Supply Chains Co-operat ion
Technology
Collaborat ion
Innovat ion Dat a
update Winter ‘24/25
#SAOSConf25 to Focus on Supply Chain Success It’s back and, we’re predicting, better than ever! Our Conference for 2025 takes place on 16th Jan at Crieff Hydro Hotel and we have a packed programme, focusing on what we can do #workingtogether to strengthen farmers’ position in their supply chains. We have a great line up of speakers, providing facts not fake news, and case study examples from some of our co-op members, and further afield, of successes achieved through the power of co-operation. We are really delighted to be joined by Ged Futter, who will share his views ‘from the other side’ having spent decades working in supermarket retail. Starting with where we are now, Allene Bruce, our Head of Supply Chain Development, who will share some findings of recent work SAOS has carried out on sector resilience as part of the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership. Can we fix our supply chains? Our keynote speaker, Ged Futter, knows very well how the retail sector works, and he’s going to share some of this knowledge with us, as well as some of the key findings from his Oxford Farming Conference report ‘Is our UK food supply chain broken?’ We’ll hear our co-op members in the fruit, pig and dairy sectors: Angela Porchez, GM of Angus Growers and John Gray, MD of Angus Soft Fruits; Andy McGowan, MD of Scottish Pig Producers; Rory Christie of the Milk Suppliers Association; Max Sealy of Selkley Vale, and Ian Harvey of Davidstow Creamery Direct Ltd (and we’ll even squeeze in a little bit of cereals too with the help of Teresa Dougal, MD of Scottish Quality Crops). It’s a packed programme and a lot to cover, but we know how valued the networking and the mulling over ideas is at our Supported by gatherings, so we’ve built in plenty of time for that too. And for those joining us in the evening, we’ll have the presentation of the Next Generation Award before dinner, which is always such a positive nod to the safe hands of the future. (If you’ve not already nominated your co-op ‘rising stars’, see page 3 for the link to the form.) After our Conference Dinner, we are delighted to have persuaded Bob Yuill to give his gavel a final flourish, to help raise some funds for RSABI with our ‘Rauction’ (a raffle and auction combination meaning that everyone has the chance of being a winner). Please do get in touch beforehand if you’d like to donate a prize. Our thanks to NFU Mutual for their continued support, and we are delighted to welcome a new ‘evening’ sponsor, CAS Recruitment. Do join us on 16th Jan if you can - places are already filling up as we go to press. Please book up before Christmas to avoid disappointment! https://saosconference2025.eventbee.com