R2Kast - People in Food and Farming/All In

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️
David, Martin and Wallace catching up as we head further into November, with plenty happening on farm, Christmas preparations getting underway and some pretty big changes at home on Arran.

David is back from his holiday and straight into the madness of selling direct, with the veg boxes continuing to grow and plans for Christmas starting to take shape. We chatted about lamb boxes, Christmas trees, selling branches for wreath making and the challenge of getting seasonal products sold before they’re suddenly worth nothing.

We also got into what’s happening on farm, with Martin finishing drilling and experimenting with applying Johnson Sue compost extracts, while David has been making the most of a dry spell to get crops established. There was also a big change on Arran, with the last adult cattle leaving our farm after what we reckon is over 120 years of having cows there. A strange feeling after them being part of the place for so long!

There was plenty around grain varieties, milling, heritage wheat and what actually makes good bread, from protein levels through to flavour and the difference between traditional baking and modern processing.

And somehow we ended up spending a ridiculous amount of time talking about chillies 😂 From lemon drops and Scotch bonnets through to Carolina Reapers, David has decided we should all have a go at trying some of the hottest chillies in the world. I’m not entirely sure why I agreed to that one!

We’re keeping this going fortnightly, so feel free to send us any ideas or topics you’d like us to get into.

Enjoy! 🙂
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Today I had Ken on the R2Kast 🎙️ Ken is Vice Chancellor of Harper Adams University, an institution celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, and someone whose career has taken him through universities and organisations across the world. 🌾

We spoke about studying English at the University of Glasgow, starting his career with KPMG and eventually finding his way into higher education at Warwick. From there his career took him through Serco, China and Australia before arriving at Harper Adams. We also got into the brilliant story of returning home from his first term at university to discover his parents had moved house without telling him! 🍎

A big part of the conversation focused on Harper Adams and its 125 years of history, from welcoming just six students in 1901 to becoming one of the leading agricultural universities today. We discussed the anniversary celebrations, honorary degrees, international partnerships and how Harper is expanding its reach into new subjects and communities. 🌍

We also chatted about Ken’s time at Tsinghua University in China and Monash University in Australia, the importance of making education accessible to people from all backgrounds and why leadership should be built around kindness, honesty and not taking yourself too seriously.

Enjoy! 🙂
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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 affects so many farming families, succession 🌾

I was joined by Heather Wildman, a 2012 Nuffield Scholar, founder of Saviour Associates and someone who has played a pretty important part in my own Nuffield journey as my mentor. Heather grew up in Cumbria, left school at 15 and has gone on to build a career helping farming businesses with leadership, communication and succession.

We spoke about Heather’s Nuffield Scholarship, which explored how to influence and motivate positive change. Her travels took her across the world, from Australia and New Zealand to South America and Canada, including a visit to a high security prison! Her biggest findings came down to three things, vision, communication and collaboration, principles that have shaped much of her work since 🌍

Heather shared how succession became such a big part of her career almost by accident. Through her Cultivating Leaders programme and work with farming businesses, she kept seeing families struggling to have conversations about their future. That eventually took her back to Australia to learn from succession specialists before developing her own guide and approach to helping farming families.

We got into the challenges around inheritance tax changes and why succession is about so much more than tax. From understanding the finances of a farm to deciding who actually wants to take over, when responsibilities should change and how to treat family members fairly, there is a huge amount that needs to be discussed. Heather explained how sometimes the biggest challenge is simply getting everyone around the table and having an open conversation 🌱

One of the most interesting parts was hearing Heather talk about how the farm itself can almost become another member of the family, sometimes taking priority over relationships, time together and everything else. We spoke about the pressure younger generations can feel to follow in their parents’ footsteps and why giving people the freedom to choose their own future is so important.

There were some brilliant stories along the way too, including Heather’s own journey from missing out on a role she had set her heart on to building a business that has helped farming families across the country. It was a great chat about communication, family, business and making sure succession is something we actually talk about rather than continually putting off.

Thank you to NFU Mutual for their support of this project.

Enjoy! 🙂
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Today I had Phil on the R2Kast 🎙️ Phil is Chief Executive of the National Sheep Association and has spent a career across practical farming, organic agriculture, conservation and representing the UK sheep sector. 🌾

We spoke about growing up in Bristol with no direct farming background, leaving school at 16 for an agricultural apprenticeship and eventually managing farms and building his own sheep enterprise. Redundancy during the BSE period unexpectedly changed direction and led to 15 years with the Soil Association before taking over at the NSA in 2011. 🍎

A big part of the conversation focused on sheep health and welfare, something Phil has championed throughout his time at the NSA and work that contributed to him receiving an MBE. We got into Bluetongue, parasites, changing weather patterns and why healthy sheep ultimately mean productive and profitable sheep. 🌍

We also spoke about the future of sheep farming, opportunities for young people, the NSA lambing and grazing lists, the importance of sheep events and the growing global demand for sheep meat. With the UK one of the world’s major sheep meat exporters, Phil sees plenty of reason to be optimistic about where the sector can go.

Enjoy! 🙂
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Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️
A slightly different lineup this time as David is off enjoying a holiday in Spain, leaving Martin and Wallace joined by Sophia for her second appearance on the podcast!
We chatted about Sophia taking charge of the growing direct selling business while David is away, from organising produce with other farmers to managing orders, deliveries and the usual challenges with couriers. We also got into her ambitions to start growing vegetables herself, with Martin suggesting she starts small and builds from there.
There was plenty of discussion around adding value on farm too, from turning grain into flour and rapeseed into oil, through to why finding your own customers can make such a difference to the economics of farming. Martin also shared some stories from the early days of selling online, when customers were still posting cheques to pay for their orders!
We got into social media, the British Farming Awards, Sophia’s plans to enter Britain’s Fittest Farmer in 2027 and even Wallace’s plans for a home gym. There were plenty of laughs along the way, particularly when Martin started suggesting exercise demonstrations and a Brow Farm mankini 😂
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.