Farm Gate

In Ukraine, explosive munitions have contaminated the soil with chemicals and heavy metals - hundreds of thousands of hectares will have to be surveyed and demined - and countless craters will have to be refilled. We consider the cost of restoring Ukraine's agricultural soils. ffinlo Costain is joined by Professor Wilfred Dolfsma from Wageningen, who recently led a study into the economics of...

We're investigating how farmers and land managers can create income streams from restoring peatland. Why is peatland important? What's the difference between upland and lowland peatland markets? How can farmers fund projects and sell credits? And what's the role of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme? I'm joined by Andy Howard, Chief Executive of CSX Carbon - and Sam Welsh, Head of Sale...

In this programme, 8point9.com's ffinlo Costain investigates how farmers and other land stewards can earn money from creating and managing woodland. ffinlo is joined by George Hepburne-Scott, Director, Forest Carbon - by David Robertson, Director of Investment and Business Development, Scottish Woodlands - by David McCulloch, Head of CarbonStore, Tilhill - and by Mark Lee, who farms at Torpenh...

⁠8point9.com⁠⁠⁠ editor, ffinlo Costain, is joined by farmer and columnist, Joe Stanley - they discuss the abrupt closure of SFI24, the Sustainable Farming Scheme, and what that means for farmers and the countryside - they look at Paying The Price, a report by the Food Farming & Countryside Commission into UK diets - and they talk about the opportunity to stack natural capital services with foo...

Many farmers have been dismayed by a clause in the UK Planning and Infrastructure Bill that will give Natural England the power to acquire farmland compulsorily to meet nature recovery objectives. The concern has been heightened further because compulsory purchase prices will exclude 'hope value'. 8point9.com's ffinlo Costain is joined by Rob Hindle from Rural Solutions and Gabriel Con...

In the first of our monthly food and farming 'Leaders' series, ffinlo Costain speaks to Shelagh Hancock who became Chief Executive of First Milk at a challenging time and led the company to becoming the UK's first regenerative co-operative dairy.

ffinlo Costain investigates how farmers can earn money by stacking renewable electricity generation with other farming activity. Featuring: Louise Daniels, Head of External Affairs for Thrive Renewables Roger Stones, Senior Energy Consultant for NFU Energy Harvie Agnew, Policy Analyst at Solar Energy UK Nick Spicer, Chief Executive at YourEco Nature Friendly Farming Network's Farming Champion,...

In this programme ffinlo Costain investigates how farmers and other land stewards can earn money from managing water effectively on their land. Interviews and discussion cover: What sort of payments are available to farmers? Where might those payments come from? Maintenance payments focussed on water infiltration The relationship between farmers and water companies The future of nutrient neutralit...

8point9.com⁠ editor, ffinlo Costain, is joined by farmer and columnist, Joe Stanley, for Farm Gate's monthly chat through the big land use topics of the moment. In this podcast the duo discuss the ongoing battle around inheritance tax - the government's land use framework - and ask whether gene editing is a force for good? (Views expressed in the podcast by Joe and ffinlo do not necessaril...

What’s a nature credit, what are they worth and how are they sold? We take a tour of the nature credit market - looking the differences between voluntary and statutory credits - governance mechanisms - and how the biodiversity net gain market in England actually works. Featuring: Peter Harker, Partner at Saffery And Emma Toovey, Chief Land and Nature Officer at Environment Bank With ffinlo Costain...

In this programme we'll ask - what do UK farmers need to do first to access nature payments? ffinlo Costain is joined by: Holly Story, Head of Nature-based Solutions at National Parks Partnerships Guy Thallon, Head of Natural Environment at Castle Howard And David Wright, founder and CEO of Ecometric We're talk about what can be measured and how - options for payments - actions that can be stacked...

8point9.com editor, ffinlo Costain, is joined by a new co-host, Joe Stanley, for Farm Gate's monthly chat through the big land use topics of the moment. Joe Stanley is a Farmers’ Weekly columnist, author and Head of Sustainable Farming at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Allerton Project. In this podcast they discuss NFU leadership tactics - whether the ongoing campaign against inh...

