Your Guild Council gathered in Birmingham on 10 September to discuss everything from the Harvest Lunch and professional development to better support for our photographer members and plans to welcome the world’s agricultural journalists to Britain.
First, the important bit: the Harvest Lunch is fast approaching and, if you haven’t yet got your ticket, now’s the time to book.
Taking place on Thursday 8 October, the day begins with the traditional Harvest Service at St Bride’s Church on Fleet Street before we head to Stationers’ Hall for lunch, the Guild Awards and a speech from our new president, Tom Heap. There will also be a free drink at the Happenstance afterwards for those who aren’t quite ready to go home.
At the time of our council meeting, we only had 60 places left, so don’t assume there will still be space if you leave it until the last minute.
If you’ve never attended before, don’t worry about not knowing anyone. We have a buddy system for new members and first-time guests – contact Tom Hunt for more information – and council members will be on hand to make introductions and ensure you aren’t left standing awkwardly in a corner pretending to read something important on your phone.
Find out more and book your Harvest Lunch ticket.
Stretching our legs before lunch
Before the serious business of eating begins, members are invited to join us for a walk along the Malvern Hills on Saturday 3 October.
The full route is about 15 km, crosses all 19 peaks and should take around six hours, starting at Hollybush at 8.30 am and finishing at End Hill at about 3 pm. There are several places to join or leave the group, so completing the whole route isn’t compulsory.
Those arriving on Friday evening can meet at the Hop Shed Brewery, which claims to be the UK’s only brewery based on a hop farm.
The walk is free, with voluntary contributions to the Guild’s Charitable Trust welcomed.
See the route and contact Toby Whatley to join the Guild walk.
Rethinking our training programme
We discussed how to make the Guild’s professional development programme more useful and accessible, including a possible series of online masterclasses with high-profile speakers.
Suggested subjects included creating content for different social media platforms and using artificial intelligence to improve workflows and save time. We also considered a broader digital media day and a bank of practical guides, beginning with advice from editors on what they want from pitches and submissions.
Rather than council guessing what members need, we’ll survey you about the skills, subjects and formats that would genuinely help in your work. Please look out for it and share your ideas.
Giving photographers a stronger voice
We want to do more to support and involve the Guild’s photographers, so a dedicated survey is being prepared to find out what they value about membership and what else the Guild could offer.
Council also discussed the Photography Awards rules, particularly the eligibility of professional work that has been commissioned but not published publicly. The current wording is unclear and risks excluding excellent work simply because a client used it internally or decided not to publish it.
The rules will be revised for the 2027 awards, informed by feedback from photographer members, to make them clearer, fairer and more representative of how professional agricultural photographers work.
Mentoring members at every career stage
Work is continuing on a new Guild mentoring programme open to members at every age and stage of their career.
It won’t just be for people starting out. It could also help established members considering a change of direction, developing a new skill or looking for an experienced sounding board. We’re drafting the guidelines now, with more details to follow.
Looking further ahead
The Guild will host the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ executive meeting in Somerset in April 2027, followed by the full IFAJ Congress at Harper Adams in July 2029.
Planning has begun, but we’ll need plenty of help to deliver both events, so please get in touch if you would like to be involved.
We’re also considering changes to our presence at the Royal Welsh Show following disappointment with this year’s press facilities and lack of refreshments.
Finally, we want the Guild website and newsletters to showcase more of the work produced by members. We represent a talented mix of journalists, photographers, broadcasters and communications specialists, but we don’t always do enough to share that work with each other.
If you have an interesting assignment, project, trip or story that other members could learn from, please contact Andrew Shirley, our communications director.
There is plenty underway, but we need to hear from members. If you have ideas, offers of help or something you think we should be doing differently, please get in touch.
Caroline Stocks
Chairman, British Guild of Agricultural Journalists
Harvest Lunch 2026
Our annual harvest celebration is the perfect opportunity to catch up with friends, colleagues and network with other agricultural communicators.
