Brash Ag

This week Kit and Ray go transatlantic and chew the cud with Bill O’Neill of Agwise.io. The pair hear all about how Bill’s career and how he started and scaled businesses in the meat industry and how he took what he learned from the UK meat industry back to the USA to help him on his journey. Bill also tells the co-hosts all about his latest venture, Agwise.io, how he and his co-founder got starte...

This week sees the return of the news feed. Ray and Kit get caught up on the latest developments in agtech, ag machinery and farming including: 🚜 TAFE vs AGCO - Have the two tractor manufacturing giants managed to resolve their differences, without legal intervention? And what does it mean for the future of the Massey Ferguson Brand? 🧑‍⚖️ L&Aser vs Carbon Robotics - Why is L&Aser open sourcing i...

This week the co-hosts discuss what Ray found during his visit to Groundswell Agriculture Festival. We hear from: Jonathan Goodacre from Keltie LLP, Patent Attorneys, and why they have chosen to attend the festival. Jonathan also explains the importance of IP and patents for start-ups and innovators and some of the big benefits for businesses could be missing out on. Andrew Baker from Soil acousti...

Welcome back to Brash Ag – the farm innovation podcast with your hosts Ray King and Kit Franklin. This week, we’re still roaming the Cereals 2025 show – diving into some of the most exciting tech on display. In Part Two, we explore: 🛩️ AutoSpray Systems – the drone company promising , 20-hectare/hour slug pellet coverage, 30-second pit stops and flight training through Harper Adams University to g...

Welcome back to Brash Ag – the farm innovation podcast with your hosts Ray King and Kit Franklin. This week, we’re back on the road (the Fosse way to be precise) – as we reflect on a packed day at the Cereals 2025 show. From V8-stickered balers to autonomous spot sprayers, we covered a lot of ground (literally and figuratively) and caught up with a diverse mix of exhibitors. In this first instalme...

This week the co-hosts are on the road heading to Cereals show. Kit and Ray take some time (while travelling the Fosse Way) to talk about Kit’s new business theory “Bale-spikeology” and how start-up agtech companies need to be able to produce products that can sell as quickly as possible to farmers without the need for loans or financing. The pair also take some time to think about the UK agtech a...

This week the pair talk through Kit's trip to London to attend the New Scientist Emerging Technologies Summit. Kit talks through some of the emerging tech that was showcased and discussed at the Summit. The co-hosts grapple with how quantum computing, AI and fusion energy might begin to change the face of agriculture and make predictions for when the humans can put their feet up and have rest whil...

This week Ray and Kit snapped up the opportunity to chew the cud with Belinda Clarke OBE Director at Agri -TechE. Belinda shared how her early career in Natural sciences and science liaison took her on to build Agri-TechE as a membership organisation from the ground up. 12 years after starting Agri-TechE, Belinda shares some of the lessons she has learned, what the future holds for Agri-TechE and...

Where have they been? The pair catch up after a short hiatus and share the exciting work that has been keeping them so busy. The co-hosts also take a few minutes to catch up on some recent government funding updates for the agriculture and agtech sector as well talk about some cool tech in the construction sector and the parallels that it has for farming automation. Contact@brash-ag.com

WARNING: this episode contains the distilled value and wisdom from an agtech pioneer…do not miss this one. This week Ray and Kit have bagged an exclusive interview with Chris Chavasse, CEO of company Muddy Machines. Chris shares his personal journey and how he founded a UK based pioneering horticultural robotics company. Chris shares some of the trials and tribulations of running an agtech start-u...

A jam packed episode this week. Kit Franklin takes us on a trip down memory lane with his musings on the evolution of farming in the 1930s. Ray talks about some good news in the UK Agtech funding scene with Crowdfunding announcements from Muddy Machines and Foamstream and their current funding rounds on Crowdcube. We discuss a viral Tesla crash video and the implications it could have in agtech au...

Chewing the cud with Greg Stewart and Devin Kirk of Geco Strategic Weed Management. This week Kit and Ray get the opportunity to talk to Greg and Devin from Canadian based Geco Strategic weed management about their predictive weed management tool. Devin and Greg share their backgrounds and how they found themselves building a start-up in the weed management space. The pair also share more about th...

