Landmark Issue 19 2021 SINGLE PAGES

38 LANDMARK ENTERPRISE Covid-19 brought a set of challenges for our members as well as the Farm491 team themselves, who have become familiar faces on the agri-events and shows circuit. Our usually full programme of seminars and events, both on-site and nationwide was suddenly put on hold, with no confirmed date for the return of in-person events and conferences. FromMarch, we made the move to put all of our events online, offering a selection of webinars on a wide range of topics from legal and financial advice, to more holistic subjects such as ‘How to Lead Through Crisis’ and ‘Social Media Hints and Tips’ for both start-ups and established businesses. We also moved our bi-monthly ‘Inspiring Agritech Innovation’ online, offering entrepreneurs interested in the future of food and farming invaluable insights into how to succeed in the sector. Our Innovation Specialist, Sarah Carr leads these sessions and many of the attendees go on to become members. Farm491 strengthened our academic relationship with the RAU through a series of six webinars delivered by Professor Louise Manning, focusing on ‘Bad Behaviour’ in food supply chains, data led decision making and food fraud. We have a number of exciting collaborative projects with the university, including engaging with students who are a part of the RAU’S newMBA programme, Innovation in Sustainable Food and Agriculture. In January, we will be announcing the winner of our Challenge Prize competition in association with BASF, ‘Digging for Innovation’, inviting ideas from innovators who are working on tools and approaches across the agricultural sector that address the issues between soil health, climate change, productivity and biodiversity. We are inviting alumni to join our farmer network which will work with innovators to advise on the needs of the sector and potentially trial out new products. If you work in either arable or livestock industries, we would like to hear from you. Update At Farm491, we have been guiding companies through the challenging period of Covid-19, whilst also learning to adapt ourselves. Please email tara.dickinson-barry@rau.ac.uk formore information.