Talented young farmers from East Anglia will be among 17 attending the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) in January.

East Anglian Daily Times: Toby Hogsbjerg, one of 17 progressive farmers under 45 who will be funded to attend Oxford Farming Conference in January 2018. He will also be sponsored by BASF. Picture: REBECCA DAWESToby Hogsbjerg, one of 17 progressive farmers under 45 who will be funded to attend Oxford Farming Conference in January 2018. He will also be sponsored by BASF. Picture: REBECCA DAWES (Image: Rebecca Dawes)

The progressive farmers under 45, including Laura Buckingham of mid-Suffolk and Toby Hogsbjerg from the Essex/Suffolk border, both brought up on a family farm, will be funded to attend after winning a place on OFC’s Emerging Leader Programme.

Laura gained a degree in agriculture and countryside management from Aberystwyth University. She spent eight years at Frontier Agriculture as an agronomist in Suffolk and south Norfolk, and joined Framlingham-based Fram Farmers as arable inputs manager, crop protection buyer and agronomist in 2015. Toby, who studied agriculture at Harper Adams, worked in assistant manager roles across East Anglia, specialising in root crops and vegetables. In 2008 he moved to the Cotswolds to manage two family farms covering 1,000ha.