In this News feed episode, Ray and Kit dive into the latest in agricultural engineering and technology news. They reflect on an inspiring talk from industry veteran Paul Baskerville, exploring how past global careers in ag engineering might be mirrored in the rise of AgTech today. Also on the docket: 🔧 Latest development with John Deere's Right to Repair – Is it a win for farmers or just another...

In this episode hosts Ray and Kit, dig deep into the world of agricultural robotics in 2025. Did Kit’s predictions from a decade ago about farm robots come true, or was he just talking rubbish? From hands-free farming to the reality of autonomous machines in fields, the hosts debate whether robotics have truly revolutionized agriculture—or if we're still waiting for the future to arrive. Buckle up...

In this week's episode the pair hear from Matt Ryan, Chief Commercial Officer at Oxbury Bank. Matt shares his background and experiences of agriculture in New Zealand offering a fascinating glimpse into the changing economic landscape that faced New Zealand’s farmers in a post subsidy world. Matt also shares his journey through the agricultural banking sector in New Zealand and explains how he now...

In this mid-February 2025 news update, Ray and Kit dive into the latest in farm innovation. They kick things off with a discussion about the R550 Spray Hawk bi-rotor, a retrofitted autonomous helicopter for spraying, and debate its hefty price tag and potential applications. Next, they explore JCB's new cabbed version of the 403 electric loading shovel and an articulated electric tractor with swap...

The second “bumper” episode from Kit’s recent trip to LAMMA show. This episode focuses on the latest thoughts, opinions and technology in the crop protection space. Ray and Kit hear from manufacturers such as Knight sprayers and Garford Farm Machinery as well as crop protection supplier Syngenta among others. The co-hosts also get into some of the details of how sprayer technology works and how to...

The first of two “bumper” LAMMA show special episodes. Kit and Ray listen back to a selection of the interviews that Kit recorded from his day at the event. The pair get a feel of sentiment for the ag machinery market in the UK right now as well as some of the latest products and developments in the Agtech space. The co-hosts hear from the likes of Fendt, Tafe, Trimble, Ontrack, Autonomous Agri So...

In this news feed Kit's talks Ray through his visit to LAMMA 2025 show. The pair discuss the thoughts and feelings of manufacturers at the show and what this means for the state of the UK market right now and importantly what the future could hold. Ray and Kit also take some time to discuss their side quest to find the most basic machinery at the show and whether these machines really are catching...

The first episode of 2025 and the start of the second series for Brash Ag! Join Kit and Ray for some big personal and professional announcements for the New Year. Ray talks through some of his thoughts and musings from the festive period and explains what Wallace and Gromit have to do with the future of farming. The co-hosts also dig into the Brash Ag inbox to answer some listener questions about...

Join Ray and Kit back on the chilly terrace of the Farmers club to round off 2024 and the first 20 episodes of Brash Ag! The co-hosts explain in more detail about the support they have received from the Douglas Bomford Trust and say a massive thank you to the trust for helping them get the podcast off the ground. The pair also reflect on the journey they have been on with Brash Ag so far, sharing...

In this extra special interview the Co-hosts made the journey to Westminster and the Houses of Parliament to catch up with Brian Mathew, Member of Parliament for Melksham and Devises. Brian shares his journey from a post graduate degree in Agricultural Engineering to working for aid organisations as a water, sanitation and hygiene specialist working all around the globe. Brian talks about his expe...

In this episode the co-hosts brave the slightly noisy and very chilly terrace at the Farmers Club in London to record this dig deep into Precision Farming. Kit and Ray explore the definition of precision farming, their own experiences working on technologies enabling precision farming and how big data and AI tech is starting to become a part of the precision farming picture. Official ISPA Precisio...

In this chewing the cud episode the co-hosts chat with Professor Penny Atkins, CEO of IFEAA. Penny explains what it was like starting out as an engineer at Jaguar Landrover working on the V6 power plant for the S Type. Penny also gives some insights on her journey up through the ranks at Ricardo to become Head of Technology Strategy and how this role helped her think about engineering in a wider c...

In this news feed episode the pair have a busy docket of news to discuss; from the ongoing legal dispute between TAFE and Agco, new developments in robotic tractors from Duetz, how starlink could be set to reshape farming as we know it, Muddy Machine’s recent acquisition of the liquidated assets of Fox robotics and finally a Brash Ag scoop on the latest weed control tech from Farmdroid…This is a n...