Navigating Change: Delivering for the Agricultural Supply Chain
In this episode of The AIC Podcast, John Kelley, AIC Services Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of AIC, joins Wendy Ford, AIC Communications Manager, to look ahead to the AIC Dinner & Conference 2026 and explore some of the biggest questions facing the agricultural supply industry.
We discuss how businesses are responding to political change, economic pressure, evolving regulation and shifting markets, as well as the opportunities emerging through trade, investment, changing consumer behaviour and the next generation of talent.
We cover:
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The challenges currently facing agricultural supply businesses, including drought, climate pressures and disruption across supply chains.
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Why food security is national security and the importance of strong political representation for AIC Members across the UK.
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How a UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement could create new opportunities for trade, while reducing paperwork, costs and bureaucracy.
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How changing shopping habits, diets and the use of GLP-1 drugs could influence food demand and decisions further up the supply chain.
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Why attracting new talent, showcasing the breadth of careers available and improving intergenerational working are essential to the industry’s future.
As John Kelley explains, the conference provides an opportunity for delegates to step away from the demands of day-to-day work, consider what is happening at a strategic level and continue important conversations with fellow Members, stakeholders and AIC colleagues.
This episode is ideal for AIC Members, agricultural supply businesses, policymakers, stakeholders, students and anyone considering a career in the industry. It offers a preview of the political, economic, market, consumer and workforce issues that will be explored at the conference.
The AIC Dinner & Conference 2026 takes place on 11 November at the Holiday Inn West in Peterborough.
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Transcript
Wendy Welcome to the AIC podcast, where we share practical guidance and insight for our Members and help the industry understand how the agri food supply chain works. I'm Wendy Ford, I'm the AIC Communications Manager, and ahead of this year's AIC conference, I'm joined by AIC Services Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the AIC, John Kelley. We'll be exploring some of the biggest questions facing the sector. So welcome to the podcast, John.
John Thank you. Welcome, Wendy.
Wendy So one of the themes running throughout this year's conference is how businesses respond to change. There are political changes, economic pressures, evolving regulation and shifting markets all happening at once. So if you had to identify one challenge facing agri supply businesses today, what would it be?
John I think there's lots of challenges with businesses at the moment. Obviously one of the biggest one is the highest drought we've had in many years. That's impacting all of our sectors. It's impacting the combinable crops, the animal feed sector, so on and so forth. So we're working with the industry to really assess what the sort of damage limitation is. And then we're transferring the information back to government and our stakeholders. So that's just one of them. I've got many more I can talk about.
Wendy Definitely. And that really starts to set the scene of the conference. The conference opens with discussions involving political representatives from across the UK, alongside AIC's priorities for the year ahead. What is one of the messages that we're ensuring comes across in the conference?
John One of the things that AIC is recognised for is having very strong political contacts and representation. Obviously the Labour government are in power at the moment. So last year we had Angela Eagle. She was the Minister of State for Agriculture. She's now the Secretary of State for Agriculture. So we've invited Stephen Morgan. We've had some contact with him, so he should be fully available. We're also going to have political representation from Scotland, Wales and also Northern Ireland. And we're really sort of driving home the message about food security is national security. How they can support our Members so we can have a sustainable and thriving agriculture and agri supply industry.
Wendy Yes. And I think we can expect to see the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement being one of those topics that's high on the agenda. What's one of the key messages?
John I think it's really making sure that we treat this as an opportunity. Obviously, when we left the EU, there were quite a few of our Member companies just really pulled out of trading with Europe because it was just too difficult, with the additional costs, the additional paperwork, the additional bureaucracy. Now we've got sort of thriving businesses within the UK that want to not only supply the UK but also Europe. So it's really getting those sort of tensions sorting out. We've got various, products that have been approved in the UK and not in the UK and vice versa. So we have got some of the leaders from the trade bodies of the EU trade associations that we work with. Uh, we've got the Secretary General of FEFAC, Chief Executive of Euroseeds and the Director of Agri Policies for COCERAL. So we should hear chapter and verse, the- ir kind of side of the story, really.
Wendy As you've mentioned, we have got a panel including representatives from Euroseeds and the European Feed Manufacturers Federation. The agenda is going to be looking at international markets, trade and global economic trends. How connected would you say UK agri supply businesses are to events happening around the world?
John Well extremely kind of on an hour by hour and a day by day and a month by month scenario. We've already mentioned about the drought in the UK, but that's common across the whole of the world. You know, only in the UK, but also Europe, overseas and the States. Obviously, lots of political interventions, climate change, disruption within the supply chain. So, our Sector Heads really take an assessment of the risk of the supply chains every week and determine what's happening on fertilisers, what's happening on animal feed. Again, we then translate that into our policy work. We then give information to the wider industry, either with stakeholders or the Government, and we really try and help our businesses navigate through this difficult time. We have got a an international global update, a macroeconomic update from Arnaud Petit, who's the Executive Director of the International Grain Council. So that should complement all of the areas that I've just talked about.
Wendy Definitely. And we often talk about uncertainty, but where do you see the biggest opportunities for businesses over the next few years?
John I think the biggest opportunities are, again, keeping costs as low as they can. Really looking at how climate change has impacted their business. So maybe they need to look at their crop mix or their varieties or the type of livestock that they're really keeping. you know, it is a very hard area to work into. But the only thing that we know at AIC is that people need to keep eating. So they need food. So they need an agriculture, you know, we'd like that to be from the UK. So we're working with our Member companies and Government to make sure they support UK inward investment. And they've also got the political levers so we can unleash, you know, any legislation or business planning that we need to kind of take through, really.
