PROGRESSIVE APPROACHES TO SUSTAINABILITY

PICTURED ABOVE: Service Dealer owner, Duncan Murray-Clarke at Groundswell

Taking place on Wednesday and Thursday this week (June 26th and 27th 2024), the Groundswell event experienced a busy and buzzy couple of days at Lannock Manor Farm in Hertfordshire.

The regenerative agriculture festival saw enthusiastic visitors (including royal visitors The Prince of Wales and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh) engage with the exhibits and attractions. The numbers being talked about were around the 8,000 mark.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh chatting with Emma Craigie (2nd right) director of TAP, Service Dealer's publisher

Organisers say the event provides a forum for farmers and anyone interested in food production or the environment to learn about the theory and practical applications of Conservation Agriculture or regenerative systems, including no-till, cover crops and re-introducing livestock into the arable rotation, with a view to improving soil health.

Service Dealer owner, Duncan Murray-Clarke, was in attendance and said he spotted a few more agricultural machinery manufacturers exhibiting than in previous years. "Visitors appeared genuinely engaged with what they were seeing," said Duncan. "Certainly all the seminar sessions seemed to be full and overflowing."

In terms of dealers, Duncan caught up with the guys from Electric Wheels, the dealership that specialises exclusively in electric all terrain vehicles. Speaking with managing director, Will Hinks and sales specialist, Matthew Radmore, Duncan heard that the company has undergone a management change and that they are looking to push forward. Elsewhere, Tuckwells had taken a plot again with John Deere. 

Electric Wheels' Will Hinks and Matthew Radmore

Duncan confirmed the evening was buzzing and summed up the show saying, "The mix of environmental types and progressive farmers were all here with the same enthusiasm.

"It was clear to see that progressive approaches and attitudes to sustainability are well and truly here to stay."