For the first time in recent history, Cereals 2026 will feature a dedicated Livestock Zone, marking a significant shift in the event’s evolution to showcase the vital role of animals within modern arable and regenerative farming systems.
And, the stars of the Livestock Zone will be the infamous Diddly Squat goats when Jeremy Clarkson hosts the event at his farm on June 10 and 11 this year.
As the Official Livestock Sponsor, agtech pioneer Nofence will be demonstrating how virtual fencing technology is bridging the gap between crop and livestock production. The move comes as more UK growers look to reintegrate livestock to improve soil health, manage cover crops, and diversify income streams.
The Nofence system, the world’s first virtual fencing platform, uses GPS-enabled collars, a smartphone app, and cloud technology to manage livestock without any physical boundaries. By replacing fences with audio cues and gentle electrical pulses, the technology allows farmers to introduce grazing into their rotations with minimal labour and zero infrastructure investment.
“Cereals is one of the most important events in the UK farming calendar, and we're delighted to be back as the Official Livestock Sponsor,” says Finlay Russell, Senior Sales Associate at Nofence UK.
“This year feels particularly special, as we'll be doing live demonstrations with goats that have been wearing Nofence collars for over two years, right on the farm where the event is hosted.”
In a major highlight for 2026, the Livestock Zone will host twice-daily live demonstrations featuring the goats from Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm to help provide a genuine "working-farm" look at how virtual boundaries function in real time.
As one of the hosts of the event and Diddly Squat Farm star, Kaleb Cooper, has welcomed the addition of livestock to Cereals and argues animals are a key part of the wider farming process.
He says: “All too often arable and livestock farmers have been separated by a very expensive fence. But, if we’re serious about soil health and making farming last for the next 40 years, we’ve got to get animals and muck back on the land.
“I love animals and having a dedicated Livestock Zone at Cereals is going to be great, especially as all farmers are facing tough challenges and we need to spread the risk. If your wheat price is down, unfortunately you’re going to make a loss that year.
“But if you have beef added to your farm – and the beef price is really good at the moment, as we all know – all of a sudden, your books then get balanced.”
He then wryly added: “And I’ve always said this, you can’t farm without an a***hole.”
Nofence is also using Cereals 2026 to launch two major technological advancements for the collars. This includes Whole-Season Battery Life, ensuring the collar now lasts an entire grazing season on a single charge, and Integrated Heat Detection, which enables farmers to use Nofence collars to identify when a cow is in heat.
Finlay adds: “The new whole-season battery life removes one of the last practical objections we used to hear from farmers managing larger or more remote herds. Combined with heat detection, we're moving well beyond virtual fencing into something that genuinely supports day-to-day livestock management.”
Beyond the demonstrations, Nofence will co-host a Breakfast Talk at the BASE-UK tent on June 10 at 8am. The session will feature Finlay alongside Professor Ed Codling from the University of Essex and Carmarthenshire farmer Hywel Morgan, discussing how 20 million grazing days of data collected by Nofence are being used to monitor animal welfare, optimise grazing patterns, and even assist the fire service in wildfire prevention through targeted grazing.
The National Sheep Association is also supporting the livestock zone and Chief Executive Phil Stocker said: “General trends, an interest in regenerative agriculture, and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) in England is resulting in more arable farms considering introducing rotations involving grass leys and other fertility building crops, with more seeing the benefits of livestock enterprises integrated into arable systems.
“Mixed farming is recognised as being good for nature and public farming reputation, and introducing sheep into arable farms creates job or business opportunities that can re-energise farms and estates. NSA is looking forward to discussing all of this at Cereals Event.”
In addition to the Nofence Livestock Zone there’ll be a range of attractions including the BASE-UK Regenerative Agriculture Stage sponsored by Tees Law, the Seed to Shelf Stage sponsored by KWS, the Syngenta & CropLife Sprays & Sprayers Arena and an area focused on young farmers and contractors called Kaleb’s Corner sponsored by Nick Young Tractor Parts and presented in association with the Young Farmers Programme sponsored by Michelmores. The event will also feature a range of other working demonstrations.
A wide range of food, drink, music and networking will also be available in The Farmer’s Dog pop-up pub, Hawkstone Hops & Harmony sponsored by V12 and The Farmer’s Gin Bar sponsored by Barclays & Propel Finance. And for the first time in recent history at Cereals, there will be retail in the Diddly Squat Farm Shop. Both the main shop and a pop-up shop at the lowland barn will be open on the event days.
Nofence will have a second stand at the event in the regenerative farming section to discuss how the technology is supporting better use of land and improving both animal and soil health while making significant labour savings for the farmer.
Finlay concludes: “A lot of UK farmers are managing land and livestock alongside other commitments, so time is genuinely scarce. What we hear over and over is that Nofence gives people back that time, whether its fewer fence moves, less stock checking, or just knowing you'll get an alert if something's wrong.” Farmers can now register for tickets at www.thecerealsevent.co.uk and applicable trade can enquire online about exhibiting at the event. This is a business-to-business event and so registrations will go through an approval process. Members of organisations including BASE-UK, Farmers Weekly, the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) and the National Farmers Union (NFU) will be automatically approved and receive a discount with their membership number.
To manage traffic, there will be comprehensive traffic measures in place and visitors are being asked to choose a preferred entrance date & time. New for 2026, visitors can also book a seat on a Cereals Bus from key locations across the UK including, but not limited to, Elveden Farms, Roy Ward Farms Ltd & Law Farming giving farmers priority access on arrival and helping to reduce traffic further. For more information, visit www.thecerealsevent.co.uk
