Grasslands at Groundswell 2026

LUNZ Grasslands was delighted to be part of the Root and Reason stand at Groundswell 2026.

Root and Reason is a food resilience collective that is helping to shape change across the UK food system by cultivating informed, system-wide collaboration. Their stand provided a vibrant space for discussion, knowledge exchange and networking throughout the festival.

Alongside Grasslands, the wider LUNZ programme was also well represented, with colleagues from the LUNZ Hub, Footprint and JustLanz joining us, highlighting the collaborative, interdisciplinary approach LUNZ is taking to support the UK’s transition to net zero by 2050.

A highlight for LUNZ Grasslands was the well-attended panel discussion, “Farming Well for the Future: How Grasslands Can Help Meet Sustainability Challenges,” led by Work Package 2. The session was chaired by Dr Lisa Norton (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology) and featured Holly Shearman (Innovation for Agriculture), David Patterson (Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, AFBI) and livestock farmer Mark Lee.

The discussion explored how livestock farming can contribute to climate and nature goals while remaining economically viable. Drawing on findings from the Grassland for Net Zero project, the panel shared experiences from livestock farming clusters across all four UK nations, including organic dairy in Cumbria, Müller dairy farms in south-west England, dairy farms in Northern Ireland, Scottish sheep, Welsh sheep and beef, pasture-fed beef systems, and sheep on arable farms in southern England.

The session highlighted practical actions that farmers are already taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase soil carbon, enhance biodiversity and build more resilient farming businesses. The panel also discussed the value of on-farm data collection and monitoring, sharing lessons from field trials and farmer surveys, and considering which approaches to measuring farm performance provide meaningful insights without creating unnecessary burdens for farmers.

The lively audience discussion reflected the appetite for practical, evidence-based solutions that recognise the realities of farming while supporting the transition to more sustainable and resilient grassland management.

“Groundswell provided a fantastic opportunity to bring together researchers and farmers for an honest conversation about the opportunities and challenges of transitioning towards more climate friendly grassland farming systems. It was encouraging to see such strong engagement from the audience, and the discussion highlighted the importance of collaborative research that is grounded in the realities of farming.”

Dr Lisa Norton, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)

Thank you to Root and Reason for hosting such an engaging and welcoming space, and to everyone who visited the stand or joined the panel discussion. We look forward to continuing these conversations and sharing more findings from the LUNZ Grasslands project over the coming months.