Knowledge exchange and driving change in sustainable farming at GO Falkland

Soil Association Scotland enjoyed a dynamic presence last month at GO Falkland – an outreach event inspired, and supported by, Groundswell – a solid fixture south of the border for farmers, advisors, product marketeers, politicians and pundits interested in regenerative agriculture.

Groundswell Founder, Joanna Bowen, welcomed the GO Falkland audience in Fife: "Everywhere there are people who are interested in agroecology who can band together and inspire each other. I'm just thrilled to see the buzz catching on here in Scotland”.

Agroforestry at GO Falkland

The Soil Association team were there as event sponsors and participants and co-hosted the Tree Tent with Scottish Forestry and Woodland Trust Scotland. Sessions were on a range of subjects including the role of local provenance in tree nurseries in Scotland; green finance for trees; designing an agroforestry system; how policy can better support more trees on farms and crofts (led by our CEO, Helen Browning); and how regenerative fibre production can fit into existing arable, livestock and mixed systems.

Inspiring sessions

Punching well above its weight in its range of sessions and speakers, the two-day event facilitated thought-provoking, informative opportunities to delve deep into the detail. Our Head of Agroforestry Ben Raskin said, “I loved that people are making alliances and seeing ways of working together because they’ve met at GO Falkland, specifically around tree nursery and tree production”. Ben, along with Agroforestry Advisor, Jon Haines (and Woodland Trust and Scottish Forestry) also offered agroforestry design clinic sessions – an opportunity for farmers and land managers to have tailored one-to-one advice on trees on farms.

Colleen McCulloch, Scotland Farming Lead added: “I was pleasantly surprised by the level of interest in orchards. I also appreciated that fibre was part of the conversation”. Colleen is facilitating an Innovative Farmers field lab on growing flax for regenerative textiles.

The value of knowledge exchange

Knowledge Exchange Manager, Ana Allamand, commented: “I loved the connections being made in front of our eyes, and it was amazing to see so many very specific ideas around trees that could be carried out in Scotland... especially around tree nurseries!”.

Co-Director of Soil Association Scotland David McKay, who took part in a panel session on organic farming in the James Hutton Institute and AHDB-sponsored 'soil' tent, also enjoyed the open exchanges of knowledge, noting, “We all know farming and food production need to change to meet the challenge of a changing climate. I hope GO Falkland builds on its success, as there is no other event in Scotland that brings together different parts of the food and farming system and encourages best practice in sustainable, regenerative and organic farming.”

Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Mairi Gougeon was also in attendance on day one, speaking at a panel discussion on the Good Food Nation Act.

Abi Mordin of Propagate chaired a session on knowledge sharing and learnings from our recent collaborative programme, Agroecology: Strengthening Livelihoods. Jon McCosh of Kingsbeck Estate, Biggar, contributed on the value of peer-to-peer learning: "It's important to lift our head out of the weeds and see the bigger picture ... I would encourage keeping an open mind ... It's not the discussions you have in the fields, but how you process them, and the lightbulb moments after”.

Final words from attendee Jo Hunt, owner Knockfarrel Produce, a Soil Association-certified organic croft in Ross-shire: “Great to bump into several of my larger farming neighbours here. They’re looking for ways to adapt their conventional cropping through regenerative soil management, different markets and even completely new types of production”.

We hope that GO Falkland will continue next year, as it has provided a valuable space for inspiration and exchange of ideas and knowledge on sustainable, regenerative and organic food, farming and land use.

Go Falkland was held on Falkland Estate, Fife, Scotland on 17–18 July 2024.

If you have an agroforestry story and/or would like to join our agroforestry network, please get in touch with cmcculloch@soilassociation.org or jdingwall@soilassociation.org.

Read our recently launched report with Woodland Trust on payment rates for smallscale agroforestry.

Check out our Agroforestry resources here.