GO Falkland: New regenerative farming festival in Scotland hopes to bring sector more up to date

Ninian Stuart, whose family runs the 1,900ha Falklands Estate in Fife, which is a mixture of arable and rough grazing, has had a long-standing appreciation and approach to regenerative farming practices.

He said the land management system built by his father in the 1960’s was failing, with unintended consequences for the environment.

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Searching for tips on how to ensure the estate is managed in a way to help soil health, produce food and encourage wildlife, Mr Stuart travelled to Groundswell, an annual summer festival of agricultural knowledge in Hertfordshire that attracts some 5,000 plus people from the sector.

From farmers to foresters to scientists, the event centres on discussion and new ideas on how to reduce emissions and work the land in a way that mitigates the impact of climate change.

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Inspired by the conversations, the Fife farmer, in partnership with neighbouring farmer Johnnie Balfour at Balbirnie Home Farms, set up a fringe event of the English festival and a first of its kind event in Scotland – GO Falkland.

Scotland behind the curve

Mr Stuart said the aim of the one-day event was for farmers to get talking to each other more about regenerative agriculture collectively north of the border.

“In England, there has been a noticeable shift to these conversations,” Mr Stuart said. "We don’t see it so much in Scotland just yet. There are some people doing amazing things, but in general, farmers are a little, perhaps innately, conservative.

"Sometimes Scotland is ahead of the curve, but with these sorts of conversations and knowledge sharing on regenerative agriculture, we are not.”

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Sam Parsons, estate manager at Balcaskie Estate, which is also in Fife, said he regularly has to travel further afield to find the information and guidance to continue regenerative farming practices.

Speaking to The Scotsman while attending Groundswell, which takes place this week, Mr Parsons said: “It’s much harder to find good information north of the border.

"There is a lot of interest, and well meaning people, but not an awful lot of action that helps you convert these ideas into a to-do list. That’s why I have to travel south.”

Mr Parsons, along with international soil scientist Joel Williams and chief executive of the Soil Association Helen Browning, will be among some 65 speakers at GO Falkland, sharing important knowledge and tips to others in the farming community.

"We need these sorts of events where we can go and find out the information we need to know on soil, for example,” Mr Parsons said.

"There is a concern that many people say they are ‘regenerative’, but are using it in a greenwashing sense because they are not actively getting out there and getting the knowledge required.”

Who owns the land has bearing on what’s done with it

Playing on the hit HBO series Succession, organiser Mr Stuart said another theme of GO Falkland would be looking at ownership and succession in farmland and estate communities.

Mr Stuart’s family are in the process of relinquishing five generations of ownership of Falkland Estate to either hand it over to the local community or to an appropriate charity.

He said he and his relatives believed more in “stewardship of the land”, which he said in contemporary times meant “a collective of people looking after the land rather than someone owning it”.