The Scottish flax fibre industry was a victim of globalisation in the 19th century. Flax once flourished in the damp soils but its seeds and supply chain have been lost. Join this session to hear from farmers, researchers and citizens, who have teamed up via the Innovative Farmers programme on a mission to find out which modern flax varieties can be scaled up across the country. But this research is more than just a field…

A short session focused on de- mystifying employment rights for land workers, employees, trainees, apprentices, and volunteers. We’ll be explaining minimum wage law, rights for volunteers, accommodation standards and requesting reasonable adjustments, amongst other issues. Run by grassroots trade union Solidarity Across Land Trades (SALT), affiliated with the Bakers and Allied Food Workers

Over the last five years fruit tree worker co-ops have emerged in three of the North’s urban centres: Sheffield, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire. We all have an agro-ecological approach and prioritise work place democracy. We will draw out themes of the challenges faced and what’s worked well. There will be plenty of time to draw in the experience from the room.

Following on from Tell Your Story PART 1: Make Yourself Heard you can choose between one of two smaller, intensive group workshops with the Just Farmers team. This is Workshop 1: Exploring Radio and Sound as a Storytelling Medium with Anna Jones. These sessions are specifically being offered to newer voices in the space to help develop more upcoming land workers as advocates and support those who might not yet be in a position to…

In this session we will consider, together with the audience, what food sovereignty means in a UK context and what the agroecology movement can do towards increasing food sovereignty. Is it realistic or relevant for ordinary people to have agency over where their food comes from? What kinds of control do different people in the UK actually want over their food? Is it the remit of our movement to increase food sovereignty where the choices…

This session will look at some urban Commoning projects, how they set up and on what commoning principles, and consider how they can be up- scaled so as to challenge the power of the dominant landowners in the city. There will be discussion about overcoming barriers to commoning related to land access and governance. We will consider how the food growing projects practising commoning can link more closely with housing and environmental campaigners to build…

How does the trove of ancient songs from this land and beyond, as well as new songs emerging in the creative field work to restore the health and prosperity of our land? How is song working as a powerful tool to build resilience within the growing community and affirm a responsibility to the land amongst the agroecological communities. What can we learn from old folk songs and their implicit messages and wisdom about how we…

In this second lunchtime deep dive session, we will hear from Johnnie Balfour, Managing Partner at Balbirnie Home Farms in Fife. Johnnie and team farm 1,300ha of mixed cropping (on a seven year rotation) and grassland. The farm produces combinable crops as well as vegetables and meat from their herd of 200 suckler cows. The farm has been an AHDB Strategic Cereal Farm host for Scotland, which has allowed them to baseline a number of…

Landworkers’ Alliance members Câr y Môr are Wales’s first community-owned regenerative ocean farm. Off the coast of Pembrokeshire in South Wales they farm shellfish and seaweed, and use regenerative farming techniques to build biodiversity in their marine farming system. Their community-ownership model means they are deeply integrated with the local community, and provide dignified jobs and opportunities for local people. In this session, we will hear from Câr y Môr about their important and pioneering…