Groundswell 2026 - Regenerative Agriculture and why seaweed is relevant

By Sophie Wood, Programme Manager for the UK Seaweed Network, and Rhianna Rees, CEO of Seaweed Scotland

At the beginning of July, the UK Seaweed Network and Seaweed Scotland attended Groundswell in Hertfordshire. Groundswell is a conference with a festival vibe that celebrates and promotes regenerative agriculture, through panel sessions, insightful speakers, and stallholders. Where better, then, to champion the production of seaweed-based biostimulants that are currently being trialled and/or are on the market in the UK.

One of the things that struck us most over the two-day event was that many of the challenges/barriers facing regenerative farmers sound very similar to some of those being faced by the UK’s seaweed industry. Key topics that reoccurred across talks included:

• The need for robust data for policy decision-makers and the private sector especially

• The need for clearer routes to market that recognise ecosystem services provided by regenerative agriculture (and we’d argue seaweed production and processing)

• A need for investment that incentivises processes that prioritise food and nature resilience

• The (early) engagement of large businesses to create ‘cultural pull’ and to help shape the ‘ecosystem’ of supply chains that embrace regenerative practices and focus on resilience (this was a key message that also came out of Seagriculture EU 2026 – watch out for the upcoming UKSN blog on that event)

• Supply chain conversations focused on shared risk, creating the right incentives and recognising that resilience looks different in different places

• Tech solutions may abound but ‘baselining’ services are still fairly inaccessible to SMEs unless you have serious investment

• It’s about bringing stories to life for consumers

Each one of these points were raised in the context of regenerative agriculture but they could equally have been mentioned in relation to seaweed. We can learn from other sectors and there is an opportunity to collaborate on some of these issues rather than reinventing the wheel. The context may not always be the same but seeking ideas from adjacent sectors can only help the seaweed industry in its path towards sustainable growth and accessing markets in the UK.

The effects of climate change were at the forefront of future planning principles, including considerations around land use and the maintenance of soil health. The UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Climate, Katie White, shared her thoughts on this, welcoming questions from young people who asked about the impact of farming animals (66% of UK land is agricultural and 75% of that is grassland for grazing), and how seriously the government was taking the impending crises.

Indeed, Groundswell emphasised that agriculture cannot be discussed in isolation and that while food, health, climate, nature and business are often treated as separate conversations (or occasionally referenced in groups of two or three) – they are collectively part of the same challenge, albeit coming from different directions. So, it’s about bringing together those different perspectives to find solutions. The UK Seaweed Network and Seaweed Scotland believe that this needs to be taken a step further and that seaweed (cultivated and harvested) and coastal socio-economic and environmental factors should also be a part of these conversations, given how interconnected they are with agriculture and food systems, health, climate, nature and business.

Initiatives around ‘Ridge to Reef’, ‘Source to Sea’ etc already recognise that what happens on land impacts what happens on the coast, and sometimes vice versa. The impact of some agricultural practices on the coast is well known, with severe cases of eutrophication causing algal blooms and contamination of water ways and coastal ecosystems. Seaweed producers can work with the agricultural sector and be part of the solution – farm trials in the UK are currently showing that the use of seaweed-based biostimulants allows the reduction of synthetic fertilisers (by up to 40% in some trials) without compromising yield and often while improving plant resilience. Seaweed biostimulants can indirectly have positive effects on soil microbial activity too. In fact, a key part of the regenerative agriculture story highlighted at Groundswell was restoring soil health, with many believing it is the key first step from which everything else follows.

Scientific research suggests that plants are far more resilient to stress from drought etc with the use of biostimulants as well. Seaweed can also be part of the solution in improving water quality – the UK Seaweed Network is joining others in looking at the contribution that seaweed (and shellfish) could play in nutrient remediation.

Groundswell led to many positive conversations; we heard from seaweed biostimulant producers that the evolution of conversations in the last three years has been significant. Farmers are increasingly aware of the potential of seaweed-based biostimulants in contributing to the aims of regenerative agriculture, while others who were less familiar were intrigued to learn more. One of the key evidence gaps to convince farmers to take the next step are science-backed farm trials on farmland itself, but this takes time and investment. If a farmer can stand on the land and see the difference, then that will inevitably translate to sales.

The good news is that there is significant interest in seaweed-based biostimulants in the UK and  more internationally. The European Seaweed Association has produced a biostimulants roadmap and Hatch Blue and The Nature Conservancy have just released a white paper and farmers brief – check out the UKSN website for links to these, further information about seaweed-based biostimulants and other relevant reports.

One final point to make is that while regulations on biostimulants are currently less stringent in the UK than the EU, the UK’s seaweed industry needs to be anticipating the potential change of policy in the future. The UK Seaweed Network and WWF-UK are running a biostimulants working group to discuss challenges such as this and others mentioned above – please get in touch via contact@ukseaweed.org if you are producing seaweed-based biostimulants in the UK and are interested in joining.