For many small-scale, localised, and regenerative food producers, profitability can feel like an uphill battle. Direct-to-consumer sales offer the best chance for profitability — but how do you get there when marketing feels like another full-time job? The Nest, a non-profit creative and marketing incubator for agroecological producers, is here to support the transition to a localised, agroecological food system. In this live session, marketing expert Rose Davis and producers from The Nest will share…

The decreasing number of small abattoirs negatively impacts animal welfare and reduces opportunities for direct marketing. This session gives an update on the current situation. Marianne Landzettel’s book, The Sustainable Meat Challenge — How to graze cattle, slaughter humanely and stay profitable, shows solutions from the EU and the US: from farmer owned small abattoirs and on-farm slaughter to slaughter boxes and new ways of value adding through processing and branding. The presenters are working…

Sustainable fruit and veg production has been through somewhat of a renaissance in the last ten years, with a huge wave of passionate new entrants joining the industry. However, making the finances work is hard for even the most experienced growers. This session will look closely at the reality of making a living from sustainable horticulture, the speakers have a wealth of experience to share. They will look at both what has and hasn’t worked…

A presentation of scientific research, including the most recent, on soil enzymes and plant growth. As science and the soil sciences take us into the ever smaller and more diverse intricate aspects of nature, soil health and the universe, we explore the work of enzymes. To take the example of compost teas and biodynamic preparations: science can show us how to help nature with micro biology, fungal activity and natural enzymes that feed our soils…

More and more farmers are discovering that farming with nature can not only help restore lost wildlife and habitats but can also help farms to become more environmentally sustainable, more resilient to unbudgeted events, and more profitable. The path to this better future is encapsulated in the concept of maximum sustainable output (MSO). The principles behind MSO have been set out in Less is More published by the RSPB et al, Farming at The Sweet…

This workshop will provide food citizens with the space and opportunity to discuss and determine practical ways in which kitchens and farms can work together more closely to drive food system change. Drawing on the experience of our farmer, supply chain and chef panellists as well as the participants, we will engage in the collaborative creation of a toolkit that proposes practical solutions to enable wider access to agroecologically grown produce.

Join this intimate interactive session and workshop with members of the Propagate Regenerative Farming Network, to work through: how and why to set up a farmer led cluster group, the difference it makes to farmers on the ground, and how to be empowered to advocate for changes locally, regionally and nationally. Using the South West Scotland group as a living example, we'll cover everything from building friendships to talking to politicians and influencing policy. And…

Land and property relations determine who lives where, who produces what, and who benefits from land use, with major ecological and social consequences. The food movement desires transformation – this requires a deep change in land relations. But the way property is currently organised in the UK makes this extremely difficult. Private and corporate owners hold vast (and growing) amounts of power over land use; while many aspiring and existing agroecological farmers and urban consumers…

Join us for a screening of Fungi: Web of Life, a 40-minute immersive documentary following British biologist, Merlin Sheldrake, on a quest along the forest floor to find the precious blue mushroom in Tasmania's ancient Tarkine rainforest. The film raises questions of what we — as human beings — can learn from the wonderful fungal kingdom of life. We'll be looking at these questions and more in a discussion with Tasha Elena Stevens-Vallecillo, a medicinal…