Over the past year, sustainable agriculture was subject to intense political debate — as well as manipulation, with misleading narratives spread by everyone from farmer-influencers on YouTube and the far right, to agri-industry and governments. In this panel we share insights from DeSmog’s 2024 investigations into agri-misinformation with a focus on the UK, Ireland and EU elections. The session will seek to explore: how do falsehoods start, who is behind them and what are the…

Join us for an informal discussion of the government’s proposed inheritance tax legislation. Policy expert Jeremy Moody and Riverford founder Guy Singh-Watson will be digging into the impact the new policies could have on farmers and landowners, and explore the bigger questions of how best to use farmland with policies that are just and well-designed. How do we ensure that land stewardship and access to land are protected for good food and farming? And how…

Diverse types of food retail are a vital part of creating a better food system – one that is fairer to farmers, better for the environment, and that connects local people to local food. But in a sector that has experienced a turbulent 12 months, it can be difficult for these businesses to flourish, We’ll hear from three sustainable food retailers – the iconic Manchester grocery store Unicorn; the Norfolk market garden and delivery business…

Discover the innovative food spray method attracting beneficial insects to combat insect pests. Produced on farm from maize and brewers yeast, more than 16,000 farmers in Benin and Ethiopia used this method to manage cotton and vegetable pests without insecticides in 2024. Meanwhile the method has been exported to India, where trials are underway by 16 organisations that support almost one million smallholder farmers. In this session, experts from the UK and Ethiopia will present…

Join our panel and discussion on the role of LGBTQ+ identities and experiences in the food and farming system. We will explore reasons for centring identity, gender and orientation in landwork, the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ workers, the gifts diverse perspectives bring, and the value of affinity groups and allyship within and across communities of identity in our movement. Panellists from Teasel Coop, Agrespect, Landworkers’ Alliance Out on the Land and Cultivating Justice, as well…

There is lots of great practice in farming and food ‘across the water’ in Northern Ireland that is orienting us all towards a better food future. Exploring the intersecting roles of land, enterprise and community, we’ll look at opportunities, challenges and shared learning that we can take from Northern Ireland and germinate across the UK. With Carrick Greengrocers, Nature Friendly Farming Network, GrowIN and Belfast Food Partnership.

The Government’s Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes represent one of the most progressive farming policies in Europe. With 70% of UK land farmed, the ELM schemes aim to use this vast resource to deliver public goods that restore nature, mitigate climate change, and support resilient food production. This session will explore the future direction of ELMs with Jonathan Baker, Deputy Director of Environmental Land Management Schemes at DEFRA and include an in-depth Q&A, offering attendees…

The recent wave of farming protests that have swept parts of Europe have shown clearly how the discontents of a segment of farmers are increasingly expressed within a reactionary, right-wing rhetoric. At the same time, both white supremacist violence against migrant, racialised, and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, and state repression against popular protest, dissent and solidarity are escalating. How can those of us who want to develop an alternative to the imperialist, exploitative food…

The separation and intensification of grassland and arable production, and the consequent loss of traditional mixed farming systems has represented one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss in the UK over the last century. However, well-managed grazing is key for a wide variety of habitats and species, many of which are endangered. This session will look at some of the ways in which grazing animals can support nature recovery in the UK: by improving…