THE REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE SHOW AND CONFERENCE
IS REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE THE ANSWER TO IMPROVING OUR SOILS? The Cherry family, who founded Groundswell on their Hertfordshire mixed farm in 2016, certainly thinks so, as Nigel Akehurst discovered on a visit to this year’s event.
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Over the past 35 years, brothers John and Paul have been on a regenerative journey, moving from a plough-based to a min till system. In 2010 they dropped cultivations altogether and went no till. Weston Park Farms includes 2,000 acres of zero tilled arable and 500 acres of pasture for their 150 head of commercial beef shorthorn cattle. Since going zero till, they have noticed a steady increase in soil organic matter – which has roughly doubled. Their worm count has also gone up, as has their biodiversity, with more bees and birdlife around. Interestingly it’s not just about improving their soils, but “is also more profitable”, explained John. “It’s much cheaper; we use fewer chemicals, less fertiliser, fewer tractors. Costs are so much less and our business is more resilient.” The brothers launched Groundswell out of a sense of frustration that no-one was putting on a summer show that they might want to attend. Five years on and it has become the largest show and conference of its type. Its growth reflects the snowballing interest from both farmers and policy makers interested in the public benefits of systems such as carbon sequestration and flood/drought prevention. This year’s event took place on 23 and 24 June and attracted over 3,500
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attendees, up from 2,200 in 2019. To meet the latest government guidelines on Covid-19 security, the site was moved to a new larger location spanning several fields. Conferences and seminars were held in seven large, opensided tents, with more than 100 sessions across the two days. Visitors could see demonstrations of some impressive farm kit in the two exhibitor and demonstration fields, including working direct drills, compost turners and robots. There were large areas dedicated to soil analysis and testing, cover crops, herbal leys, tree management, heritage wheat trials and mob grazing. The dung beetle safari led by Sally-Ann Spence, Claire Whittle and Max Anderson was a particular hit, attracting a huge audience interested in learning more about the vital role they play in improving the quality and structure of our soils. Exhibitors at the event included DEFRA, which on day one led a session on the incoming Sustainable Farming Incentive. In a session chaired by Sue Prichard we learned how the department is planning to make the delivery of public goods attractive by getting the rates profitable to motivate farmers to make better decisions. In the longer term, DEFRA would like to move to a system of paying farmers