Wendy The AIC conference is always about talking through the opportunities, challenges, and innovations. And one of the topics I'm looking forward to at this year's conference is the discussion about changing consumer behavior. The program is looking at everything from shopping habits to the impact of GLP -1 drugs on food demand. John, why is it important for our industry to pay attention to those kind of trends, and why is it important that our Member businesses take this on board?
John Yeah, I think it's just one of the many things that are in the sort of gamut that will impact on our Member companies. So we know that, appetite suppressing drugs have been a real thing in America now for about the last five or ten years. And that's really come over to the UK. We've got, you know, over a million people on the GLP -1 drugs at the moment. What we've kind of heard, I mean, obviously you'll need to come to the conference to hear about all the consumer insights. We've got Vanessa Adamson from the AHDB and also Daniel Clarke from the IGD. And they will talk about how shoppers are changing their buying habits, but also diet. I'm led to believe that people on these sorts of diets are eating protein dense food. So that will shape how they buy carbohydrates, how they buy meat. And obviously that's higher up the supply chain for our agri supply companies. So that may well impact on what they plant, how they process things. So we kind of need to be aware of what's going on at consumer level. So hopefully we'll get some insight from our panel discussion.
Wendy I think that would be a really interesting discussion. The conference is also going to see the launch of AIC's new careers booklet. This is something that is close to my heart. I've been working on this alongside the Future Forum, which is AIC's network for early career professionals. Can you tell us more about the careers booklet that I'll be launching?
John So, this is a really exciting part of the conference. this looks at all the sectors of the agri supply industry. We have got one for the, feed sector at the moment. I think it's really just lifting a kind of light on what careers there are in the agri supply industry. There are lots of things that, kids can go into now from accountancy, finance, teaching, medicine, and the agri supply. Agri food industry probably doesn't really come up high on the agenda. So I know that this publication will look at all of those areas and really shine a light on where, kids can get training, where the opportunities are, where they can go. So we can get younger people into the work force so they can bring all their skills, all their opportunities with I.T., AI and all their sort of new thoughts.
Wendy Yeah. I think, you know, showcasing the diversity of careers available across the agri supply industry, as well as welcoming all those skills that the next generation bring is so important, especially as most of our Members have succession planning high on the agenda.
Wendy So at the conference, we'll also be talking about intergenerational work. You know, how important is that for the industry?
John Yeah. I think it's a really interesting one. So if you think about it, we've got people in the industry from their 20s to their 60s. So that's five generations of people say, you know, how does a 20 year old straight out of uni or straight out of training relate to someone who's 60 or 50? And conversely, how does a 60 year old or 60s. relate to a 30 year old and 20 year old. There are lots of similarities and there are lots of differences in aspirations. What people want out of work, what people think, what's the impact of AI and things like that. So, uh, Paul Redmond will be very good. He's, you know, a renowned speaker on intergenerational working in the current workplace. So hopefully, both AIC and our Member companies and stakeholders can learn what the magic answer is. I'm not sure what it is, but we'll have to see from the conference.
Wendy I think the line up for the conference is great. I think there's something for everybody in the conference this year. You know, something that everybody can take away. And we've obviously got discounted next generation tickets and we're offering complimentary student places. What would you say to a student or somebody who's thinking about a career change and has never considered a career in the industry?
John So I say, come along. I think we probably have about 15 to twenty20 of those delegates that come every year. they always come to me and say, oh my goodness, that is so exciting. We never knew what was going on. We never knew what this was about. So we put them in touch with our website. We've got Member companies on there. We've also got information about where they can train. So it's a great adjunct for, people just really to see what's going on within the agri supply industry. So, if you're listening to this podcast and you want to come along, then, look on our website and there'll be some tickets on there for that one.
Wendy And if the delegates leave the conference having continued just one conversation, what do you hope that conversation will be?
John I think what I'd like, I mean, this is a real opportunity to take a day out of the real kind of daily slog of, work. So I'd like people to have their eyes lifted to really what's going on at the strategic level. So both at the political level, economic level, market commentary, education and all of those sorts of things. So really to kind of have their eyes lifted not only on the content of the agenda, but also networking. One of the biggest reasons that people come to our conferences, networking with other people, not only with member companies, but also stakeholders and also AIC staff. It's a great opportunity to come up and say, what you think about this, are we working on the right things? What do we think about the future? And we can give our perspective on that one as well.
Wendy That's great. Is there anything else you would like to add, John?
John Um, yeah. The only thing I'd like to add is the conference is being chaired by, Anna Jones who's a journalist and broadcaster. She works on local radio and the BBC. We do have very good conference chairs who understand the agri supply industry, so she will bring in an energy and an adeptness to it. So, looking forward to it. And hopefully we'll see you there.
Wendy Definitely. And thank you so much for joining us today, John. The AIC conference is being held on the 11th of November at the Holiday Inn West in Peterborough. Tickets can be purchased via AIC conference dot org dot UK.
Wendy Thanks for listening. And if you haven't already, please make sure you follow and subscribe. Thank you.
Wendy Members can find further updates, guidance and resources on the AIC website and through our member communications. Thank you for listening, and we'll be back with another episode soon. If you found this useful, please share it with a colleague and check the show notes for links and definitions. And again, thank you for joining us.
Wendy Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect any organization they represent. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Listener discretion is advised. Thank you.
Author
Wendy Ford
Wendy Ford is Communications Manager at AIC, creating and overseeing the content published on AIC's website, emails, Member briefings, print publications, and social media.
