Shropshire Farming Talk: Put Groundswell on your radar for 2025
It’s all go with harvest ‘24 here in Shropshire, with the past week bringing dry weather, and combines leaving swaths of golden straw glistening in the summer sun.
Newport Show landed when the weather was just right to encourage a farmer’s day off, providing a super day of socialising and enjoying the hospitality and entertainment on offer, once again making the show a brilliant family day out.
The teamwork of staff and volunteers at the show is super, and something I have enjoyed playing a part as a livestock steward.
Recently, Jane Craigie and I spent two fulfilling days at the Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival hosted by the Cherry family at their farm in Hertfordshire.
Nearly 8000 visitors including the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh visited the event to see some of the 300 speakers from all over the world who took to the 10 main stages which spread over two fields.
Topics explored livestock systems, cover cropping, soil quality, food nutrient values, human health, agroforestry, beneficial insects, and so much more.
The Wednesday evening saw thousands of farmers and other agricultural specialists socialising on straw bales and wooden benches, with delicious, mostly locally sourced, food (lots of grass-fed beef) and British drinks.
Even for those not convinced about farming with regenerative principles, Groundswell is well worth a visit. It offers a tremendous sense of community, and an ideal opportunity to be curious about the future of agriculture. Groundswell 2025 is on July 2 and 3.
by Helen Cork, Writer and Farmer
