Groundswell Show and Conference

The UK’s first conference and show wholly focused on no-till techniques, soil regeneration, and livestock integration in arable systems. Founded by John and Josephine Cherry at Lannock Manor Farm, Hertfordshire.

Background

Groundswell was inspired by the No-Till on the Plains Conference in Salina, Kansas — a three-day January event covering conservation agriculture in the Great Plains.

“We couldn’t help thinking that somebody ought to put such a thing on in the UK and as no-one else was getting on with it, we created Groundswell.” — John Cherry

Name origin: “All the momentum for change is coming from farmers, as they have most to gain. Like the best revolutions, it’s coming from the bottom up. And we’re trying to make the ground well.”

Groundswell 2018
Dates 27–28 June 2018
Venue Lannock Manor Farm, Weston, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG4 7EE
Theme Soil health
Attendance 1,200+ farmers (Issue 3 report)
Scale 42 speakers, 4 conference/seminar areas, 30+ exhibitors

Farmer Speakers

  • Clive Bailye (see Clive Bailye)
  • David Walston
  • John Pawsey
  • Andrew Bott
  • Jake Freestone

International Speakers

  • Ademir Calegari (Brazil) — cover crops expert
  • Greg Judy (USA) — mob grazing and building healthy soil with livestock
  • Dan Kittredge (organic farmer, USA) — soil health and food quality (keynote x 2; developing a “gizmo” to change the food market)
  • Joel Williams — soil biology and underground ecosystem (speaking both days)

Key Programme Themes

  1. Soil health underground — what goes on underground and how to use that knowledge
  2. Cover crops — what benefits they bring (debate: jury still out for many)
  3. Mob grazing — getting animals back into arable rotation (Greg Judy, Pasture Fed Livestock Association)
  4. Drill selection — which drill will work best for your farm
  5. Economics — Gary Markham (agricultural accountant) presenting first No-Till Benchmarking Group results (UK no-till farm financials by farm size/shape)
  6. Politics and public good — Brexit implications, DEFRA “public good” framing for no-till; Michael Gove’s indications of possible incentives for zero-tillage post-Brexit

Groundswell 2018 Outcomes (from Issue 3 Report)

  • 1,200+ farmers attended (significantly up from previous years)
  • First No-Till Benchmarking in Europe: results presented by Gary Markham (Land Family Business) — see No-Till Economics — Benchmarking and Cost of Production
  • No-till cost of production: £101/t vs £111/t conventional
  • Machinery costs: £31/t vs £54/t (43% saving)
  • £10/t overall saving despite ~20% yield reduction
  • Jake Freestone (Overbury): reported establishment costs of £52/ha
  • Cranfield University rainfall simulator demonstrated soil infiltration differences between tilled and no-till soils
  • 13 drills demonstrated (up from 12 in pre-show listing)

[Source: dd-issue-03, 2026-04-11]

Drill Demonstrations (Roadshott Field)

12 drills in standing cover crops:

  • John Deere, Sly, Ryetec, Horsch, Weaving, John Dale, Sim-Tech T-Sem
  • First appearances: Sky, Duncan, Triton, Cousins of Emneth, Jordans Engineering, Unidrill, Hutchinsons

Weaving Machinery debuting 8m GD8000T (see Direct Drills — Types, Manufacturers and Comparisons)

Exhibition and Demonstrations

  • AHDB Interactive Soil Pit
  • No-Till Potatoes trial
  • Kings Cover Crop trial plots
  • Mob Grazing demonstrations
  • Electric Fencing demos
  • Bokashi Heap
  • Agricology Breakout Sessions
  • Innovative Farmers sessions

Machinery Talks (Soil Tent, Roadshott)

  • David Purdy — setting up tractors and weight distribution
  • Graham Edwards — challenging tractor makers to build machines suited to no-till
  • Small Robot Company — future vision (Harry seeding robot — see Direct Drills — Types, Manufacturers and Comparisons)
  • Drill-maker discussion forums

Groundswell 2019
Dates 26–27 June 2019
Theme Conservation Agriculture — practical ideas for farming in the new environmental and political climate
Previous year 1,250 delegates (2018)

Headline Speakers

  • Allan Savory — holistic management visionary; keynote
  • Jay Fuhrer — soil health expert, Burleigh County, North Dakota
  • Frederic Thomas — founder of TCS magazine (France); first time at Groundswell
  • Dr John Baker — Cross Slot inventor, New Zealand; mechanics of zero-tillage
  • Charles Massy — author of Call of the Reedwarbler
  • Isabella Tree and Charles Burrell — Knepp Estate rewilding story
  • Joel Williams — soil biology (returning); “First Principles” sessions with Amir Kassam and Jay Fuhrer

New for 2019

  • Food for Thought Tent — connecting growers with eaters; panels of policy makers, nutritionists, market innovators
  • New show layout: drill demo moved to south field; added discussion tent
  • John Letts on low-cost ancient wheat growing
  • Gary Markham: no-till benchmarking update
  • “True cost accounting” panel — real cost of growing food under various systems
  • Headline sponsor: Affinity Water

Drill Demonstrations

Cross Slot, Sky Agriculture, John Deere, Dale Drills, Weaving, Simtech Aitchison, Sly Agri, Horsch, Kuhn, Novag SAS (new), Virkar (new)

[Source: dd-issue-05, 2026-04-11]

Tickets and Access

  • Single day: £55 + VAT
  • Both days: £85 + VAT
  • Available at www.groundswellag.com

Significance for No-Till UK

Groundswell has become the UK’s primary gathering for the no-till farming community. By 2018 (third year of the show), it had grown to incorporate:

  • International delegations from Africa, China, and other countries
  • Political interest from DEFRA and implications of post-Brexit agriculture policy
  • First independent benchmarking data on UK no-till farm economics
  • Manufacturer engagement with real farm demonstrations rather than static displays

Sources

  • [[sources/dd-issue-02]] — “Groundswell 2018”, John Cherry, Direct Driller Issue 2 (June 2018)
  • [[sources/dd-issue-03]] — “3rd Annual Groundswell Show”, Chris Fellows, Direct Driller Issue 3 (September 2018)

Related Pages