Talks and Demos

Regenerative farming, soil and how we might produce our food

 With Clyde Jones 

How do you go from “The Good Life” self‑sufficiency on a Salisbury smallholding to questioning the Green Revolution and rebuilding a 500‑cow dairy farm from the soil up? 

In this talk, Dorset‑based farmer and regenerative agriculture consultant Clyde Jones traces that journey: from early enthusiasm for high‑input, high‑output systems to a “farm from the soil up” philosophy rooted in biology, not just chemistry. 

Drawing on more than 45 years of hands‑on farming, over 20 years of rotational grazing, award‑winning grassland management, and large‑herd experience, Clyde shows how herbal leys, diverse swards, and longer grazing rotations can double soil organic matter, keep cows fed through dry summers, and cut input costs without sacrificing profit. 

He will explore what it really means to put soil health, biodiversity, and carbon at the centre of a farm business – and how the same principles can be applied even within the confines of London, from food choices to urban green space.

 

Bio:

Clyde Jones is a regenerative agricultural consultant and Farms Sustainability Manager for Barber’s Cheese, with over 45 years of farming experience across diverse livestock systems. After managing large 500‑cow dairy herds and being named Best Grass Manager of the South West in 2000, he shifted from conventional high‑input farming to a “farm from the soil up” approach, pioneering rotational grazing and herbal leys that significantly improved soil health, resilience, and farm profitability.

A former Farmers Weekly Farmer Focus writer for 10 years and a past leader within the Groundswell Agronomy & Advice service, Clyde now works as an independent regenerative agricultural consultant and farm advisor with the Soil Association Exchange, helping farmers cut carbon footprints, lower operating costs, and boost biodiversity. He mentors for the British Grassland Society and Pasture‑Fed Livestock Association, holds a Level 3 teaching qualification and BASIS Sustainable Land Management certificate, and brings a natural educator’s flair to talks and workshops.

Based in Dorset with his wife and two adult daughters, Clyde is also an avid birdwatcher, environmentalist, and occasional mountain biker, involved in skylark and lapwing surveys to understand how grazing regimes shape wildlife. Whether advising farmers in the field or speaking to urban audiences over a pint, he invites people to rethink soil not as “dirt underfoot” but as the living foundation of our food, climate, and countryside.