John Cherry and Joanna Bowen on 10 years of Groundswell and the art of storytelling in agriculture

In this very special edition of the SFT Podcast, Patrick Holden sat down with John Cherry and Joanna Bowen, creators and co-founders of Groundswell.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Glastonbury of the Food and Farming world was even bigger and better this year - and for the first time, hosted its very own Podcast Tent (a collaboration between the Sustainable Food Trust and Groundswell, and generously supported by The Rothschild Foundation). Patrick was joined by Groundswell co-founders John and Joanna to talk through how what started as 400 people in a field in 2016, has today transformed into one of food and farming's most anticipated events with over 10,000 eager participants from farming, food and beyond. 

Find more SFT podcasts, featuring some of the biggest names in food and farming, at our main podcast page. Keep up to date with news, policy updates and more by subscribing to our monthly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Bluesky.

This conversation was recorded in the SFT Podcast Tent at Groundswell in July 2026.

End track 'Assurance' courtesy of and licensed through Soundstripe.

 

Timestamps

0:00: Welcome to the SFT Podcast Tent!

00:43: The origins of Groundswell

2:56: Transitioning from conventional to no-till farming

5:55: Inspired by American farmers and the No-Till Alliance

8:56: The first Groundswell

14:45: The organic versus regenerative divide

19:45: The power of storytelling in agricilture

26:07: What does the future of Groundswell look like?

34:10: Making regenerative agriculture profitable

41:13 Goodbye!