The National Rural Conference 2025

Bookings are now officially open for the National Rural Conference 2025, which will take place online from Monday 15 to Thursday 18 September.
This is the Rural Services Network’s flagship event of the year, bringing together rural decision-makers, practitioners, and advocates for four days of live, interactive sessions focused on the future of rural communities.
Click here to book!

Farming revolution - winners and losers

New farming technology could be used to solve post-Brexit labour shortages but must be introduced carefully to avoid negative social impact, according to researchers from the University of East Anglia.

Reuters reported on the research, noting that tasks such as fruit picking, weeding and milking cows could be carried out completely by machines in a trend that is causing agriculture to change ‘beyond recognition’.

The paper also warned that the social impact of these advancements on rural communities has not been fully considered: ‘Robotics and artificial intelligence could cause job losses… others might be left behind by technological advancement, while wider society might not like how food is being produced,’ cautioned co-author David Rose.

Full article:

→ Reuters - Farming's tech revolution to have losers as well as winners