Kite Consulting

Following Chris' report this week, Will and Ben are joined by Lancashire dairy farmer Ed Towers and Kite consultant Tillie Williams to discuss the importance of investing in people. Ed and Tillie address the challenges associated with labour in agriculture, noting that labour costs are the second-largest expense on a farm. They explore how investing in employee development and training can positiv...

A very special episode and a Kite podcast first as we record with a live audience from Down to Earth at Grosvenor Farms. Starting with the usual report from Chris Walkland, Will, Ben and Becki are joined by Mark Roach, Managing Director and Charlie Steer, Arable Manager for Grosvenor Farms, Helen Dent, Senior Sustainability Consultant with Kite and Amy Jackson, Director Oxtale Specialist Communica...

After Chris’ report, this week Will and Ben are joined by an impressive line-up with Dr Anna Watkins MBE, double Olympic medallist and two times World Champion in the women’s double scull, Wendy Martinson OBE, Technical Lead and Performance Rehabilitation Nutritionist at the UK Sports Institute as well as Dr Judith Bryans, CEO at Dairy UK to discuss the import role dairy nutrition plays with athle...

Register for the NFU Scotland Hustings here Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products d...

After Chris’ report this week, Will and Ben are joined by Paul Macer, Principal Consultant at Kite and Chris Davidson, Head of Procurement at AB Agri, to discuss milk flows, feed markets & the current forage positions across the country. Milk this spring was slightly lower than usual/predicted, so Paul discusses how outlook is looking now and into the autumn. With all first cuts now in the clamp &...

There was lots for hosts Will Evans and Ben Eagle to discuss with the guests on this week’s podcast. Firstly, along with the usual milk market update, Chris Walkland and John Allen discussed the very positive news regarding Muller’s acquisition of Yew Tree Dairy and the wider commitment to the sector being shown by UK based processors and how this is supports a positive outlook for UK farmers. Chr...

Other than the sad news about Mona Dairy, the remainder of Chris' milk market report is fairly positive this week. Will and Ben are then joined by Łukasz Wyrzykowski, Managing Director at IFCN and Judith Bryans, Chief Executive at Dairy UK to discuss World Milk Day & dairy across the world. Judith gives an update on Dairy UK and the situation with the potential changes to food labelling and how th...

On this weeks Podcast we’re joined by the Managing Director of Arla Foods UK, Bas Padberg, Kite Director John Allen, and Senior Consultant Becki Reay who will be discussing Arla and the more than £300 million worth of new UK investments that they’ve announced so far this year. In addition to previously announced plans for its Taw Valley site, Arla have announced that they will be updating and expa...

This week Will and Ben are joined by Catherine Paice, the Editor of Dairy Industry Newsletter; Kite Director John Allen and Rory Christie who farms in South West Scotland to discuss the Dairy Industry Newsletter Conference. Catherine outlines what they wanted to address at DIN, specifically in terms of global demand, supply and food security, what steps have already been taken and what needs to be...

Cream Awards entry form Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products during the podcast ar...

After Chris’ report this week, Will and Ben are joined by Andrew Jones, a farm owner who entered a contract farming arrangement and Kite consultant Tillie Williams to discuss contract farming. Andrew outlines his experience as a business owner and the circumstances that led him to explore contract farming in the first place, including the process of finding/recruiting someone who would be a good f...

Following Chris Walkland’s usual milk market report, Will and Ben are joined by podcast veteran Steve Spencer who is Managing Director of Global Insights at Ever Ag; and Matt Gould who is a Senior Director in Market Analysis at Ever Ag. Steve will be talking about some of the big stories when it comes to US dairy, focussing on the global market. Matt, who is speaking at the DIN conference next mon...

Johne's Webinar Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products during the podcast are not en...

Reaching a podcast milestone with episode 200, Ben and Will are joined by Eddie Rixon, a sheep and beef farmer from Oxfordshire and a Land Use Adviser with the Forestry Commission; as well as Emma Turnock, Consultant with Kite to talk about carbon markets. Eddie explains a bit about his own business and how they are utilising natural capital markets for alternative income streams and insetting car...

After Chris’ report this week, Will and Ben are joined by Paul Macer, Consultant with Kite and David Christensen, Oxfordshire farmer, to talk about forage management in the context of the incredibly wet weather experienced across the country this past season. Paul and David discuss some of the challenges on farm as a result and outline strategies for when it begins to improve to get on top of thin...

Following Chris Walkland’s milk market report, Will and Ben are joined by Arla Foods UK Agriculture Director, Paul Savage, and Kite Director, Edward Lott. Paul and Edward talk about Arla’s recent announcement - €210 million investment into the Taw Valley plant in Devon for mozzarella production. They then go on to discuss why they chose to invest into the South West, UK and how they expect that th...

This week, after Chris’ milk market report, Will is joined by Erik Elgersma, founder and director of Strategic Analysis Services BV and John Allen, Kite Director to discuss their key take homes from the recent Eucolait workshop. John and Erik summarise the subdued short-term and more positive long-term dairy outlook around the world. They discuss the need to think about food as a strategic asset a...

Read the Report here Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products during the podcast are n...

After Chris’ report this week, Will and Ben are joined by Paul Tompkins, the Vice Chair of the NFU’s Dairy Board and a Dairy Technical Advisory Committee Member for Red Tractor, to discuss the investigatory report reviewing the governance of Red Tractor. Paul outlines the points of recommendation from The UK Farming Unions and AHDB and how farmers can feed their own thoughts into the second indepe...

After Chris’ milk market report, this week Will and Ben are joined by Michael Oakes, the outgoing NFU Dairy Board Chair, to discuss the long-awaited formal legislation on the regulation of dairy contracts; officially labelled as ‘The fair dealing obligations (milk) regulations 2024’. Michael and Chris talk through the key parts of the legislation and how the guidance document will help both farmer...

After Chris’ report this week, Will and Ben are joined by Richard Miller, Genomics Business Manager at NMR, Rose Jackson, Kite’s Head of Genetics and dairy farmer Rhys Davies for a discussion about NMR’s next-generation in milk recording, GenoCells. Richard explains how GenoCells works, using one bulk milk sample to provide individual cow Somatic Cell Counts (SCC) for the herd and how the technolo...

gov.wales/sustainable-farming-scheme-consultation Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or prod...

After Chris’ milk market report, Will and Ben are joined by not one but two of the Kite team; Hayley Campbell-Gibbons, Head of Sustainability and consultant Emma McAvoy alongside Jason Bayley, a Staffordshire dairy farmer. They share their thoughts on the highlights and mood at Dairy Tech this year where they were also speaking about the effects and impact of climate change on farm. Emma and Hayle...

Following Chris Walklands milk market report, Will and Ben are joined by Ollie Blackburn; farm manager of Dillington Farms, part of the Dillington Estate in Somerset, and Kites Senior Sustainability Consultant Helen Dent. Helen gives an overview of current sustainable farming incentive schemes that are available now, and any changes over the next few years. They discuss how these have been incorpo...

This week after Chris’ market report and own experience of Semex, Will and Ben are joined by José Nobre, CEO at AB Agri and Matt Stephenson, a dairy farmer from Cumbria for a debrief on their experiences of the Semex conference and discussion about the future of dairy. José outlines the challenges facing the industry and how some of these might be addressed, especially through a more circular appr...