A GROUP of 80 delegates attending the Nuffield International farming conference were given a tour of the Great Tew and Upton estates in Oxfordshire as part of a programme of farm visits.

The visitors from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and from several European countries, learned about the arable farming operation at Great Tew.

They also found out about other activities at the estate, including ironstone quarrying, residential property lets and the staging of big events like the Cornbury Festival.

The second leg of the tour, on Tuesday, June 6, took in the Upton estate, which straddles the Oxfordshire-Warwickshire boundary.

Alongside farming, the estate, owned by the Waley-Cohen family, provides premises for small businesses and a racing stable, which has turned out a string of winning horses, including the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup victor Long Run, ridden by Sam Waley-Cohen.