R2Kast - People in Food and Farming/All In

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! 🙂
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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! 🙂
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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! 🙂

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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! 🙂
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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! 🙂

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