How might landowners take a radically different approach to enable equitable and responsible stewardship of land to meet today’s challenges and those of the future? How can ownership of and responsibility for land be shared via participatory governance models? Is a return to the commons possible or even desirable?

Three landowners from Scotland and England share their progressive approaches to changing land ownership and its dynamics and the challenges they face, while Scottish Land Commissioner,…

Could the Regionalwert AG model offer independent and strategic financing solutions for UK urban, local and regional supply networks?

This session will introduce and explore Regionalwert AG - a German network of citizen shareholder companies with the purpose of strategically investing in or setting up (organic) businesses within a local trading network; from farming, processing, catering, and retail to services such as machinery hire and research. Capital is raised through equity offerings to local citizens.…

A commitment to food sovereignty is at the core of organic and agroecological food production. Recently there has been a drive towards greater productivity and efficiency in small-scale agriculture, particularly at market garden scale. As we strive to get more out of the land we farm, how do we ensure that we stay rooted in principles of food sovereignty and ecological farming? These are questions familiar to organic and agroecological growers the world over, and…

If we are truly to “feed the world” without wrecking the biosphere then we need to farm within the guidelines of agroecology (treating farms as ecosystems) and food sovereignty (every society should have control over its own food supply) - which is what is meant by “Real Farming”. But can we achieve this within the framework of the neoliberal economy – which requires all producers of all kinds to compete for profit and market share…

In response to local grower trainers saying they wanted to build their confidence, a successful workshop was run near Bristol building skills for trainers. It was so popular that this ORFC ‘taster’ session is being offered along similar lines. Interactive and fun, the session is for any growers and trainers who want to improve their teaching style.

Using ‘reverse brainstorming’ to build on participants’ own innate knowledge, the session will give you insights into…

Whether you run a farm, a CSA, a food hub or a local enterprise, making a food business run smoothly is a constant challenge. In this session, we will be talking to six people from six different UK businesses to find out how they have done everything from managing sales to harvesting to order, to processing and packing deliveries. We will talk to them about the IT tools and online systems they have used such…

Despite efforts, UK pesticide use is on the rise. What is needed to really reverse this? Precision farming or a shift to agroecology? Payments for proper IPM? A new independent extension/advisory service? Pesticide taxes? Supermarket interventions? More farmer-led research? It’s up to you to tell us.

This session will look to identify barriers to reducing pesticide use, particularly in the farming sector, and what would be required to overcome these barriers. It will be run…

Two linked sessions will offer inspiration and insight into the business challenges and opportunities facing start-up and enterprising farmers and growers. It will offer practical advice and help foster sustainable and regenerative rural entrepreneurship in those who attend. 

A workshop space for exploring why land ownership and farming are still completely dominated by white people in the UK; and what narratives and strategies are needed to challenge and change this. Cohosted by Land In Our Names and Shared Assets, this session will explore barriers to farming for people of colour in Britain and how to overcome them; consider historical relationships to land for people of colour through the lens of empire and colonialism;…