Packing the car for Groundswell has given me a couple of thoughts (dangerous, I know).
1. My Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust Scholarship was all about what actually gets farmers to change. I'd started out assuming rules & schemes would be a big driver - I think I was in a bit of a Soil Benchmark bubble, where a lot of our demand comes from helping farms stay the right side of the thicket of these (off the top of my head, the platform deals with NVZs, FRfW, SFI, CS, HSE, LERAP, EAMU, RT!)
But regulation is mostly about preventing damage. What actually changes how someone farms is getting together, in person, with other farmers - which is exactly what Groundswell Agriculture is. We're lucky to have it, as I was reminded by the farmers I met on my Nuffield travels across Europe, South America and Australia: they'd heard of it, and wished they had something like it back home. The only downside is it's only once a year.
But there's plenty they do better than us - not least what they call grower groups. The UK's got some brilliant farmer clusters, but next to the widespread networks I saw in Australia, Denmark or Argentina, they can feel like what I've heard Minette Batters call "diamonds in a paper crown".
So at this year's Groundswell, with Lucy MacLennan, I'm helping launch the Facilitator Forum to connect groups across the UK. There's a snazzy live UK Farmer Group Map (link in pictures) to help facilitators find funding and farmers find a group, plus a WhatsApp group that's already 50+ facilitators strong (get in touch if you run a group and aren't on it yet). The main idea is simple: connect facilitators, so their groups can grow into the same kind of national network as Aus' Grower Group Alliance or Movimiento CREA in Argentina - where farmer groups become the natural "unit" that government, NGOs and anyone wanting change in farming works through.
If you're around Thursday afternoon, come to our end-of-Groundswell meet-up.
2. It struck me that Soil Benchmark works a bit like a farmer group. Our best ideas - all our ideas really - come from collaboration. The constant back-and-forth of workshops, demo calls and support chats makes our users pretty much our most important team member.
And like a farmer group, in-person is where the magic happens. We mostly work remotely, so we make a point of getting together - monthly hackathons, a yearly summer trip (🏴 🇮🇪 so far, 🏴 next) - but Groundswell is the highlight. It's not only fun; it's some of the most productive days of our year. We come home overflowing with ideas - from showing customers what we've built and hearing what they need next, from a chat on a dung beetle safari, or from the random conversation on the walk back to the tent after Andy Cato's set.
If you're heading to Groundswell too, come and find us (G15, opposite the Earthworm Arms) - tell us what you want us to add, or just take on the worm game 🪱 (30 points = a coveted Soil Benchmark cap).
