Their board meeting included a presentation from Michael Hammond-Kosack on work to develop bread wheat that is resistant to pathogens including zymoseptoria and yellow rust, while retaining high yields.
It is part of a Defra-funded research project to reduce the number of spray applications needed to control pests and diseases.
Mr Hammond-Kosack explained how researchers had transferred disease-resistance traits from ancient wheat variety Einkorn into bread wheat, using pasta wheat as a bridging species.
Later, he took board members out to see the field trials, with plans to move to larger trials over the next two years if funding is available.
Farmers also had the chance to visit the Broadbalk winter wheat experiment, the world's oldest continuous agronomic experiment established in 1843.