If there was one word that kept cropping up at the Cool Farm Alliance Member Event — over coffee, during breakout sessions, or out on a farm walk — it was trust.
Held at Watercress Farm on the Belmont Estate, this annual gathering brought together the diverse community of Cool Farm Alliance members from across the food and farming supply chain for two packed days of inspiration, thought-provoking conversations, and meaningful connections.
With the theme From Isolated Adaptation to Impactful Collaboration, it set out to explore how we move regenerative agriculture from pilots to space. It related to trusting project stakeholders, data, and above all, building trust in farmers, which featured in just about every session.
Other issues were, of course, discussed, debated, and dissected.
The challenge of scaling pilots was a key concern for many delegates, as were how to achieve cross-sector collaboration and getting buy-in for projects from corporate managers.
But so pervasive was the idea of trust that many of these topics were viewed through this prism and how establishing it with farmers and wider stakeholders was a panacea to the issues the regenerative eco-system is currently working to overcome.
Trust, data and the role of farmers
One of the main areas of debate was the use of data harvested from farmers taking part in trials. Discussions around access, ownership, and value all took place, sparking some lively debate about how best to engage with farmers and take them along on a regen journey.
Speaking in Thursday’s panel event, experts agreed a nuanced approach to collecting and sharing farm data was needed to inspire trust in farmers, whose buy-in is integral to the entire regenerative movement.
One panelist remarked: “A big part of trust is having control over data; the farmer knowing where the data will go and getting something valuable back for it.”
Other panellists – many of whom have direct experience of running or being part of large regenerative pilot schemes – agreed, with one adding: “If it doesn’t benefit the (farming) business, it’s hard for them to get involved.”
But it’s not just concerns around how and where data will be used that can put farmers off. What the data actually says can also be a barrier, especially when it comes to comparisons with other farmers.
“No farmer wants to come out worst compared to other farmers. This is another suspicion around data.
“Many are not joining projects because they are afraid, they’ll be worse than other farmers in a group. It’s a real problem.”
Breakout sessions with breakthrough ideas
The panel discussions were a great opportunity for experienced industry experts to debate the challenges in delivering regenerative projects and pilots, and answer questions from an engaged audience.
The breakout sessions, however, were all about unearthing solutions.
The Cool Farm Event adopted the Scan, Focus, Act approach to problem solving, with delegates encouraged not just to discuss and understand barriers within the industry, but to debate real-world solutions they could take away and feed into their existing and future projects.
The sessions covered a range of topics including clarity, trust, and value in data sharing; getting started in a project and sharing learnings; moving from pilots to large-scale action; unlocking impact; integrating datasets from different sources into supply chain systems; and fostering biodiversity, with delegates signing up to take part in the sessions they were most interested in.
But in a spirit of sharing and collaboration that defined the conference, delegates had the opportunity to engage with other breakout groups to hear how they had tackled the issues most pertinent to them.
Here the theme of trust once again came to the fore, including how a lack of incentives offered to farmers could arouse suspicion.
As one delegate explained: “Motivations are not always aligned and that’s a problem.
“We’re asking XYZ from farmers but we’re not incentivising them.
“I think there is an assumption farmers naturally want to get involved in this type of activity, but the reality is it needs to be valuable to them. If it’s not, it feels like it’s all one way and that erodes trust.”
Other solutions highlighted included:
- Spending an hour a week evangelising about the possibilities of regenerative farming to colleagues to address the lack of knowledge in large corporates.
- Taking senior personnel along to farm visits to engage them at ground level and show them what is possible.
- Connecting downstream to upstream stakeholders more effectively to promote a greater understanding of the different roles within a project.
On being challenged to describe what success looks like, one breakout session agreed it is when … “From farmers and everyone else, there would be no more questioning it (regenerative farming), no more discussions incentivising regenerative, consumers no longer needing to choose. Everyone in the system, from ag schools to financiers, are bought into it,” adding success will not be reached until ‘not being regenerative is the more costly option.’
Scaling projects, without leaving anyone behind
Whereas there is a huge amount of insight that can be gathered from pilots and trials, it was generally agreed real change can only be achieved by scaling regenerative practices.
Unsurprisingly, therefore, the barriers to scaling up were widely discussed, leading to a number of differing viewpoints on what scaling means and how different stakeholders view it.
One farmer, who took part in Thursday’s discussion panel event, encouraged corporates to avoid ‘getting lost in spreadsheets’.
He said: “You need to get out on a farm and you need to feel the soil, remember the basics of what we’re trying to do in the field.”
The same speaker added the regenerative community had been great at speaking to the top 10% of farmers who were happy to get involved with pilots, but real scale requires the mass adoption of regen principals across the agricultural industry.
Collective investment by all interested stakeholders was suggested as one route to achieving this. Delegates felt supermarkets and retailers should take more responsibility in informing consumers about sustainable food production and insurers should offer climate-related products to protect producers against extreme weather events.
Governments, NGOs, universities, banks, and even waste removal companies also came under the spotlight in relation to their responsibilities in helping scale sustainable farming.
Impactful Collaboration
Of course, scaling can only be achieved through effective collaboration and with a conference theme of ‘From Isolated Adaptation to Impactful Collaboration’, it is no surprise how to successfully work together was subject to much debate.
Trust, naturally, featured highly in these discussions, along with the alignment of risk among the stakeholders, convincing corporate colleagues of the value of pilots, and access to funding.
Another area of debate was target setting and KPIs. Often, it was pointed out, corporates struggle to take projects forward without KPIs in place, but where projects have never been carried out before, target setting can be pointless at best and in many cases impossible.
Suggested solutions to these critical issues were better communication, realistic expectation setting, and defining the roles of all parties within the partner organisations.
Lobbying for change
Finally, a rallying cry came out of one of the breakout sessions – a call for Cool Farm members to campaign for global change.
As many of our members are among the largest businesses in the world – and because they represent so many different countries – their collective power to lobby governments is almost unparalleled.
A shared mood of optimism
Despite the clear and obvious challenges within the regenerative sector, the mood at the Cool Farm Event was one of optimism – optimism that collaboration will improve and get stronger; that all stakeholders along the supply chain share the objectives of creating a more sustainable food industry; and that the incoming generation of farmers and producers are more keen to embrace sustainable practices than their predecessors.
Perhaps the most telling comment came from Patrick Holden CBE, founder and CEO of the Sustainable Food Trust.
In Wednesday’s panel event, he was asked about collaboration and what people can do to create win-win partnerships.
His answer was as simple as it was clear …
“Being here today, it’s happening now.”
Moments like that are the reason we hold this event – not just to debate but to act, to bring our fantastic members together to find practical solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems.
That is our “why”
Why we Gathered
With the Cool Farm Annual Event 2025, we set out to explore ways to optimise collaboration within the regenerative farming space. By doing so, we inspired two full days of immersive, energising collaboration and shared lessons that make us all stronger.
It is in these shared connections and experiences that the greatest optimism can be found.
Be part of the Cool Farm Alliance Community
The Col Farm Annual event is more than just a conference, it’s our annual gathering of members across the food and farming supply chain to connect, collaborate and drive progress, together. If you’re interested in finding out more about the Cool Farm Alliance, please fill out this short form to get started.
