A Field of Wheat

A participatory research project in collaboration with Anne-Marie Culhane. Between October 2015 and September 2016, a collective made up of 42 members of the public, the food industry, farming community, artists and researchers each invested £200 in a field of wheat in Branston Booths, Lincolnshire. Throughout the growing cycle they exchanged dialogue, ideas and resources through a dedicated website and a series of events on and off the farm. Together they learned about the wheat, soil, water, history, rituals, biodiversity, the economics and trading and farming process. They were responsible for key decisions, selling the wheat and the application of nitrogen fertilizer.

We wanted to explore and reveal the connections between food systems, farming, land, global markets & the environment; and to connect the consumer to the producer. A 22 acre field of wheat in Lincolnshire turned out to be a a complex story, one of many complex systems we live by often leaving us with a lack of understanding and agency.

Through collective events on the farm water and biodiversity; seed and harvest; and a trip to London exploring the global markets and history of wheat trading the collective began a series of dialogues. Supported, inspired by and co-designed local Quakers, a series of carefully staged discussions resulting in a vote. The collective were responsible for deciding if and how much nitrogen fertilizer to put on the crop.