Advertise on podcast: R2Kast - People in Food and Farming/All In

Series three of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar continues 🎙️ This series is exploring some of the biggest challenges, innovations and conversations shaping agriculture today, and this time we’re discussing a topic that really does make my blood boil, livestock attacks 🐑 I was joined by Dan Jones, a good friend of mine and fellow Nuffield Scholar from my own cohort. Dan farms sheep on the Great Orme in North Wales, managing around 1,000 acres of incredibly important land for biodiversity and conservation, while also dealing with the challenges of having hundreds of thousands of visitors passing through the farm every year. We spoke about Dan’s Nuffield journey, which took him across the world exploring the future of upland sheep farming and how food production, nature conservation and climate change can work together. From Brazil and Borneo to Patagonia and Japan, Dan found that farming is about far more than producing food. It also plays a huge role in protecting culture, communities and even language 🌍 There were some incredible stories from his travels too, including finding himself on horseback in southern Chile helping four shepherds move 23,000 sheep between pastures, despite barely having ridden a horse in 25 years! 🚜 But the main focus of this episode was livestock attacks, something Dan unfortunately knows far too much about. In 2024 alone, he experienced 12 separate incidents resulting in sheep deaths. We spoke about the emotional and financial impact these attacks have on farmers, the distress caused to livestock even when there are no visible injuries and why Dan believes the term livestock worrying simply does not reflect the seriousness of what happens. We also discussed NFU Mutual’s research showing that farm animals worth an estimated £1.95 million were severely injured or killed in dog attacks last year, an increase of 10%. Their survey of 1,407 dog owners also found that one in 20 admitted their dog had chased livestock, yet 72% were not actively taking steps to prevent it. Dan shared some genuinely upsetting experiences, from sheep being chased over cliffs to dealing with dog owners who had never imagined their pet could harm another animal. We spoke about responsible countryside access, the importance of keeping dogs under proper control and how difficult it can be to educate people about the consequences of what might initially seem like harmless behaviour. One thing that really stood out was Dan explaining how repeated attacks have almost made him accustomed to something that should never be considered normal. Behind every incident is a farmer who has spent years caring for those animals, and that emotional impact is something we really need to speak about more openly. We finished by reflecting on his Nuffield experience and his advice to anyone thinking of applying. Find something you’re genuinely passionate about, remain open to where the journey takes you and make the most of every opportunity 🌱 Thank you to NFU Mutual for their support of this project. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I had Carrie on the R2Kast 🎙️ Carrie is a dietitian and nutritionist whose career has spanned research, food businesses, media and consultancy, alongside sitting on the board of Quality Meat Scotland. 🌾 We spoke about growing up in Scotland, initially wanting to become a doctor and finding dietetics almost by accident. That took Carrie through hospital work before realising her real interest was understanding food, nutrition and how what we eat affects our health. 🍎 A big part of the conversation focused on gut health, probiotics and prebiotics, food intolerances and why nutrition research is far more complicated than a headline saying one food is good or bad. We also got into the difference between dietitians and nutritionists and why Carrie believes nutrition should become a protected profession. 🌍 We also spoke about ultra processed foods and why Carrie disagrees with treating them as one blanket category. From fortified cereals and plant milks to affordability, convenience and family life, we discussed why nutrition needs to be practical and why simply making your diet a little better can be far more useful than chasing perfection. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ahead of the Scottish Smallholding and Countryside Festival on Saturday 17 October, Wallace chats with show secretary Martin Beard, Alice Lennox from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and Siobhan MacDonald from the Farm Advisory Service. Martin shares what visitors can expect, from livestock shows and rural skills competitions to local producers, crafts and over 40 talks. Alice discusses protecting native breeds, while Siobhan highlights practical workshops, advice and learning opportunities for smallholders and crofters. The conversation celebrates the importance of small farms, rural communities and preserving traditional skills. Join us at the Royal Highland Centre on Saturday! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace catching up again, with plenty happening around SFI, regenerative farming, biodiversity and David’s ever expanding direct selling business. A big part of this episode was the latest SFI debacle, with David explaining how he spent hours preparing a £51,000 application only for the funding to run out before he could submit it. We chatted about the uncertainty this creates for farmers, particularly those trying to change their farming systems while keeping their businesses afloat. We also got into Martin’s recent bird survey, which recorded 514 birds across 45 species, including eight red listed species! That led into a really interesting discussion around biodiversity, soil health, leaving fields green over winter and whether sometimes doing less can actually achieve more. David’s direct selling venture continues to grow too, with lamb boxes now joining the mix and farmers from further afield getting involved. We spoke about the power of social media, the challenges of scaling a business and why dealing directly with customers can be so much more rewarding than traditional wholesale markets. Alongside that we chatted about the Farmers Weekly Awards, growing crops with fewer inputs, grain quality, the price of lamb and why farmers need to find ways of keeping more of the value from what they produce. We’re keeping this going fortnightly, so feel free to send us any ideas or topics you’d like us to get into. