Awarded: £4,630

Creation of a farm cluster group in SE Cornwall and the organisation of three meetings to share experiences, hopes, fears and education about mitigating and adapting to climate change and a better understanding of farms as emitters and sequesterers of carbon. The project will end with a public event which will allow farmers to present to the community the ways in which they are helping meet Net Zero targets and meet food needs in the area.

Key findings

• Building trust and attendance takes time; consistent engagement emerged only with a small core group.
• There was both curiosity and caution around engagement with the subject matter (climate change, carbon, climate-friendly farming), with some past negative experiences, and uncertainty about financial risk.
• Farmers are keen to engage with the public, but lack time, support, and resources to do so.

Recommendations for further research and activity

Farm Carbon Toolkit is exploring how we can maintain momentum and build on the foundations of this project. Our recommendations are: 

• To respond to suggestions such as exploring landscape-scale opportunities, and bringing farmers together under a shared goal. 
• Allow longer timeframes for new cluster formation, where relationship-building is essential. 
• Collaborate with trusted intermediaries: agronomists, vets, and other local figures already known to farmers can help bridge the trust gap and bring new ideas into existing advisory relationships.