Farm Gate

This podcast is about the power and importance of communities.  To address the climate emergency, there is an urgent need to cede power to ordinary people so that they can design and deliver the changes necessary in their neighbourhoods.  Poverty remains a significant barrier for all governments in achieving net zero.  Community-led projects, for example centred on food, can all deliver carbon red...

The impact of climate change is already being  felt by communities, through flooding and droughts. Farmers are the  first responders to these impacts, as well as being one of the few  economic sectors that can act as a sink,  rather than a source, of carbon. So what are farmers doing happen  differently on farms, and how can the UK speed this change? ffinlo Costain is join...

Land Unlocked is a podcast collaboration between Farm Gate and the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. This occasional series will feature a range of high-level speakers exploring the challenges of delivering real action at this year’s COP26 conference and other major global events taking place in 2021. Programmes will be broadcast on the Farm Gate channel.  In this programme, ffinlo Costain...

In this programme we delve into the origins of regenerative agriculture, and what it means to be 'indigenous with the earth'.  What is this knowledge?  Where does it come from?  Can anyone claim ownership over regenerative principles?  ffinlo Costain talks to Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin , President of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance .  Originally from Guatemala, Regi...

In this programme we visit Sierra Leone.  We discuss how this West African country managed to stop Chinese, Russian, Korean and European vessels plundering their fish stocks, how stakeholders built a sustainable fisheries programme, and the challenges for international organisations such as the World Bank.  We also address the controversy over Sierra Leone's new Chinese-funded harbour pr...

The Marine Stewardship Council is an international NGO working to protect oceans and safeguard seafood supplies for the future.  The Netflix film Seaspiracy concluded that sustainable seafood doesn't exist - but the MSC disagrees.  Currently, 16% of the world's wild caught fish is certified and carries its blue MSC ecolabel, and the organisation aims to have 30% engaged in its programme...

The Isle of Man is home to one of the most successful sustainable shell fish fisheries in the British Isles.  Developed over a period of 30 years, their Marine Nature Reserve now accounts for 52% of Manx coastal waters, and their Ramsey Bay scallops are the biggest in Britain.  ffinlo Costain talks to Phil Gawne, former Fisheries Minister of the Isle of Man Government, and to Peter Duncan, IOMG's...

Since 2013 more seafood has been produced globally in aquaculture systems than from wild caught fisheries.  The farming of fish at scale has come with costs as well as benefits, and as a relatively young industry, aquaculture has followed a steep learning curve. ffinlo Costain speaks to Tony Wall , the founder of the Fish Vet Group (now PHARMAQ), who helped to put fish sentience on the map. &...

In the wake of Seaspiracy, we're running a series of programmes about the future of wild and farmed seafood.   The vast majority of wild caught fish are now harvested by industrial-scale trawlers using vast and often indiscriminate nets and bottom trawling.  At the same time aquaculture, which has scaled so rapidly, has come under fire for high levels of waste and pollution and for poor welfare.  ...

This is the final programme in our recent series about agroecological agriculture.  ffinlo Costain talks to David Finlay from The Ethical Dairy in Dumfries and Galloway, and Bryce Cunningham from Mossgiel Farm in Ayrshire.  The conversation focusses on building a market for direct liquid milk sales, and on cow with calf dairying. This series is produced by Farmwel, supporting the 10 Years for Agro...

Do we need a new state-owned Agroecology Development Bank for Britain?  The Food, Farming & Countryside Commission thinks so.  Their new report, 'Farming Smarter: Investing in our Future', says that an ADB would speed the transition to fair and nature-friendly farming – by filling the current gap in available finance, and building knowledge about agroecological agriculture in the financial sector....

In this programme we talk about racism and discuss how to improve diversity in British agriculture and animal sciences.  We consider how to successfully encourage more of our black, Asian and minority ethnic population to enjoy the countryside. ffinlo Costain is joined by Navaratnam Partheeban, a dairy vet who co-founded the British Veterinary Ethnicity & Diversity Society, and Bushra Abu-Helil, a...

What's the difference between agroecology and regenerative agriculture?  And what about holistic grazing, organic, no-till farming, or adaptive multi-paddock grazing?  In this programme we get to the bottom of the terminology. We also discuss how to get started in regenerative agriculture. ffinlo Costain is joined by Caroline Grindrod from Roots of Nature, and Kelly Watson from FAI Farms...

