Groundswell 2025: Our essential guide

Venture capitalists need to be able spot a good investment - but to do that they need a remarkable understanding of the market in which they operate.Christopher Ramsay and Simon Evill are the brains behind Pelican Ag, a venture capital company right at the heart of the regenerative agriculture movement - here they provide insight into the key themes and trends that are shaping the next phase of market growth.

Groundswell is the essential ticket in the UK's regenerative farming calendar. We're previewing what's on - talking to brilliant speakers - and getting their panel recommendations. ffinlo Costain is joined by:Nikki Yoxall - Regenerative farmer and advocate,Julia Kirby-Smith, Executive Director of the Better Food Traders network,Kate Russell, Chief Operating Officer at Tellus Natural Capital, andChristopher Ramsay, Founding Partner of Pelican Ag.Find more land use news here: https://8point9.com/https://8point9.com/Watch this podcast here: https://youtu.be/99vul9V0ljE?si=z_Axec1gnGkP6H-r

Can large carnivores become an asset rather than a liability for livestock farmers? Could there be a net benefit for farmers sharing their landscapes? ...And were wolves really single-handedly responsible for changing the shape of the rivers in Yellowstone National Park? ffinlo Costain meets Jonny Hanson, Nuffield Scholar, and author of Living with Lynx, Sharing landscapes with big cats, wolves and bears.They discuss the pros and cons of large carnivore reintroductions - and the choices, opportunities and costs for society as a whole.Make sure you listen to the end, because the last question is the killer.Read Jonny Hanson's Nuffield report - https://www.nuffieldscholar.org/scholars/2023/jonny-hansonBuy the book, Living with Lynx, by Jonny Hanson

This is the third episode in our series: Filling the Funding Gap, in which we discuss how particular natural capital markets work and whether they can help farmers to bridge the gap between public payments and the real costs of transition towards resilient and regenerative food production.ffinlo Costain is joined by two experts from Regenerate Outcomes: Matt Jordon, Chief Scientific Officer and Tom Dillon, Director.Farm Gate's Filling the Funding Gap series is sponsored by Barclays, Environment Bank, Forest Carbon, Howden Insurance, Regenerate and Saffery.

Farm Gate Leaders - Episode 3 - ffinlo Costain (editor, 8point9.com) is joined by the film-maker and self-described “wrangler of scientists”, Peter Byck, who's also a professor of practice at Arizona State University.Byck is the director and producer of Carbon Cowboys and Roots So Deep, and before that, Carbon Nation. He has a gift for storytelling; for breaking down complex science and giving it a human face. His big passion is adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing and his films are hugely influential.LINKS:Roots So Deep: https://rootssodeep.org/Carbon Cowboys: https://carboncowboys.org/8point9.com: https://8point9.com/Farm Gate is part of 8point9.com, the land use news channel, which is sponsored by First Milk, Pelican Ag, Rural Solutions, the Usk Catchment Partnership, Agrolo and individual donors.#@8point9 #peterbyck #carboncowboys #AMPGrazing #Regenag #regenfarming #cattle #cattlefarming

Reports indicate that funding for nature-friendly farming in England is due to be slashed in the UK spending review, taking place on the 11th of June.What's likely to happen? What does it mean? And what can farmers do about it?ffinlo Costain is joined by Martin Lines, Chief Executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network - by Julia Aglionby, Executive Director of the Foundation for Common Land and Professor of Practice at University of Cumbria - and by Joe Stanley, farming commentator, Wheat from the Chaff co-host and Head of Sustainable Farming, at the GWCT Allerton Project.

ffinlo Costain (8point9.com) and Joe Stanley (GWCT Allerton Project) discuss:Net zero reports from The Tony Blair Institute and the AFN Network+UK climate change preparednessUK Government 'retakes' the decision to scrap SFI 2024Anaerobic digestionAnd those reports - by FAI and SFT - that were damned by Monbiot.

This is the final programme in our Filling The Funding Gap series - and I'm investigating the role of insurance. We'll look at how extreme weather is driving farm losses and ask what can be done to mitigate the risks - and we'll consider the role of insurance in supporting different kinds of natural capital market.ffinlo Costain is joined by Rory Gibson, regional director for Howden Insurance in Perth in Scotland.Farm Gate's Filling the Funding Gap series, is sponsored by Barclays, Environment Bank, Forest Carbon, Howdens Insurance, Regenerate and Saffery.Farm Gate is part of 8point9.com

Whether a farmer wants to continue working exclusively to produce food, or plans to integrate natural capital income streams within their business, access to finance for investment may be needed. We ask how farmers and other land managers can benefit from access to finance - what that finance might be used to fund - how to get it - and what strings might be attached?ffinlo Costain speaks to - James Milne, the Regional Head of Barclays Agriculture in Central and Eastern England - and Emma Toovey, Chief Land and Nature Officer at Environment Bank. This is the tenth episode in Farm Gate's Filling the Funding Gap series, sponsored by Barclays, Environment Bank, Forest Carbon, Howden Insurance, Regenerate and Saffery.

George Monbiot - the Guardian columnist with a penchant for lab-based protein and a farm-free future - recently wrote a scathing article damning two important livestock reports. The first was a report into three years of research into AMP grazing from FAI Farms, the Oxfordshire-based farm and food system consultancy - the second, Grazing Livestock, was by the Sustainable Food Trust.ffinlo Costain talks to Karl Williams, a director of FAI, and Science and Technical Lead, Amanda Deakin - and to Patrick Holden, chief Executive of the Sustainable Food Trust, and Senior Research Manager, Robert Barbour.Read the reports at 8point9.com:FAI AMP report: https://8point9.com/emissions-completely-offset-by-sequestration-in-mcdonalds-fai-amp-grazing-project-2/SFT Grazing Livestock report: https://8point9.com/new-report-aims-to-flip-the-script-on-meat-and-dairy/