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Series three of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar continues 🎙️ This series is looking at some of the biggest challenges, innovations and conversations shaping agriculture today, and this time we’re exploring a sector I know far less about, UK viticulture 🍇 I was joined by Fred Langdale, who has spent around 18 years working at Exton Park Vineyard in Hampshire. Coming from a farming background, Fred developed an interest in viticulture at a young age and went on to work in vineyards across southern England, South Africa and New Zealand before building his career in the growing English wine sector. We got right into how viticulture actually works, from managing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier through to canopy management, cover crops, soil health and harvest. Fred explained how the vineyard uses around 60 different plant species within its cover crops and how careful management can improve soil structure, water retention and ultimately the vines themselves 🌱 We also spoke about just how quickly UK viticulture is changing. Fred remembers harvesting around the middle of October when he started, compared with the 8th of September this year. Despite the drought, he described this year’s fruit as some of the best quality he has seen, showing how a changing climate can create both opportunities and completely new challenges for this growing sector. That leads perfectly into Fred’s Nuffield Scholarship, which focused on frost protection in cool climate viticulture. Earlier bud burst can leave vines increasingly vulnerable to spring frosts, and Fred travelled through New Zealand and Tasmania exploring how vineyards manage that risk before Covid dramatically changed his travel plans. He ultimately brought the research back home, trialling approaches in his own vineyard and finding a fan system that works well across his particular site 🌍 One of the biggest lessons was that there is no magic answer. Frost protection is incredibly site specific and sometimes the best solution starts before a vine ever goes into the ground by understanding where the frost pockets are and choosing the right site in the first place. We also got into the wine itself, how sparkling wine gets its bubbles, why English sparkling wine can spend years ageing before release and how the industry is beginning to build an identity of its own. It was a proper learning episode for me and a fascinating look at a part of UK food production that looks set to become increasingly important. Thank you to NFU Mutual for their support of this project. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I had George on the R2Kast 🎙️ George works with Regeno, is a farm consultant and is currently carrying out a professional doctorate looking at soil health, grazing and the relationship between soil biology and carbon. 🌾 We spoke about his route into agriculture from outside a farming background, initially studying veterinary medicine before deciding it wasn’t the right path. That decision eventually took him into livestock genetics, cattle IVF, rare breed conservation and farm consultancy before moving into the world of agricultural technology. 🍎 A big part of the conversation focused on Regeno and its FarmWalk app, which is free for farmers to use. It uses AI to bring together the millions of data points generated on farms and actually turn them into something useful. We spoke about everything from rainfall and soil results to environmental schemes, image recognition and using photos to simplify farm records. 🌍 We also got into regenerative agriculture, George’s research comparing rotational grazing and set stocking, native breeds, soil biology and why data could help us better understand what regenerative farming is actually achieving. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I had Nick on the R2Kast 🎙️ Nick is CEO of Velcourt Group, overseeing a business working across farming, forestry, conservation and rural asset management throughout the UK. 🌾 We spoke about growing up in Dorset with no farming background, becoming fascinated by agriculture and eventually heading to Harper Adams before joining Velcourt. That relationship has lasted his entire career, taking him from milking cows and the graduate training programme through farm management, a stint managing a huge farming operation in Hungary and eventually into the CEO role. 🍎 A big part of the conversation focused on what Velcourt actually does. The farming business manages over 100 farming businesses covering around 52,000 hectares, from dairy and livestock through to arable, potatoes, fruit and fresh produce. We spoke about managing farms for everyone from farming families to large estates and institutional landowners, and how every relationship requires something slightly different. 🌍 We also chatted about Velcourt’s management training programme, developing people internally, financial responsibility at farm level and how forestry and conservation are becoming increasingly important parts of the wider business. It was a really interesting look at the scale of the organisation and how it continues to evolve while keeping people and farm management at its core. