About us

We are part of a future where independent farms thrive

We are farmers

Our family farm 12 hectares in Chile. As fellow farmers we fully understand the joys of farming and the difficulties. We also understand we all need to have diversified, resilient farming businesses. We created these apps originally for our own farm. After talking to neighbours we realised that no one is making digital tools for farms like ours. So we started to share what we made with farmers in Chile and then in the UK, where half of the family (and much of our small team) are based.

We enable independent farmers with digital tools

We aren’t talking Artificial Intelligence, robots and drones. Yes, they may be useful in a more distant future but there are super simple digital tools we can use today that can revolutionise the opportunities for independent farmers like ourselves.
We want to ensure that independent farms continue to thrive in this increasingly digital world, and can take advantage of the amazing opportunities to be connected, learn together and collect data for our own farms to make better informed choices going forward. We believe that insights from the data we collect can help build ecology, profitability and beauty on vineyards around the world.

Team

Abby: CEO & Co-founder

Abby loves creating digital tools that build ecology, profitability and beauty on farms around the wolrd – including this app and the podcast Farmerama Radio. She also helps run the farm in Chile with Tom.

Inti: CTO & Co-founder

Inti is excited about creating digital tools that are simple and easy to use on the farm.

Tom: Farmer & Co-founder

Tom is head farmer and runs their 12 ha farm in Chile (he is Abby’s dad).

Eliza: Community Development

Eliza grew up on the Groundswell farm, where she became fascinated with the natural world and how to preserve it. She studied Zoology to learn more about conservation, and is now focused on learning about regenerating soil and increasing on-farm biodiversity.

Erick: Programmer

Erick’s connection with the ocean drove him to develop a passion for nature and the future of our planet. His goal is to have a meaningful impact which leaves a better world behind us. He studied AI at KU Leuven and worked for a small startup where he specialized on how to take advantage of AI in order to minimize carbon emissions. Erick’s focus has now shifted towards farming and how the use of technology in combination with regenerative practises can help preserve biodiversity and protect the environment.

Annie: Community Development

Annie is interested in how regenerative farming can help farming businesses become more resilient, including her own family’s mixed beef and arable farm.

Fellows


The Vidacycle fellowship brings together viticulturists who are thinking differently and leading the way, those who have both supported and inspired us on our journey so far. Fellows represent our on-the-ground knowledge base, empowering themselves and others to take an ecological, profitable and beautiful approach to viticulture.

Will Davenport

Will runs Davenport Vineyards, a collection of beautiful organic vineyards in Kent and East Sussex. Will has 28 years of experience growing and producing organic English wine.

Stanley Brazil

Stanley is the vineyard technician at Rathfinny Estate, a vineyard grown on the site of an arable farm in Sussex, with the aim of making quality sparkling wine. Stanley loves spending time out amongst the vines collecting data, and is fascinated by the natural environment.

Mimi Casteel

Mimi grew up working in vineyards and wineries, and now works with a team on her own vineyard, Hope Well in Oregon, USA. Mimi is focused on creating a biodiverse, regenerative network of biology at Hope Well.

Luke Spalding

Luke runs Everflyht Vineyard in East Sussex, a new vineyard set to release its first batch of wine in 2021. Luke enjoys experimenting with different innovative ways of growing grapes, and spends a great deal of time recording data to make predictions on the vineyard!

Matt Strugnell

Matt manages all of the Ridgeview vineyards in Sussex, as well as offering advice and support to other vineyards. He is always up for trying new vine management approaches, and is excited about building soil health in the vineyard.

Dan Rinke

Dan is part of the team at Johan Vineyards in Oregon, USA. Dan manages the vineyard regeneratively and demonstrates how and where grapes are grown shapes the flavour of their delicious natural wines.

Graham Fisher

Graham is the vineyard manager at Bride Valley Wine in Dorset. He is passionate about taking a more ecological approach in the vineyard, always trialling new and exciting approaches.

Julian Phillips

Julian is at the beginning of his viticulture journey, having recently established Ham Street Wines in Kent. Julian is managing the vineyard organically and is excited about improving soil biology with practises such as cover crops and mulching.

More products from Vidacycle: