Future Countryside 2026: The conversations shaping rural Britain

Future Countryside 2026 brought farmers, policymakers, rural businesses, conservationists and community leaders together at Raby Castle for a day that was equal parts honest about the challenges facing rural Britain and energised by the solutions already being built within it. The thread running through every session was the same: rural Britain will only realise its full potential nationally if it speaks with one voice and building that voice is exactly what Future Countryside exists to do.

The message that came through loudest was the countryside is not standing still.

Four themes that defined the day

• Food and nature are not in competition. Speaker after speaker pushed back against the idea that farming and environmental recovery are a trade-off. The ask from the room was clear, back productive, resilient farms to deliver both, and give the sector the long-term policy certainty it needs to do so.
• Rural communities cannot be an afterthought. Affordability, transport, housing and the ability of younger generations to stay in the places they grew up dominated several sessions. Rural businesses, local innovation and community leadership are picking up where services have retreated but they need recognition and support.
• The answers already exist. From regenerative farming and nature recovery to new models of land management and rural enterprise, the conference was full of people already doing the work. The challenge now is to amplify it.
• Fly-tipping is organised crime and it is getting worse. The launch of our joint report with the National Rural Crime Network generated some of the sharpest discussion of the day. Fly-tipping has evolved into a large-scale criminal enterprise, underreported and under punished, placing growing financial and emotional pressure on farmers and rural landowners. Read the full report: Breaking the Cycle: Tackling Fly-Tipping and Waste Crime - A Roadmap for Reform.

Catch up on everything

Couldn't make it to Raby Castle or want to revisit a session? You can catch-up here via our live streaming partner, Farmers Weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and X for highlights, key quotes and panel moments from across the day.

More clips, interviews and follow-up content will be coming in the weeks ahead.

Thank you to every speaker, sponsor, exhibitor, partner and delegate who made Future Countryside 2026 what it was. The conversations started at Raby Castle. They don't stop here.