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Field to Front Door – Episode 16 on heritage grains, no input farming and selling direct Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace catching up as plans for next season start taking shape, with plenty on heritage grains, direct selling and experimenting with different ways of growing crops. David has made another impulse purchase, this time a roller mill, which led us into naked oats, porridge and swapping grain with Martin. We also got into heritage varieties, why bakers and millers are increasingly interested in them and whether older, taller varieties could offer another route towards growing crops with fewer inputs. That brought us back to the ongoing no input experiments. We chatted about mixed varieties, soil disturbance, weed control, cover crops and the economics of reducing inputs when conventional crops can cost so much to establish before you even know what they’ll yield. The direct selling experiment has moved pretty quickly too. Just over a month in, David is now bringing together produce from loads of different farms, with vegetables, fruit, milk and meat all heading directly to customers. There have been a few casualties along the way, particularly the eggs 😂, but some weeks are already seeing thousands of pounds worth of produce going out. We also got into the bigger question of what food is actually worth, how much of that value reaches the farmer and whether becoming more efficient has really benefited producers when machinery and input costs have risen so dramatically. We’re keeping this going fortnightly, so feel free to send us any ideas or topics you’d like us to get into. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I had Jill on the R2Kast 🎙️ Jill runs the National Association of Agricultural Contractors and has spent much of her career representing the people and businesses providing essential services across UK agriculture. 🌾 We spoke about growing up around farming, wanting to become a shepherdess and studying animal science before starting her career with the Humane Slaughter Association. That took Jill into abattoirs, animal welfare and slaughter training, alongside a Churchill Fellowship looking at the welfare of male chicks across China, Israel and the USA. 🍎 A big part of the conversation focused on agricultural contractors and just how important they are to farming. Over 90% of farmers use contractors in some form, covering everything from shearing and fencing to drainage, machinery and whole farm operations. We spoke about investment, labour, red diesel and making sure contractors are properly represented when agricultural policy is being developed. 🌍 We also got into farm safety, the unacceptable number of deaths and serious injuries still happening across the sector and why safety needs to become part of everyday decision making rather than simply paperwork. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Series three of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar continues 🎙️ This series is looking at some of the biggest challenges, innovations and conversations shaping agriculture today, and this time we’re getting into a topic that is becoming increasingly important across UK farming, natural capital 🌱 I was joined by 2026 Nuffield Scholar Liz Warner, a first generation tenant farmer from Devon who farms around 200 acres of beef, arable and grassland alongside working as a farm and natural capital consultant. Liz and her husband started with rented land and a few sheep before taking on a Devon County Council farm, so there is a really interesting story behind how they found their way into farming in the first place 🌾 We spoke about what natural capital actually means for farmers, from biodiversity net gain and carbon through to water management and wider environmental outcomes. One of the really interesting points was around additionality and how these markets often reward the improvement you make rather than simply what is already there, raising some big questions around how we recognise farmers who have been looking after nature for years. Liz’s Nuffield topic is “Cultivating Capital: A Farmer’s Role in a Growing Natural Capital Economy” and comes from wanting to make sure farmers have a genuine voice as these markets develop. We spoke about balancing food production with nature recovery, making natural capital commercially viable for farms of different sizes and ensuring farmers properly understand the long term commitments that can come with entering these markets 🌍 Her Nuffield journey is still very much underway. After focusing heavily on the UK so far, Liz is looking towards Brazil, the US and the Netherlands, with Australia and Kazakhstan potentially on the list too. What I particularly liked was her ambition to look not only at natural capital projects that have worked, but also those that have gone wrong and understand what can be learned from both. We also chatted about her CSC in Japan, the realities of farming through another incredibly dry summer in Devon and how natural capital might eventually sit alongside food production as another part of building more resilient farm businesses. There is clearly a lot still to develop in this space, which makes following Liz’s Nuffield journey over the next year particularly interesting. Thank you to NFU Mutual for their support of this project. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I had Neil on the R2Kast 🎙️ Neil is Chief Executive of the National Beef Association and Scottish Beef Association, representing beef producers and working with government and industry across the UK. 🌾 We spoke about growing up around farming in Aberdeenshire, an unexpected career in paper production that took him around the world and eventually finding his way back into agriculture through the British Simmental Cattle Society. That led into his current work representing the beef sector. 🍎 A big part of the conversation focused on the National Beef Association, lobbying government and the very different policy landscapes facing farmers across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We got into agricultural support, TB, Bluetongue, beef prices and the challenge of keeping UK beef production viable while still recognising the importance of trade. 