A Call to all Farm Networks

We know that on-farm demonstration and the communication of farmers’ experience has a unique role in improving food system resilience by scaling up more sustainable agricultural practice. By working together as a network of networks across sectors and UK nations, there is a huge opportunity to be more than the sum of our parts.

The Sustainable Farm Networks (SFN) initiative has been brought about to support this vision. By working with Network Stewards (the individuals with the most direct and consistent contact with demonstration farms), we will identify and facilitate opportunities for mutual support, collaboration and cooperation, to enhance the experience and impact of the farmers they are working with. The SFN is a free to join, pre-competitive, system agnostic forum.

Working with existing knowledge exchange platforms such as Agricology to amplify successes and highlight challenges, the SFN will be shaped by members with the support of a steering group representative of supply chain pioneers, farmers, land-based training providers, research project groupings and environmental certification organisations. Together they have helped us develop a Terms of Reference which lays out the aims, purpose, offer and ask of joining networks.

We are inviting demonstration farm networks i.e. 3 or more holdings co-ordinating activities to implement in common sustainable farming practices, principles or technologies with the intention of sharing the resulting collated findings, experiences or information, to be part of the SFN.

Get started by filling in your contact and network information through this link or by scanning this QR code:

The first event will be a Network Stewards Group meeting online between 10 and 12 on the morning of Thursday October 17^th and we would greatly value the input of as wide range of demo farm networks to it as possible.

For more information or to discuss what the SFN could offer to your network, get in touch with me, Lucy Bates, at Harper Adams University’s School of Sustainable Food & Farming Lbates@harper-adams.ac.uk