Groundswell or Groundsell?

It’s not that I didn’t love Groundswell. I did. I arrived at 7:30 am and stayed until 11 pm. I caught the big top keynotes and some beautifully niche sessions on soil health and silvohorticulture. I chatted with clients and collaborators. A few farmers from our Five Bar Gate panel even recognised the big yellow Grounded logo on my back and stopped for a catch-up. It was a day full of rich conversation and shared energy.

But as I walked the field, soaking in the atmosphere and the almost euphoric festival vibe, listening to ideas that ranged from the pragmatic to the poetic, a quiet question kept circling: Is Groundswell still a movement? Or is it starting to feel like a marketplace?

The Weather, the Mood, and the Metaphor

I know it’s a cliché, but I can’t resist comparing the weather to the mood in food production right now. After weeks of heat, Groundswell brought a change of cooler air, rain and gusts of wind. Shorts and T-shirts looked out of place. But every farmer I spoke to was well-prepared. They’d read the forecast. They’d packed accordingly. The same couldn’t be said for many of the more corporate visitors further along the food supply chain....and I admit, my shorts were a little chilly as I hadn't considered a change in the weather in July during a reported heatwave.

And maybe that’s the point. Farmers are living this. They’re not just attending; they’re adapting, looking ahead and trying to plan for uncertainty us office bods can't grasp - often with little support and a lot of resilience.

In the talks, there was the usual Groundswell optimism, but also a creeping sense of chaos. Tim Lang warned of worsening food security. Henry Dimbleby and others pointed to policy paralysis and supply chain fragmentation. Still, amid the noise, farmers stood out as the constant. The glimmer of light. The ones still doing the work.

The Rise of Regen — and the Risk of an Echo Chamber

There’s no doubt regenerative agriculture is having its moment. Judging by the lanyards alone, everyone now seems to be on board, from start-ups and supply chain managers to royals and retailers.

But it’s easy to forget: Groundswell is a bit like going to a rock festival and assuming everyone likes rock music.

It’s inspiring, yes. But it’s also a bubble. Outside the bubble, we still see confusion, resistance, or in some cases, outright indifference. Are we doing enough to reach beyond ourselves? Or are we just perfecting the performance for those already bought in?

From Farmer-to-Farmer to Stage-to-Farmer

This year, I noticed something else, a shift in tone. In previous years, there was more of a peer-to-peer energy: farmers teaching farmers, sharing ideas, making mistakes out loud.

In 2025, many talks had the feel of “educating the masses” more polished, more didactic, sometimes more performative. Perhaps that reflects a more curious and broader audience.

Maybe it’s a sign that regenerative ideas are moving mainstream.

But it also felt like the centre of gravity had moved. Away from the field and toward the sponsor tent. Away from farmers, and toward “the industry.” One farmer described it to me — not unkindly, as “the lanyard brigade.” People collecting CPD points and photo ops. Dare I say - and to an extent I include myself in that too - the Groupies?

A Necessary Shift — Or Something to Watch?

Don’t get me wrong, Groundswell is still one of the most thoughtful, optimistic events in the farming calendar. The conversations I had were deeper and more open than anything you’d expect at a more traditional trade event. I left inspired, tired, and grateful.

But we need to talk about what’s changing. And we need to do it without fear of sounding negative or cynical. Because regenerative agriculture doesn’t just need advocates — it needs integrity. And integrity often starts with hard questions.

Who owns the narrative now? Who is being heard and who isn’t? Who are we listening to and who should we be hearing more of?

Are we shifting power to farmers, or just shifting language?

These aren’t questions I heard being discussed on the stages. But I heard them in the margins. In the beer tent, at the bar, on the way to the carpark. Not by the stage or at the sponsored drinks. Mainly from the farmers heading back because they had to be at work at 6am the next day.

And I think they matter.

A Final Thought

If regenerative agriculture really is the glimmer of light at the end of the food system tunnel, then we need to protect that light, not commodify it too quickly. Jump on the band wagon and allow others to have a piece of a pie that was meant for the farmers - indeed made by the farmers - but could easily become another way to exploit agriculture.

Groundswell is still a movement. But like all movements, it’s at risk of becoming a brand, a buzzword, a box-tick...even threatening a greenwash.

If we want regenerative agriculture to remain a movement with meaning — not just a marketing slogan — we must keep farmers front and centre. That means designing events with them, not just for them. It means funding peer-led innovation, listening harder than we speak, and ensuring that those with muddy boots have as much say as those with polished pitches. Farmers shouldn’t be the afterthought in conversations about system change. They should be the first name on the invite list and the last word on the mic.

And maybe the real work now, the next phase, is making sure the torch doesn’t just get passed up the chain, but stays firmly in the hands of those who till the soil, brave the storms, and show up prepared - even when the forecast changes.

**UPDATE**

I'm feeling a little less out on a limb with this idea when my brother (organic farmer and often time Groundswell speaker) rang me and said 'Saw your post, yeah, now you come to mention it, there was a change this year and I think that's what it was - a lot less farmers and a lot more people who looked like they belong in Waitrose.'

You heard it here first folks! Sibling rivalry aside for the good of regen!