Sign up
Go straight to the sign up form.A Field Of Wheat
Opening up new conversations about arable farming and food systems
This is an invitation to join a collective of people in the year long project A Field of Wheat by becoming a stakeholder in a 22-acre field of wheat in Branston Booths, Lincolnshire, seven miles from Lincoln.
We would like to invite you to become part of this collective and to come on a journey with us and the farmer through the cycle of winter wheat from drilling the seed this October to the harvest in Autumn 2016.
What will I get to do? A brief overview
Our aim is to establish a lively and creative platform through which to explore the complexities of contemporary arable farming.
Our dedicated website will provide opportunities for you to ask questions to the farmer, share your thoughts alongside other members of the collective including industry experts to reflect on wider issues around wheat farming (culture, history, economics, ecology). You will also have the opportunity to contribute to a number of key decisions, such as pest control and what to do with the eventual harvest.
You will be invited to live events and celebrations on the farm throughout the course of the year. You do not need to have any previous knowledge or experience of farming to be part of the collective.
Who will be in involved?
We are inviting a mix of individuals from the food and farming industry, farmers, local citizens, general public, artists and museum professionals, researchers and academics to be part of the collective in order to create a rich and diverse dialogue.
How does the money part work?
To become part of the collective requires an investment of £200 on which you may make a profit or loss. This is all part of the risk and excitement of being part of A Field of Wheat and experiencing the world of the farmer. In addition your membership cost will be £60 to cover the collective’s costs.
Returns made on your initial investment will be made by BACS transfer to you after the wheat has been sold. The date set for this is provisionally 31 October 2016. This may be subject to change if the collective decides to sell the wheat at a later date. Financial calculations regarding the collective will be posted on the website and sent to each collective member at the end of the project.
Our collective structure has been designed with support from the Community Land Advisory Service.
The whole year at a glance
A Field of Wheat website will go live in October 2015. This coincides with drilling the wheat seed. The website will be the hub of the project along with the farm. It will house the Farmer’s Almanac, a regular diary written by the farmer about his day-to-day experiences on the farm. You can contribute to via the Ask the Farmer section.
You will also find a page called The Exchange. This is where the collective discussions and decision-making will happen. You will be invited to input into three decisions the farmer needs to make during the growing year including where and when to sell the wheat. We will also design three online ‘provocations’ over the year exploring wider issues around contemporary farming and food systems. We have created guidelines for our discussion space inspired by Quaker methods of facilitating dialogue and sharing different perspectives in a non-confrontational way.
You can also find images, further thoughts and wider perspectives on the Artists’ Pages on the website and there will be daily updates on local weather and global price of wheat.
You will be invited to be a guest at the farm for three events over the year hosted by the farmer, ourselves and a range of different specialists. These will involve eating together, discussions and talks, a bit of walking and possibly practical tasks. At the climax of the project, in Autumn 2016 there will be a two-day event celebrating the harvest. Documentation of the project including online discussions will be made available to the public and may form part of a publication or exhibition.
In Autumn 2016 we will also run public events in the city of Lincoln with The Collection Museum and the University of Lincoln.
Who are we?
A Field of Wheat has been created by artists Anne-Marie Culhane and Ruth Levene and has emerged from two years of research exploring the culture and economics of wheat growing on a local and global scale and building relationships with farmers in Lincolnshire and with representatives of the farming industry, local historians and academics.
We are delighted to be working with farmer Peter Lundgren and to be funded by University of Lincoln, Arts Council of England, Arts NK, Dance 4 with support from The Collection Museum, Lincoln.
What happens next?
You will receive an email confirming your registration and payment. Once you’ve signed up we will give you two dates for your diary one on the farm and one online. The website will go live at the beginning of October. We will post out your membership certificate in October.
We will send you regular email updates, letting you know of up and coming events either online or on the farm. Most of the time you will get plenty of warning and time to prepare, although there may be the rare occasion of an emergency vote or discussion if the farmer needs to make a decision quickly (for example a pest management issue).
If you have any further questions email: mail@fieldofwheat.co.uk
A Field of Wheat explores our relationship with the food we eat and the people who grow it through the year cycle of a wheat field, opening up new spaces for dialogue, creative engagement and exchange.
We really hope you can join us and the farmer on this exciting journey.
A Field of Wheat.
