An event for farmers, by farmers
It all starts with the soil
Fields Good was inspired by the huge success of ‘Groundswell’, an event in Cambridge, England. Groundswell was started by a small group of farmers keen to understand how to reduce input costs, better their farms resilience to ever changing weather patterns and overall improve soil health for crop and livestock performance. We felt the time was right for Northern Ireland to start its own gathering to help farmers, growers and the wider food community come together to learn, share and innovate what the future of agriculture could be.
Regenerative farming focuses on the restoration of soil health by a set of guiding principles that largely aim to create more diversity of life in or soils. Microbial life in our soils has been over looked for too long now, they are the key to improving soil function, fertility, water infiltration, and the nutrient density of the food produced from that land. Another benefit is achieving these goals at a far less cost than conventional farming practices.
But it takes a whole new approach, many call it a mindset shift. Fields Good hopes to provide a broad spectrum of information to help you make a plan of action to suit your farm context, your goals and your lifestyle. There will be many free membership groups and associations exhibiting who can help guide and connect you to other farmers & growers. Having a network to reach out to will be invaluable as you navigate your farm to focus on soil health for production and profit.
Hear from knowledgeable farmers speak about their own transition journey, Experts in soil health will share their wisdom on how the soil functions, how to interpret your soil test results, how to measure and monitor soil and forage, and why soil biology is so valuable in your system.
Fields Good will build practical skills, connections and inspiration whilst addressing some of the many challenges and opportunities for the Northern Ireland food and farming industry.
We want to:
Our Partners
Fields Good has been made possible with the support of Esmée Fairbairn Foundation working with a group of nine local organisations including the Food Farming and Countryside Commission, National Trust, Nature Friendly Farming Network and GrowIN.
A steering group consisting of local farmers and food producers advised on the event content to ensure Fields Good is ‘farmer led’, with speakers and discussions which are fresh and relevant.
Fields Good has been inspired by the success of Groundswell, Carbon Calling and GoFalkland. We are very grateful to all these organisations for their help and advice as we have been developing our plans for Fields Good. These are all events which have successfully focused on soil health as their core message.
Partners
Collectively these organisations came together to successfully bid for funding, enabling the creation of Fields Good.
