During this Workshop we plan to invite Just farmers to come deliver a farmers and the media workshop to the cluster. Their aim is to foster the importance of open communication between farmers and the media. the Workshop covers a range of communications platforms from writing to Tv and podcasting.

Welcome to Regenerative Agriculture - Meet the Experts! Join us at the AgriFood Centre for an exciting in-person event where you can learn from the best in the field. Discover the latest trends, techniques, and innovations in regenerative agriculture straight from the experts themselves. This will be an opportunity to learn and build supply chain connections. topics and speakers include:
- Local farmers discussing why they have chosen to go down a regen path
- Representatives from WildFarmed discussing how they are enabling farmers to transition to Regen Ag by fetching a premium price (as featured on Clarksons Farm).
- Groundswell Agronomist discussing how regen ag can fit in the rotation
- Representatives from Pasture for Profit discussing the project they have been running across the South Downs.

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and gain valuable insights. See you there!

get your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/regenerative-agriculture-meet-the-experts-tickets-1134516783239?aff=oddtdtcreator

Join us for an evening of exploration into what the group can do for nature. We aim to present the results of our species mapping to determine who visit our cluster area and what could be done to protect them. A number of mini talks will then focus around around the presentation of a number of initial project proposals to help species within the Eastern South Downs. We also hope to discuss the different funding streams which could be used to deliver future projects. This will include speakers from the South Downs National Park, Changing chalk and more!

Alice Parfit from Buglife will be coming to discuss pollinator habitats and chalk grassland across the downs. We will also discuss the new environmental options available to support invertebrates, how these should be managed, the eligibility criteria and payment rates. The event will kindly be held by Tom Gribble at Cobbe Place Farm.

If you’re a livestock farmer, you can get funding for a vet or team chosen by a vet to visit your farm and carry out a health and welfare review of eligible livestock.

The review is designed to help you:

• reduce endemic diseases such as bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) in cattle, porcine reproductive and respiratory disease (PRRS) in pigs and the effectiveness of worming treatments in sheep

• improve the welfare of your animals

• increase productivity

• make sure your use of veterinary medicines and vaccines is appropriate

Cliffe farm vets will be coming to talk to you about the annual health and welfare review, what is available and how it can be used to support better lambing and calving outcomes.

The Map of Maps activity was completed at the begining of the year. This activity created a snapshot of the overall habitat types found on members land across the group.

There has been a lot of interest from external parties with the Map of Maps and the data we have collected. Therefore, we want your input to understand how it can be of greatest value to yourselves. Join us to understand what the map is, how it can be used, and what opportunities there are arising from the activity that you may want to engage with.

In June last year, ESD member Miles Walton began the conversion to organic on his farm, following 15 years of min-till cultivation through conservation agriculture. Miles is inviting ESD members to visit for a farm walk, to discuss the process so far, including gross margins, biodiversity and the practicalities of transitioning to an organic system.

Come along to this free event, hosted by the Eastern South Downs Cluster Group. We have been given the opportunity to hear from Keith Truett, NIAB consultant and Regional Agronomist for the South East.

Keith will be coming to talk about how to get the most out of your Nitrogen this spring, by measuring and improving Nitrogen Use Efficency, avoiding the negetive effects on Nitrogen uptake and the latest NIAB reasearch.

The event will begin with a farm walk followed by a presentation and food - please bring appropriate clothing and footwear for the weather.

Come along to this free event, hosted by the Eastern South Downs Cluster Group. We have been given the opportunity to hear from Frederic Thomas, BASE founder and French farmer, who is visiting the UK for a short time. 

A unique opportunity to hear from an industry expert. Frederic has become one of the specialists in conservation agriculture and minimum tillage. He plays an active role in France and throughout the world with producers, technicians and decision-makers in the agricultural sector. 

The event will be indoors with an opportunity for a farm walk - please bring appropriate clothing and footwear for the weather.

Similar to an event we held in 2021, this event aimed to bring together various stakeholders in the Farmer Cluster area

to discuss funding opportunities available to members and update members on projects and opportunities available

to them. Coming to speak at this event included the RPA, Natural England, Southern Water, South East Water, Locate

East Sussex, the Kent Wildlife Trust and James Baird from Home Farm, Climping, who came to talk about his

farm and the Weald to Waves project.

Ian Robinson from Sustainable Soil Management gave a bit of an introduction to soils, some basic concepts and their importance to the management of your land. The cluster then looked at some soil trial plots to get a practical understanding of the soil on this part of the South Downs and how that relates to management of this land, applications etc. Finally the cluster looked at this in the context of incoming agri-environment scheme and how this links to the need to analyse soils.

A free event for South Downs farmers. Come along to hear from Ben Taylor-Davies, farmer and UK regenerative agriculture specialist. Ben is traveling to speak to us from his family farm near Ross-on-Wye. 

We will cover extensions and mirror agreements, new CSS applications, SFI, Farming Innovation, FiPL and more!

The BioBlitz survey at Bevendean Farm will be taking place on Thursday 15th July. The BioBlitz survey will be conducted over 6 hours and the day will be loosely split into two, with people interested in participating able to join for the 'morning' or 'afternoon' session if you are unable to make both. The morning survey will begin at 9am and the afternoon one will start around 12/12:30pm

Sweep nets will be provided and it is looking like it will be a great day for species ID-ing. The survey will look to compare species from the six compartments the farm has been subdivided into based on their land cover and management and will be a great opportunity to see how different management practices affect biodiversity and have practical training in species ID-ing. 

With some of the proposed standards released in the latest update for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) tier of ELMs, a notable focus is on biodiversity and how payments under the SFI will be split into ambition levels based on how far you want to focus on the different standards. Understanding how different management options affect biodiversity may help in decisions made when applying for the SFI and in deciding which ambition levels to go for.

Start of the Regenerative journey at Saddlescombe - Roly Puzey
Roly and Camilla Puzey farm the land at Saddlescombe Farm where they are working to create a more regenerative farming system. They are at the start of the process of changing their current farming system up at Saddlescombe and Roly is going to share with the group the various challenges they have faced, why they going down this more regenerative route and what they are hoping to learn and achieve through it.

The Aquifer Partnership (TAP) - Aimee Felus and Robin Kelly
Aimee Felus is the TAP Programme Delivery Manager and Robin Kelly is the Catchment Risk Management Officer for Southern Water. Aimee and Robin will be updating us about TAP, its aims and about some of the projects it is currently involved with in the Brighton Chalk Block. They are also going to talk about how TAP and Southern Water are supporting projects, like at Saddlescombe, to reduce their nitrogen inputs and protect the groundwater in the Chalk Aquifer

Establishing Wildflowers, Green Hay and Arable Reversion - Rob Nicholls
Rob is a Countryside Ranger in the west of the South Downs National Park as well as a facilitator for the Winchester Downs Cluster. He has been involved in a number of chalk grassland enhancement projects in the west of the downs and will be discussing the various techniques they have used for these projects as well as covering some of the details for the establishment of wildflowers and enhancing grassland.

Managing Species-rich Grassland and Wildflowers - Matt Pitts
Matt Pitts is a Meadows Advisor for Plantlife and has been conducting virtual seedling safaris over lockdown which have taken a look at re-seeded grasslands and the management options that might suit those sites best. He will be taking a look at post establishment management of chalk grassland as well as how these grasslands can be managed for hay cutting and grazing.