This is the first of 11 programmes in a series called Filling the Funding Gap. Throughout the series we'll discuss how natural capital markets work and whether they can help farmers to bridge the gap between public payments and the real costs of transition towards resilient and regenerative food production. In this introductory programme we're taking a broad overview - discussing what we m...

When we think of regenerative food and farming, we tend to think of small to medium-scale farmers, supplying into small or perhaps independent supply chains. But what about big companies – what about massive corporations – can their supply chains be regenerative too? Nestlé has become the great big regen corporation – but who’s responsible for that decision, what does regen mean for a global food...

In this programme, ffinlo Costain talks to two storytelling giants from the world of farming - Graham Harvey, former scriptwriter and farming story editor for the long-running BBC Radio drama, The Archers - And Ben Eagle who runs the podcast agency RuralPod Media and is the host of two farming podcasts: Rural Business Focus and Meet The Farmers. They talk about the public perception of farming, th...

In this programme, Farm Gate addresses the challenge of growing regenerative cereals in Britain. Is it possible? How can farmers deliver regeneration while producing the yields and profits necessary for viable farm businesses and a healthy food system? ffinlo Costain talks to Tim Parton from Brewood Park Farm, who's passionately championed regenerative agriculture for 15 years - and to Joe Stanley...

ffinlo Costain is joined by Charlie Bennett, author of Down the Rabbit Hole - The misadventures of an unlikely naturalist. They discuss the nature, language, heritage and history that Charlie showcases in his book - which is a perfect stocking filler. Down the Rabbit Hole is now available in Northumberland bookshops - across the UK in Waterstones - and for international listeners, direct from Char...

ffinlo Costain speaks to Dougald Hine, author of 'At Work in the Ruins: Finding our place in the time of climate crisis and other emergencies'. Hine is a social thinker, writer and speaker, and one of the great minds behind the Dark Mountain Project. We talk about his new book, and about the role of agriculture and food production in taking humanity through ecological, social and economic collapse...

In this programme, we're previewing LandAlive - the regenerative agriculture conference taking place at the Bath & West Showground on the 22nd and 23rd of November. ffinlo Costain is joined by: Tamara Giltsoff, co-founder of LandAlive George Dunn the chief executive of the Tenant Farmers' Association And Abby Allen, director of Pipers Farm and author of The Sustainable Meat Cookbook And to cla...

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft - he's a good guy, right? Africa's food system has been a major recipient of Gates' $59bn philanthropy. But is Gates helping African food systems - or destroying them? Is he ending hunger - or depleting land resilience and contributing to food insecurity and societal instability? I'm joined by Tim Schwab , author of the new book, The Bill Gates Problem - and by...

Seven conversations today, focussed on Land Alive, a new British regen farming event at the end of November; the findings of three Nuffield Farming Scholars; the potential to integrate bast fibre production within organic farm systems; and the perils faced by earthworms when the land floods. ffinlo Costain speaks to: Professor Mark Hodson, from the University of York - 0'34'' Graham Harvey, from L...

There's an ever-bigger regen farming community at all scales of production - but there are also farmers who say that they've tried regen ag, but it hasn't worked and they've given up. Why are these farmers failing to deliver a regenerative transition on their farms and in their businesses? ffinlo Costain is joined by two regen farming experts, Tim Williams and Clare Hill, and together they flesh o...

The Farm Gate news channel is part of 8point9.com Today we're frontloading the programme with conversations about baselining, banking and funding the transition - we'll hear from Lee Reeves from Lloyds, Adam White from Barclays and Doug Wanstall who wants to bring integrity into carbon markets. Later, Andrew Whiteford will explain a little of the business-case for tree-planting in Scotland - Valen...

Well, the summer's over, but for the last week in the southwest of England the sun's been shining while autumn's been gently easing itself into the air - and Newsweek is back with a full, ripe crop of six conversations. ffinlo Costain speaks to: Emma Toovey from the Environment Bank - 1'10'' Leona McDonald, the director of Golden Hooves - 9'12'' Andrew Barbour f...

ffinlo Costain speaks to Alpha Lo, the founder of the Climate Water Project, a series of podcasts and articles in which Alpha investigates how to restore the water web. Farm Gate is part of https://8point9.com/ To find out more about the Climate Water Project just visit https://climatewaterproject.substack.com/