R2Kast - People in Food and Farming/All In

Well today we welcome Madeleine to the R2Kast 🎙️ A brilliant chat with someone who found her way into farming later than most and proves there is no single route into the sector. 🌾We talked about her upbringing around agricultural workers, a career working with children with additional needs, and the moment a simple lambing job during lockdown changed everything. From turning up in DMs and an old shirt to falling in love with lambing and farm life, her journey was honest and refreshing. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about her work today on a rare breeds farm, combining livestock, education and community engagement, alongside studying regenerative agriculture. Her passion for learning, asking questions and making space for others coming in behind her really shone through. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well today to kick off the sixth series of the podcast we welcome Anna to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone juggling life on the family farm with law, policy work and a serious passion for improving how young people are heard across food and farming. 🌾We spoke about her journey from an arable and beef farm in Fife to studying law, living across Europe through Erasmus, and working in global policy and technology spaces before feeling the pull back home. Her honesty about missing the farm and realising food security was missing from major policy conversations really stood out. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about her work bringing young voices into policy spaces, from national food strategies to building something new through the UK Youth Food and Farming Forum. Her belief that young people should be meaningfully involved, not tokenised, came through strongly and made for a powerful conversation. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well today we welcome Claudia to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone who has lived and breathed chickens since she was six years old, turning her sister’s unwanted hens into a full blown breeding hobby, a little business and eventually an educational platform followed by thousands. 🌾We talked about how she became overstocked at eight years old, selling chicks from rabbit hutches, learning through trial and error, reading Practical Poultry and building a client base before most kids knew their times tables. Her stories of juggling colours, managing the pecking order and keeping hundreds of birds as pets were brilliant. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing how that childhood obsession turned into the work she does today, from breeding Pekins in every shade of the rainbow to helping people across the UK look after their hens properly. Her knowledge on housing, red mite, dust baths, feeding, flock introductions and avian influenza was unreal, and her passion for welfare came through the whole way. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well today we welcome George to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone who has spent nearly 30 years leading the Tenant Farmers Association and has seen more policy cycles, governments and tenancy changes than most of us could list. 🌾We talked about his journey from Belfast to agricultural economics, joining the old Ministry of Agriculture, and eventually stepping into the TFA at a time when the whole tenancy landscape was shifting. His stories about navigating succession rules, short term agreements, landlord relationships and the fight to protect tenant rights were fascinating. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about his faith and how deeply it shapes the way he leads. From rural church work to the Farming Community Network, he spoke about supporting people not just technically but pastorally, and how that “head and heart” balance is at the centre of everything he does for the sector. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thank you for supporting for 400 episodes! What a ride it’s been! Here’s to 500 🎉Well today we welcome Cameron to the R2Kast 🎙️ A young arable farmer who somehow found himself swapping the grain store for the Big Brother house and ended up becoming one of the standout voices of the whole series. 🌾We talked about life on the family farm, his unusual school where you could be learning maths one minute and milking cows the next, and how a news interview at a farming protest planted the first spark that maybe he belonged on camera. A few months later he filled out an application on a whim and suddenly he was in lockdown, phone gone, heading into the house. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about the friendships he built in there and the moment he opened up about inheritance tax. That clip travelled far beyond the show and struck a chord with thousands of farmers who felt seen and heard at a time when the sector needed it. Cameron spoke about what that reaction meant and how powerful it felt to use a mainstream platform to give farming a voice. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.