Right at the start of July, we gathered ourselves and headed into the fields of Groundswell. We were one of six organisations making up the newly formed and hugely successful Agroecology Tent, where we welcomed many new and existing landseekers and landowners for a chat. It felt like the audience at Groundswell really appreciated the need for a land matching service, with a steady stream of enquiries coming our way throughout the festival.
Of particular note was a visit from the Secretary of State, The Rt Hon Emma Reynolds, representing a follow up visit to our trip to see Dame Angela Eagle in London in April. Emma was receptive to each organisation’s policy asks, many of them bringing up the subject of access to land. At the forefront of the topic, Landmatch England illustrated our success in facilitating land sharing across England since launching in January and highlighted the need for secure funding to maintain the service, something the devolved governments have been providing to their respective land matching services for some time now.
On the rare occasion it was quieter at our stand we were able to sneak away and listen to a few talks. A highlight was ‘Landlords, Tenants, Nature and the Regenerative FBT’. The discussion really exposed how forward thinking Landmatch England are in supporting landowners and landseekers to collaboratively negotiate their lease terms together and to come to long term agreements that provide security. George Dunn shared an astonishing statistic that 80% of FBTs are for five years or less, this provides little confidence for landseekers making investments in the future of their regenerative businesses. Matt Morris, Exec. Director of Rural at the Duchy Estate, described how they had not only embedded a 25 year term in their Regenerative FBT but also sought to build in cooperation and collaboration as a way to support both thriving new businesses and the benefits for the wider farms. Notably Emma Chapman at Hertfordshire County Council shared their portfolio of Bio-diversity Net Gain Smallholdings with long term 20 year FBTs, and while long tenancies aren’t unusual for a County Council, the type of farmer they are seeking out has changed. Increasingly large land owners want tenants that are nature led and know how to integrate their farming operation with taking care of the land and the ecosystem that they are a part of.
We discovered at our panel discussion that regenerative farmers and landowners are hungry for insights as to how they can share land. Cordelia, Landmatch England Regional Coordinator, hosted landowner Tom Pearson and the landseeker he shares his farm with, Adrienne Gordon, who gave us a wealth of stories and anecdotes illustrating the ups and downs of how they had come to work together. Clearly one size does not fit all and landless farmer and land agent Holly Smith shared the various ways she has worked with landowners to be able to graze her flock of sheep and keep bees for honey. With a large audience, all sweltering in the heat, we really understood the demand for a land matching service. With any luck, you’ll find us at Groundswell again next year, in the Agroecology tent and talking once more about what it’s like to share land.
Written by Hannah Padgett, SW Regional Coordinator
Photo Credit: Sarah Whittick, Cider Apple Trees / Cordelia Hughes, Landmatch England