This is the fourth programme in our series about agroecological agriculture.   ffinlo Costain talks to Sinead Fenton from Aweside Farm in East Sussex, and to Joe Rolfe , the general manager at RB Organic Ltd in Norfolk. Sinead and Joe are Agroecology Ambassadors for the Soil Association .  This series is produced by Farmwel, supporting the 10 Years for Agroecology campaign run by the Soi...

This is the third in our agroecology series. ffinlo Costain talks to George Young from Fobbing Farm in Essex, and Johnnie Balfour from Balbirnie Farm in Fife. George and Johnnie are Agroecology Ambassadors for the Soil Association. This series is produced by Farmwel, supporting the 10 Years for Agroecology campaign run by the Soil Association, and the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission's Farmi...

This is the first of two programmes investigating the rise of meat alternatives.  ffinlo Costain talks to Raychel E Santo, a senior research programme coordinator at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future.  Raychel is the lead author on the research paper, Considering Plant-Based Meat Substitutes and Cell-Based Meats: A Public Health and Food Systems Perspective.  Produced by Farmwel.  

This is the second in our agroecology series, and in this episode we're focussing on mixed farming. ffinlo Costain talks to Ben Andrews from Broadward Hall in Herefordshire, and Robert Wilson from Cowbog Farm in the Scottish Borders. Ben and Robert are Agroecology Ambassadors for the Soil Association . This series is produced by Farmwel, supporting the 10 Years for Agroecology campaign run by...

In the second of Farm Gate's Regenerative Agriculture Question Time podcasts, ffinlo Costain is joined by Clare Hill , shepherd and director of regenerative agriculture at FAI Farms , George Young , a regenerative arable producer from Fobbing Farm, Essex, and Caroline Grindrod from the regenerative agriculture consultancy, Roots of Nature .  #Arable #Wheat #Livestock #Ruminants Produced by Fa...

This is the first of five programmes in which we showcase farmers who are putting agroecology into practice.  In this episode we're focussing on beef production.  ffinlo Costain talks to Nikki Yoxall from Howe Mill Farm in Aberdeenshire, and Denise Walton from Peelham Farm in Berwickshire.  Nikki and Denise are Agroecology Ambassadors for the Soil Association . This series is produc...

White Oak Pastures is a 152-year-old family farm in Bluffton, Georgia, USA.  In 1995, Will Harris began the transition away from industrial agricultural techniques and started redesigning his farm as a living ecosystem.  Will Harris talks to ffinlo Costain about his life as a commodity cattleman and what made him change the way he farms.  He describes the dark early days and reflect...

In this programme, ffinlo Costain talks to Robyn O'Brien , the best-selling author of The Unhealthy Truth , who in September 2020 was named in the Forbes Impact 50, a list of the top impact investors in the USA.  Robyn's TED talks have received over a million views. The discussion centres on Robyn's new investment fund, RePlant Capital , which is based in the USA and worth $250m.  RePlan...

Farm Gate host, ffinlo Costain, interviews Leontino Balbo Junior (Balbo Group), who produces 35% of the world's organic sugar.  Speaking direct from Brazil, Leontino explains how he transformed his farm (http://www.canaverde.com.br/) from standard agriculture to a high yield regenerative success story.  Produced by Farmwel. 

The new UK Trade & Agriculture Commission was set up by the Department of International Trade to guide ministers as they develop a policy that balances the need for independent trade deals with the ambitions of the new Agriculture Act and the coming Environment Bill.   In this podcast we ask, is a progressive UK trade and agriculture policy possible? ffinlo Costain speaks to Tom West...

It's World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, so we're doing our bit.  What is antimicrobial resistance - why is it a problem - what are the drivers  - and what can we do about it?   ffinlo Costain is joined by Laura  Higham from Vet Sustain and by Øistein Thorsen the chief executive of FAI Farms. Produced by Farmwel and FAI Farms.

Despite the early green ambitions, the new Common Agricultural Policy may end up looking rather like business as usual.  But, following policy delays, the CAP will now be delivered under the EU presidency of Ursula von der Leyen.  The new Commission has prioritised environmental action, and the Farm to Fork Strategy is at the heart of the European Green Deal. In this programme I'm crossi...