Our key speakers at this year’s Fresh AF launch event were from different AF Member businesses, different career paths, and different perspectives - but some consistent themes emerged. From embracing change and taking opportunities to building resilient teams and knowing when to hold your nerve, the message throughout the day was clear: moving a business forward about understanding where you are, knowing where you want to get to, and bringing people with you along the way. Read the key takeaways from our speakers, AF Members Todd Baker (Managing Director, North Farm Livestock Ltd) and Andrew Blenkiron (Managing Director, Elveden Farms Ltd).
Before changing anything, take time to understand the business you're working with. That means understanding its people, objectives, culture, and constraints.
There was little enthusiasm for the idea of arriving with a “new brush sweeps clean” attitude. Instead, the emphasis was on stepping back, listening and working out what the business - and the people within it - actually need.
A change can fail simply because the business is not ready for it. Equally, waiting for a “perfect” time can mean never doing anything at all.
The challenge is judging when the circumstances, need, and capacity come together sufficiently to take the plunge.
And when the moment does come, persistence matters.
A strong theme of the day was that change does not happen simply because someone at the top thinks it is a good idea.
People need to understand why something is happening, where the business is trying to get to, and how their own role contributes.
That means involving people early, listening to different perspectives, and giving teams genuine ownership of the direction of travel.
This can be as simple as giving people the confidence and responsibility to take charge of their own area and understand why it matters.
When people contribute to a plan, understand the bigger picture, and feel trusted to deliver their part of it, they are far more likely to buy into what the business is trying to achieve.
Both speakers talked about the importance of having a clear direction.
That might mean a one-year plan, a five-year strategy or even thinking 25 years ahead in a family business where decisions can span generations. But a plan does not need to be complicated.
What matters is knowing where you are trying to get to and breaking that journey into manageable steps. Big ideas can easily lose momentum if nobody knows what happens next.
At the same time, flexibility matters. You may not deliver 100% of the original idea. Sometimes getting 70% of it through and retaining the core purpose is far better than allowing the whole thing to fail because you would not compromise.
Change makes more sense when it's part of a wider story.
People need to understand not only what is changing, but why, what it contributes towards, and what the business is trying to become.
When people hear the same direction consistently, understand the ambition, and can see themselves within it, the story gradually becomes part of the culture.
The distinction between managing and leading prompted discussion.
Good managers can be excellent at process. Good leaders tend to go further: they are decisive, persuasive, willing to step outside their comfort zone and able to help other people develop.
Successful businesses are rarely the achievement of one person. One of the strongest messages was to think in terms of “we”, not “I” - recognising the contribution other people have made rather than taking individual credit.
Contacts, colleagues, friends and mentors all have a role to play. Sometimes you need expert advice. Sometimes you simply need someone you trust who you can ring and talk an idea through with.
Driving change can be a lonely position. Having people around you who understand that mindset can make a real difference.
That is one of the opportunities Fresh AF offers: bringing together people from different businesses and sectors who may face very different challenges but share the same desire to improve, develop and move things forward.
There was also a strong challenge to look beyond the day-to-day demands of your own farm or business.
Getting away, seeing what other people are doing, meeting different people, and experiencing different businesses can broaden horizons and bring fresh thinking home.
One piece of advice summed that up neatly: leave your business once a day, your village once a week, your county once a month, and your country once a year.
Whilst the importance of saying "no" was highlighted, it also became clear that opportunities should be explored rather than dismissed immediately. A “can-do” mindset creates far more possibilities than beginning with all the reasons something cannot work.
That does not mean every idea will succeed. Some changes will fail, some will need revisiting, and others will evolve into something quite different from the original concept. The important thing is to learn, adapt and keep moving.
Running through all of these themes was the importance of looking ahead.
Technology, labour, water availability, consumer expectations, sustainability, regulation, and food security are all changing the environment farming businesses operate within.
The challenge is not simply to react to what is happening today, but to anticipate what may be coming next.
One message connected the whole day: change does not happen simply because you have a good idea. It happens when you understand the situation, recognise the opportunity, choose your moment, make a plan, communicate it clearly, and take people with you.
It requires enough conviction to keep going when things are difficult, but enough humility to listen, compromise, and change course when necessary.
And above all, it requires people. Because however ambitious the plan, ultimately it is the people within a business who will make it happen.
The Fresh AF ‘26–27 cohort brings together 24 ambitious individuals from across agriculture, each bringing their own experiences, perspectives and ideas - but united by a shared desire to learn, challenge themselves and help shape the future of the industry.
