Clare Otridge is Director of Grounded Research, a specialist market research agency working across the food and farming supply chain. Grounded Research runs Five Bar Gate, a farmer research community created to bring the real voices of UK farmers into the heart of policy, innovation, and commercial strategy with over 1,000 members to date. 

Clare recently led the What Keeps Farmers Awake at Night research study, exploring the pressures and trade-offs faced by today’s farmers - from sustainability demands and input costs to changing policies and uncertain markets. With a background in behavioural science and a lifelong connection to farming, Clare’s work bridges data and empathy to create actionable insight that drives better outcomes for the sector.

Clare is also a steering group member of Women in Food and Farming, and it is through this network that the Sustainable Arable Agriculture panel at Cereals was brought together. As chair, Clare will guide a grounded and solutions-focused discussion that puts farmers’ needs at the centre of the sustainability conversation.