Shuttleworth College Hosts Frontier Agriculture Farmers’ Breakfast to Drive Crop Production Improvements and Industry Collaboration

Shuttleworth College, part of The Bedford College Group, has hosted leading agronomy and grain marketing business Frontier Agriculture for a farmers’ breakfast and industry meeting.

This brought together members of the local farming community to discuss the future of crop production and the challenges currently facing the agricultural sector.

Held at Kings Hill Farm, the event created a valuable space for farmers, industry professionals and agricultural specialists to share knowledge, exchange ideas and explore the latest developments in farming, from global grain markets and crop resilience to nitrogen efficiency and sustainability-focused policy updates.

The meeting forms part of Frontier Agriculture’s winter programme of breakfast sessions, designed to keep growers informed and supported during a period of significant change across the farming landscape.

With unpredictable weather patterns, rising input costs and evolving government schemes all impacting decision-making, the event focused on practical insights to help farmers improve productivity and profitability while continuing to adapt to new environmental and economic demands.

David Sills, Farm Trader at Frontier Agriculture, said:

“We run a series of breakfast meetings throughout the winter, and this is our local one linked to our Sandy office in Bedfordshire. It’s really an information-sharing opportunity; we invite customers along and give an overview of the global grain markets, which is a key topic at the moment, as well as the wider agricultural economy and our thoughts on what the future might look like. We also share an agrichemical update. Overall, it’s a really good chance for us to see our customers and have those conversations face-to-face.”

Josh Deutsch, Farm Technician at Shuttleworth College, added:

“It was a pleasure to host Frontier Agriculture’s breakfast meeting at Kings Hill Farm. Working together with Frontier means we can keep pushing forward and help innovate farming careers. It gives our younger farmers the chance to hear first-hand about the challenges in the industry, but also the rewards of farming. Events like this are always important to make sure everyone is clued up on where the sector is heading. It was a really good session today, and we’re looking forward to welcoming Frontier back in June.”

Guest speaker, Jack Hill, Account Manager at  Intracrop Limited, delivered a presentation focused on improving crop resilience and enhancing nitrogen-use efficiency through the use of biostimulants, an increasingly important topic as growers look to maximise yields while keeping costs under control.

Jack Hill explained:

“It was a really interesting discussion at Shuttleworth College this morning about the current state of UK agriculture and the challenges that are out there. Off the back of last year, which was the driest spring in 132 years, and with this season being very different again, it’s about marginal gains. How can we squeeze out another one or two per cent of yield, improve nitrogen-use efficiency, and ultimately improve profitability for farmers?”

Shuttleworth College continues to play an important role in supporting the regional agricultural community, not only through its land-based education and training offer, but also by hosting industry events that encourage collaboration, innovation and shared learning.

By working with organisations such as Frontier Agriculture and Intracrop Limited, the college is helping ensure that both current farmers and future industry professionals remain informed, connected and equipped with the latest knowledge needed to succeed in a fast-changing sector.

The College looks forward to welcoming Frontier Agriculture back later this year as the partnership continues to strengthen links between education and industry.

Find out more

For more information about the Agriculture courses at Shuttleworth College, visit https://bedfordcollegegroup.ac.uk/subjects/agriculture/

To find out more about Frontier Agriculture, visit https://www.frontierag.co.uk/