Farming for a Resilient Future ~ RAU Lecture Series 2026

Farming for a resilient future – How Farmers, Science, and Policy Can Shape Tomorrow’s Food System

A free lecture examining the importance of farming for a resilient future and how farmers, science, and policy can shape tomorrow's food system.

The third event in our 2026 lecture series will take place on Wednesday 23 September 2026 from 6pm (doors open at 6pm with the lecture starting at 6.30pm) to 8pm in the Emrys Jones Lecture Theatre (EJ06) at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU).

The lecture, entitled Farming for a resilient future – How farmers, science, and policy can shape tomorrow’s food systems, will be delivered Dr Karen Rial Lovera, Co-Dean for Agricultural Science & Practice (ASP), Associate Professor in Agriculture, and Head of International Partnerships, at the RAU and will consider practical pathways that lead to a stronger, fairer, and more resilient agrifood system.

UK farming faces rising costs, labour shortages, policy uncertainty, and increasing climate pressures - factors that continue to affect farmer confidence and reshape business decisions. At the same time, national research shows the UK food system remains vulnerable because it is optimised for efficiency rather than resilience.

In this lecture, Dr Rial‑Lovera to consider how regenerative farming, scientific insight, and policy action can together strengthen the future of UK agriculture but also how that works in practice, on the farm.

Joined by two RAU alumni who now run local regenerative farms - Annie Landless from Ampney Brook Farm near Cirencester and Henry-James Gay from Broadfield Farm, Tetbury - the trio will ground the discussion, exploring the lived experience, highlighting practical challenges and opportunities, and show how these realities connect to current research and the policy frameworks shaping tomorrow’s food systems.

Together, they will look at how farmers, researchers, and policy can co‑create practical pathways that lead to a stronger, fairer and more resilient agrifood system.

The speakers:

Dr Karen Rial-Lovera is Co-Dean for Agricultural Science & Practice (ASP), Associate Professor in Agriculture, and Head of International Partnerships at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU).

She holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering, an MSc in Agriculture and Forestry Research from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), and a PhD in Crop Systems completed in collaboration with the RAU and Coventry University. Her research focuses on agroecological and regenerative practices and agricultural systems, with projects in the UK, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. She currently leads interdisciplinary research on resilient agrifood systems and sustainable nutrient management.

Karen has held academic roles at RAU, including the Douglas Bomford Trust Agricultural Engineering Chair, and at Nottingham Trent University, where she led the BSc (Hons) Agriculture course.

In her leadership roles at RAU, she oversees ASP academic programmes, research, and international partnerships while promoting equity, inclusion, and student voice in land-based education.

Annie Landless is the Farm Manager of Ampney Brook Farm, an organic and regenerative farm just outside Cirencester in the heart of the Cotswolds, producing 100% grass-fed beef, population and heritage grain and no-dig fruit, vegetables and salad.

Annie, an RAU alumna who graduated in 2020 with a Graduate Diploma in Agriculture, oversees the farm and market garden, splitting her time between the fields and farm office.

She is passionate about grass-fed cattle, mob grazing, soil health, biodiversity, population grains and good food. Annie manages the team as well as relationships with mills, butchers, brewers and restaurants.

Henry-James Gay, also an alumnus of the RAU, is a farmer and tenant of Broadfield Farm, part of the Duchy of Cornwall estate near Tetbury, where he runs an organic mixed farming enterprise incorporating dairy, beef, arable crops and sheep.

Taking on the tenancy in 2021, Henry-James has built on the farm’s long-standing commitment to organic and agroecological farming, with a strong focus on soil health, biodiversity, resource efficiency and developing a resilient farm business.

He is also a Duchy Carbon Focus Farm and has been recognised for his approach to sustainable farming and conservation, most recently winning the 2026 FWAG South West Regional Barn Owl Award.

Come along to learn more about how farmers, science, and policy can shape tomorrow's food system.

Location: Emrys Jones Lecture Theatre, RAU, Cirencester, GL7 6JS

Date: 23 September 2026

Time: 6pm (doors open at 6pm with the lecture starting at 6.30pm) to 8pm

Tickets and parking are free.