Meet the Farmers

We’re heading to the US today and meeting the stars of the Discover Ag podcast – New Mexico dairy farmer Tara Vander Dussen and Nebraska based rancher Natalie Kovarik. Discover Ag sets out to discuss ‘agriculture you can relate to’, connect listeners with farmers and explore the food system. As well as the podcast Tara and Natalie formed Elevate Ag which helps producers to tell their story online ...

Today Ben speaks to a man who is no stranger to agri podcasting or indeed broadcast journalism in general - Surrey farmer and Farmers Weekly podcast host Hugh Broom. Hugh worked full time as a broadcast journalist in radio for 10 years first in local radio in Reading before moving to Capital Radio, LBC and Classic FM in London and then going part time with BBC Radio Five Live doing news and travel...

Today on the show we’re meeting Lancashire based beef and arable farmer Amy Wilkinson who farms with her family on 285ha of tenanted land. As well as their arable rotation the Wilkinsons raise 650 dairy crosses up to finishing. Amy is also a columnist with Farmers Guardian.  Meet the Farmers is produced by RuralPod Media, the only specialist rural podcast production agency.  Please note that this...

Today on the show we're talking sheep and Ben is meeting Matt Blyth who is a livestock advisor and has many years of experience managing sheep. Born and bred in Lincolnshire, Matt did a course at Northumberland College specialising in sheep and beef and then went on to work with a number of sheep flocks - from assisting a shepherd on an 1800 ewe flock in Hampshire to running a 540-ewe flock near B...

Today we’re in Leicestershire and Ben is meeting fifth generation dairy farmer Amy Egglestone who some of you will know better as ‘the dairy daughter’ on Instagram. Amy and her family run a 600-cow dairy herd on a New Zealand-style grazing and spring calving system. As well as her life on the farm she is also a rural marketing specialist and is the Director of Pastures Green Communications which s...

Ben has teamed up with the Forestry Commission once again to make this mini-series focussed on trees on farms. In this series we are asking three questions focussed on the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ of farm woodland management. In the first episode we asked why we need to improve our management of farm woodlands in the UK in the first place? Then in episode 2 we had a question time format asking ‘wha...

Ben has teamed up with the Forestry Commission once again to make this mini-series focussed on trees on farms. In this series we are asking three questions focussed on the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ of farm woodland management. In the first episode we were asking why we need to improve our management of farm woodlands in the UK in the first place? In this second episode we have a question time format...

Ben has teamed up with the Forestry Commission once again to make this mini-series focussed on trees on farms. In this series we are asking three questions focussed on the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ of farm woodland management. In this first episode we’ll be asking why we need to improve our management of farm woodlands in the UK in the first place? Then in episode 2 we’ll have a question time format...

Today we’re marking the 5th anniversary of Just Farmers, which if you don’t know it, is a unique communications project for British agriculture. It was founded by agri journalist Anna Jones following her Nuffield Scholarship and has seen dozens of farmers pass through its doors. So today we’re going to reflect back on those 5 years, ask what Just Farmers is all about, how it helps farmers and the...

Today we’re heading to Hertfordshire to meet arable farmer Eveey Hunter who alongside her role on the family farm wide hustles for two haulage businesses, does some consultancy work and is a current member of the Next Generation Forum for the NFU. Eveey chose to not go down the academic route and learnt on the job working for grain storage and haulage companies before returning to her family’s far...

The Agroforestry Show was held on 6th-7th September 2023 and was organised by The Soil Association and the Woodland Trust.  Many thanks to all of the contributors to this podcast episode including Helen Browning, Ben Raskin, Rhodri Owen, Liam Armstrong, Connor Kendrew, Chris Jones, James Ramskir Gardiner and Will Simonson.  For more information on the Agroforestry Show click here . For the Agrofor...

Today we’re heading to the Yorkshire Dales, to near Skipton to speak to sheep and beef farmer Tom Carlisle who keeps 650 ewes, 30 suckler cattle and 2 pygmy goats on 420 acres of land. He’s also recently diversified into glamping pods. On Instagram he is known as 'dalesfarmer' and you may know him for his quite fantastic lamb national reels. Tom married his wife Aimee a little over a year ago and...

Pigs are back on the podcast today and Ben is joined by Mark Jagger who is based in Suffolk and works as Assistant Grower Farms Manager for BQP. BQP breeds and rears over a million pigs a year using a number of different systems including outdoor born, straw finished, RSPCA Freedom Food Assured, free range and organic. They have around 30 per cent of the UK market share making them the largest pig...