🌍 We also chatted about consumer trust in British farming, promoting beef, food security and why good policy needs people who actually understand what is happening on farms. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace catching up after a couple of weeks away, with harvest largely behind us and attention starting to turn towards what comes next. A big part of this one was David’s growing direct selling venture. We chatted about everything from vegetables, milk and meat through to eggs, delivery companies and whether bringing produce from multiple farmers together could create something genuinely competitive while still giving the farmer a fairer share. We also got into SFI and what it actually means for farmers. David talked through some of the options he’s considering, while Martin questioned whether schemes like this really reward the farmers who have already spent years changing how they farm. There was plenty on low input farming too. Martin shared the results from around 100 acres grown with virtually no inputs, the money saved on fertiliser and sprays, mixed cropping with peas and cereals, and why yield alone doesn’t necessarily tell you whether a crop has made money. And the Johnson Sue experiments continue, with David now treating oilseed rape seed and leaving untreated areas to see whether they can actually spot a difference as the crop develops. We’re keeping this going fortnightly, so feel free to send us any ideas or topics you’d like us to get into. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I had Clare on the R2Kast 🎙️ Clare is a farmer’s daughter, behavioural scientist and the driving force behind Grounded Research, using research and data to make sure farmers and others across the food supply chain have a genuine voice in decision making. 🌾 We spoke about growing up on an arable farm in Cambridgeshire, moving into marketing and consultancy, life as a military wife and eventually finding her way back into agriculture during the pandemic. That journey also led Clare into behavioural science and understanding why people actually make the decisions they do. 🍎 A big part of the conversation focused on Five Bar Gate and the communities Clare has created to make agricultural research easier, quicker and more representative. We spoke about paying farmers for their time, building robust data sets and making sure the people actually producing food are involved in the research and decisions that affect them. 🌍 We also chatted about ADOPT, farmer led innovation, getting farmers engaged in research and Clare’s nomination for Woman of the Year at the British Farming Awards. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Series three of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar is here 🎙️ Thank you for watching series two, where we looked ahead to the scholars and Next Gen Scholars presenting at the 2026 Nuffield Farming Scholarships Conference in Leeds. This time we’re changing things up and looking at some of the biggest challenges, innovations and conversations shaping agriculture today 🌾 To start the series I was joined by Natalie Hepburn, a fellow scholar from my own Nuffield cohort and someone I travelled to Brazil with on our CSC. Natalie farms around Cardiff, keeping sheep and goats while producing goats milk skincare and sheep milk cheese. Natalie’s scholarship explored farm diversification and how farmers actually manage everything that comes with turning what they produce into a product. Her travels took her to Brazil, Rwanda, the Netherlands, Ireland, Northern Ireland and around the UK, with one of her biggest takeaways being the importance of networks and businesses supporting each other 🌍 The main focus of this episode though was the relationship between a Nuffield Scholar and their sponsor. Natalie’s scholarship was sponsored by the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust and we spoke about how that relationship went far beyond simply providing the funding. From visiting NFU Mutual headquarters and being connected with people who could help her research, to keeping in touch throughout her travels and sharing her findings afterwards, it showed the role sponsors can play throughout the whole Nuffield journey. We also chatted about turning months of travel into a 5,000 word report and 12 minute presentation, the Nuffield moments that can completely change your thinking and why sometimes the best thing you can do while travelling is leave gaps in the diary for the opportunities you never planned for 🌱 A great way to kick off series three and a chance to highlight a part of Nuffield that we probably do not speak about enough. Thank you to the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust for their support of this project. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I had Frank on the R2Kast 🎙️ Frank is a Chartered Security Professional whose career has taken him from farming in Lincolnshire into the military and then security roles across the world, including a decade working in Kazakhstan. 🌾 We spoke about how that career eventually brought him back towards agriculture and the creation of Rural Safeguard, using decades of experience in security to help farmers better understand and reduce their risk of rural crime. From machinery and livestock theft to hare coursing and farmyard security, we got into just how broad rural crime actually is. 🍎 A big part of the conversation focused on protecting farms without turning them into fortresses. Frank explained the importance of understanding where you’re vulnerable, building sensible layers of security and having a plan for what happens if someone does enter the farm. His message of better tin than skin was a simple one, protecting yourself and your family has to come before protecting machinery. 🌍 We also spoke about how rural crime is changing through technology, cyber attacks and increasingly sophisticated organised crime, alongside the Demeter Initiative and Frank’s work to bring farming, policing, government and the security sector together to tackle the problem. Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.