Farm491 2019 Summary

It has been a whirlwind year for the Farm491 team – we’ve attended 40 external events between us and hosted 30 at our HQ at The Alliston Centre! One of our event highlights was our AgriTech season from February to April, which culminated in a two-day AgriTech showcase, attended by over 150 people across both days. Planning is underway for our 2020 AgriTech showcase so watch this space!

We have also developed some great partnerships this year, which has not only provided benefits to our members but also increased collaboration within the sector – which is exactly what we want to achieve. We have already hosted a workshop at both partner sites – The Landing in Manchester, and Rothamsted Enterprises in Harpenden – and are planning plenty more for next year, so if you can’t visit us in Cirencester keep an eye out for upcoming events in Manchester and Harpenden!

The Farm491 ecosystem has continued to grow month on month, and we now have a grand total of 55 members, an increase of 72% from the end of last year. Business support through the team and also through our network has enabled members to raise a total of £15,000,000 this year (£18.9 million in the last 18 months), and 2019 has seen the creation of 31 new jobs!

Our collaborations with external organisations has really picked up this year – we were heavily involved in KTN’s AgriTech investment showcase programme, and were also community partners on FoodBytes! by Rabobank. We have ended the year on a high with some fantastic events in November – firstly our own New World Farming event in Bristol, which allowed us to explore our core Farm491 values: Farmer Equity, Environmental Sustainability, and Food Integrity. We also had a fantastic day hosting and judging Farmer’s Guardian’s Agri Innovation Den alongside BASF.

We’re very excited to see what 2020 holds for Farm491, and want to thank you all for your ongoing support!

We hope you have a lovely Christmas and Happy New Year!