Building a movement for resilience: the East Anglian Grain Alliance
Stories from the 2026 gatherings so far……..
As the summer draws to an end, we breathe a grateful sigh of relief as the fifth heatwave recedes. We have all no doubt found this weather difficult at times, but for our farmers and growers, this year has been particularly challenging. The need to adapt and mitigate has been brought sharply into focus, and our workshops and events held this year on diverse cereal crops, feel increasingly important.
In our previous blog, we wrote about the Farmer Workshop on Diverse Cropping at Maple Farm, open to all farmers across Suffolk and Essex in January. However, January also saw Barleybird start to facilitate a currently, informal organisation called the East Anglian Grain Alliance (EAGA). Originally established in 2021 as part of UK Grain Lab, EAGA is a collective of plant breeders, researchers, farmers, millers, brewers, cooks and bakers (and eaters!) who are interested in working together to create localised and short-chain grain economies and human scale food networks. Barleybird began by arranging a meeting at Hodmedod’s HQ, testing the water to see who was where, and doing what, and a call out for new members to join us. What became clear was enthusiasm for more gatherings!
In May we reconvened at the wonderful Shimpling Park Farm where we were joined by over 30 farmers, millers, bakers and eaters of bread made from diverse grains from across Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Hertfordshire (where were you, good people of Essex?!) Shimpling Park Farm is organic arable, but with sheep and agroforestry integrated into its system. The farm mills its own flour on site, which is used by the on-farm bakery, Biddles Bread to make beautiful bread and other baked goods.
During the workshop and farm tour, we shared where each of us are on the journey to creating more resilient local food systems, in particular with diverse grains, and discussed what we can do to support each other on this journey. It’s about connecting to one another, building relationships, and acknowledging shared values. Discovering and linking the incredible people ‘assets’ we have in the region to learn, grow and create. Oh, and also an opportunity to eat delicious sourdough pizza, fresh from the on-farm oven!
In June we were back at Maple Farm. We invited farmers who had attended the Diverse Cropping workshop in January, and united them with the newly revitalised and/or recruited EAGA members. Josiah Meldrum from Hodmedod’s, and Mike Mallet, Manager at Maple farm, gave fascinating and inspiring insights into opportunities which working with diverse crops can bring to the transition to a more resilient, nutritious and equitable food system. Thank you to Acre Farm for capturing the day on film. We’re EAGA for the next gathering!
Email grains@eaga.org.uk to join or visit @eagalliance on Instagram for details of our next gathering at Duchess Farms & Gilchesters Organics in Hertfordshire on the 29th Sept.
