The last decade has seen strides made in sales of peat-free growing media in amateur horticulture, though voluntary targets set by the government failed to mobilise the industry to phase out sales by 2020. In commercial organic horticulture, a voluntary target has been set to end the use of peat in growing media by 2024, ahead of Defra’s 2028 target for professional horticulture. However, the challenge remains to find affordable alternatives with the physical and…

The shift away from area-based agricultural subsidies has been a welcome transition to those who recognise the flaws in a system which has essentially rewarded farmers and landowners for owning large amounts of land. As we embark on new farming subsidy policies in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and England, which will instead incentivise farmers to adopt more sustainable farming practices, the question remains of where small farms - including market gardens, crofts, and urban and peri-urban…

Hemp could become a key element of regenerative farming. There are thousands of potential uses for the fibre, woody core and seeds. It sequesters carbon faster than any other crop, and this carbon can be locked up, for example, into innovative construction products.

Cows have incredibly intimate relationships with land, which raises questions about whether they can communicate with plants, soil, fungi and microbes. Perhaps cows can receive instruction from the land about what it needs? If so, they are amazing translators that we can learn from.

Centred on research carried out by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST), the native livestock conservation charity, the session will explore the impact of sheep farming on our climate, and then consider the practical steps farmers can take to adapt their systems to minimise that impact, particularly through selecting appropriate breeds, modifying diets, improving welfare and altering breeding practices. Speakers include experts from RBST’s Conservation Team.

As food insecurity, climate change and biodiversity loss pressurise food production, what can farmers do to help shape a food system that nourishes people, restores our environment and adapts to changing weather? This discussion asks how farmers can contribute to meaningful food system change at a farm level.

The Kindling Trust is the latest organisation to run a community shares offer to attract investment to purchase a farm. The campaign surpassed all expectations, raising over a million pounds with the support of over 620 investors, double the original target.

Mainstream food media is a largely White-controlled and culturally homogenous landscape. This means the accompanying narratives about food culture and justice are shaped by a predominantly White and often male lens. Join us in a conversation with practitioners and funders who are changing this.

When seeds are sown, gifted or packed on journeys, they carry stories. Stories of where they come from, whose hands saved them, which meals were cooked from their bounty and in which soil they were sown. In this storytelling circle hosted by the Seed Sovereignty Programme, we will hear from growers across the British Isles about the seeds which matter most to them.