhibition & networking 10.30 – 11.00 | ||
| 11.00 – 11.30 | Food security and how we can prepare (tbc) |
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| 11.30 – 12.00 | Farming future for UK agriculture Prof Paul Wilson (Professor of Agricultural Economics, University of Nottingham) |
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| 12.00 – 12.30 | Q&A session Chair and all speakers |
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| Lunch 12.30 – 13.25 | ||
| Afternoon session: EU Reset | ||
| 13.25 – 13.30 | Chair: Dr Chris Hartfield (Senior Regulatory Affairs Adviser, NFU) | |
| 13.30 – 14.00 | SPS Agreement EU Reset Helena Busby (Deputy Director, Defra) |
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| 14.00 – 14.30 | What a new ‘single (GB+EU) regulatory regime’ will or should look like in the future Dave Bench (Chief Executive, CropLife UK) |
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| 14.30 – 15.00 | Title tbc (tbc) |
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| 15.00 – 15.30 | What does EU Reset practically mean for industry? Jonathan Howarth (Group Leader Regulatory Affairs UK & Ireland, BASF) |
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| Afternoon break: exhibition & networking 15.30 – 16.00 | ||
| 16.00 – 16.30 | Omnibus Simplification Package: why it matters? Emma Brown (Director of Public Affairs, CropLife Europe) |
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| 16.30 – 16.50 | Response to Omnibus Max Schulman (Arable Farmer / Chair, Copa-Cogeca Phytosanitary WG) |
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| 16.50 – 17.15 | Q&A session Chair and all speakers |
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| 17.15 | Close of day 1 | |
| 17.15 – 18.30 | Drinks reception with guest speaker, (tbc) The Imaginarium Suite, Cedar Court Hotel |
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| DAY 2 – WEDNESDAY 4 NOVEMBER 2026 | ||
| 08.00 – 09.00 | Registration and refreshments | |
| Morning session: Update on resistance | ||
| 09.00 – 09.10 | Chair: Henry Creissen (Director of the Institute for Agronomy and Agriculture at UHI Orkney) | |
| 09.10 – 10.30 | Trends in resistance to pesticides
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| Morning break: exhibition & networking 10.30 – 11.00 | ||
| 11.00 – 11.30 | Response to resistance: how this is influencing labelling and guidance (tbc) |
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| 11.30 – 12.00 | Q&A session Chair and all speakers |
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| Lunch 12.00 – 12.55 | ||
| Afternoon session: Innovation | ||
| 12.55 – 13.05 | Chair: Ellie Vinnicombe (Head of Crop Protection and Agronomy Sector, Agricultural Industries Confederation, AIC) | |
| 13.05 – 13.35 | Drone technology – the new regulatory process/framework Dr Tony Wilson (Senior Policy Officer, Health and Safety Executive | Chemicals Regulation Division) |
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| 13.35 – 14.05 | Rules as Code: Using AI to streamline active substance assessments Janet Williams (Senior Regulatory Science Manager, Bayer) |
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| Afternoon break: 14.05 – 14.25 | ||
| 14.25 – 14.55 | Work of the European Precision Application Task Force (EUPAF) Grant Stark (Policy Advisor, Health and Safety Executive | Chemicals Regulation Division) |
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| 14.55 – 15.25 | AgriGuide and the digital label journey Graham Mullier (Lead Architect Data Collaborations, Syngenta) |
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| 15.25- 15.55 | Q&A session Chair and all speakers |
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| 15.55 – 16.00 | Close of Congress Julian Westaway (General Manager, BCPC) |
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Programme subject to change
