Building Rural Futures: Highlights from the 4th Annual CLA Next Generation Conference

We were thrilled to host The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and its members at Thorpe Estate last week for the fourth annual Next Generation Conference and Dinner.

This year’s theme, "Building Rural Futures: Leadership, Innovation, Opportunity", lived up to its name, bringing together the brightest young minds in the rural sector for two days of high-level strategy to tackle some of the UK’s biggest challenges - food security, climate change, nature restoration & economic growth.

The event launched on the evening of April 28th at Thorpe Garden, with a special networking dinner where attendees were addressed by CLA President Gavin Lane. The following day consisted of presentations by thought leaders, Q&As and interactive workshops, arming delegates with practical tools to implement back home.

For the final session of the conference, we were invited to share the masterplan for Thorpe Estate, with Tristan and Hugh giving guided tours of the Home Farm. Despite the challenging headwinds for the rural economy, it was fantastic to see the energy and optimism with which the new cohort of rural business owners is approaching the future.