Farmers featured include:   Richard Heady (Buckinghamshire) John Pawsey (Suffolk) Martin Lines (Cambridgeshire) Charles Anyan (Lincolnshire) Andrew Wilson (North Yorkshire) Ranald Angus (Caithness)   Meet the Farmers is produced by RuralPod Media, the only specialist rural podcast production agency.  Please note that this podcast does not constitute advice. Our podcast disclaimer can be found here...

Today we’re in Wales highlighting a farming publication that has been in circulation for over 30 years. Ben is joined by publisher and former dairy farmer Mike Donovan, who may be better known as the editor and founder of Practical Farm Ideas Magazine. The magazine is published four times a year and features leading edge innovations developed by farmers and engineers which can be used as inspirati...

Today we’re in the south west and Ben meets sheep farmer and Chief Executive at the Farm Carbon Toolkit, Liz Bowles. Liz has rich experience as an adviser to farmers, farmer-controlled businesses, retailers, food service providers and processors on sustainable farming practices and developing and managing sustainable supply chains and supply chain relationships. For 20 years she worked at ADAS, no...

We’re in Wales today meeting dairy farmer Gwyndaf Thomas. Gwyndaf owns and runs a 430-acre dairy farm in the rolling hills of Carmarthenshire in West Wales. The herd consists of 270 outdoor run autumn calving cows - mainly Friesian, but also a few Jersey crosses; and the cows are grazed rotationally on grass. Gwyndaf grew up on what is now his brother’s farm and he moved to his family’s other farm...

We’re heading over the Irish Sea again today to meet Tipperary beef and sheep farmer and farming podcaster Noel Clancy. Out the Gap, Noel's podcast, is a monthly podcast recorded on location with farmers across Ireland.   Meet the Farmers is produced by RuralPod Media, the only specialist rural podcast production agency.  Please note that this podcast does not constitute advice. Our podcast discla...

We’re heading to Ceredigion in Wales today to meet dairy farmer, consultant, writer and Nuffield Scholar. Indeed Anna Bowen’s CV is pretty impressive and she clearly makes the most of her time. She is a director of Symbiotic Farming Ltd – which is contract based and they milk 300 cows on a grass based spring block calving system. She’s also a freelance writer and journalist and has written for a r...

To mark Farm Safety Week we are discussing what is probably one of the most important topics in farming – keeping people safe and well on farms. Ben's guest is very well placed for this week with rich experience in occupational safety and compliance across a number of different sectors, which includes agriculture. Richard Wade is Director at Risk and Safety Compliance Services which provides healt...

Today we’re in Cumbria to meet farmer and entrepreneur Chris Dickinson. Chris is involved with a number of different businesses, with a particular emphasis on the poultry industry but by no means exclusively. For example, one of his businesses is a goat meat business based on his family’s farm. Chris is a board member of the Wagyu Breeders Association; he’s a member of the Yorkshire Future Farmers...

Today Ben heads to Groundswell to understand more about what regenerative agriculture means today.  About Ben Ben Eagle is the founder and Head of Podcasts at RuralPod Media , a specialist rural podcast production agency. He is also a freelance rural affairs and agricultural journalist. You can find out more at ruralpodmedia.co.uk or benjamineagle.co.uk  Please subscribe to the show and leave us a...

This episode was produced in association with Nethergill Associates, a farm consultancy based in Devon. For more information on Nethergill Associates visit nethergillassociates.co.uk For further description and definition of 'Maximum Sustainable Output' click here.   Timestamps 00:27 Ben introduces the show. 03:02 Chris Clark introduces himself. 03:47 Brian Scanlon introduces himself.  04:19 Chris...

Today we’re in south Wales near Abergavenny and Ben is meeting Huw Evans who runs Three Pools Farm. Three Pools is a 141 acre farm made up of a mixture of pasture and woodland. Located in the foothills of the Black Mountains, the farm is inspired by permaculture design. In addition to the farm enterprise Huw organises a number of different events to get more people onto the farm.  About Ben Ben Ea...

Today we are in Canada and Ben is speaking to Rachel Stratton, aka The Global Farmher. Rachel wears many hats as a shepherd, shearer, tractor driver, stock woman, adviser and administrator. She has worked all over the UK, from Orkney to Cornwall and indeed many places abroad with her dog Jane. From dairy to beef operations, sheep farms and even venison farms, Rach has experienced a lot of differen...