Meet the Farmers

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...

Today we're heading to Monmouthshire in south Wales to meet Dan Smith who is Farm Manager at Jamie’s Farm in Monmouth. Jamie's Farm have a four-winged approach – farming, family, therapy and legacy and they have 6 farms across England and Wales on to which they invite these young people to stay on the farm with the team for five days. Dan himself grew up on various farms across England and Wales a...

Another hundred episodes has gone past and we’ve been all over the British Isles from the north of Scotland to Cornwall and the Isle of Man to Sussex and met farmers from pretty much every sector - dairy, pigs, poultry, horticulture, cereals, potatoes, sheep and beef. We’ve discussed the environment, politics, culture, new entrants, challenges, inputs, policy, trade and profiled some amazing perso...

Today Ben is heading across the Irish Sea to speak to Irish dairy farmer Bruce Thompson who milks 300 cows at the foot of the Slieve Blooms in the heart of the island of Ireland. Over time the farm has shifted towards dairy but it used to be more of a mixed farm with sheep, beef and dairy enterprises. Bruce has always worked in agriculture although he has a diploma in automobile engineering and is...

Today we’re in Devon with new entrant to farming Adam Short. Adam’s primary professional background is in the IT sector and indeed his primary line of work today, alongside life on the farm, is in agri-software, a subject that I’m sure will be of interest to many of you, which is partly why I’ve asked him on the podcast. He’s had a varied career prior to moving into the agricultural community and...

Today we’re heading to Cambridgeshire to meet grower Calixta Killander who founded Flourish in 2017 which focuses on producing unusual produce for chefs. Initially a market garden Calixta’s enterprise has now grown to include fruits, vegetables, herbs, heritage grains, salads and flowers on 56 acres. Her ambition is to produce nutrient dense food and supply directly to her customers as well as cre...

Open Farm Sunday is just around the corner and organisers LEAF are still encouraging as many farmers as possible to sign up. The official date for this year’s event is Sunday 11th June. But if you’re a farmer, why should you consider getting involved? Well to find out Ben is joined today by LEAF’s Open Farm Sunday Manager Annabel Shackleton and poultry and arable farmer Jenny Olds from Cornhill Fa...

Today we’re heading to Derbyshire to speak to dairy farmer Jessica Langton. Despite only being in her 20s Jess already has an impressive CV and bags of passion, enthusiasm and drive for a career in agriculture. As well as working on the family dairy farm, she studied Animal Science at the University of Nottingham and is currently on a grad scheme with Genus who she worked with on a part time basis...

Today we’re heading to Lincolnshire to meet arable farmer and runner Charles Anyan, who farms 346 hectares of land at Springthorpe near Gainsborough in the north west of the county. Cropping includes a fairly standard rotation of wheat, barley, oil seed rape and spring beans. Charles also runs a small DIY livery yard and is involved in a couple of mid-tier stewardship schemes. He’s been back on th...

Today we’re on the Isle of Man for the first time, to speak to father and son Ean and Harry Parsons. The Parsons’ sheep and beef farm is at Laxey on the eastern side of the island. It’s around 5000 acres in area with 3500 of that moorland. Ean is also the current President of the Manx NFU, and a former Chair of its Meat and Livestock Committee. Harry is a student at Harper Adams studing for a BSc...

Ben meets Caithness based mixed farmer and Nuffield scholar Ranald Angus. Episode Notes Today we’re heading up to Thurso in Caithness on the northernmost coast of Scotland to meet mixed farmer and 2021 Nuffield scholar Ranald Angus. Ranald is a partner in his family’s mixed farm with beef, sheep, arable and forestry enterprises. His Nuffield focuses on carbon and his working project title is 'Brid...

Ben meets Cumbria based cheesemaker, sheep and goat farmer Martin Gott.  St James Cheese Episode Notes We’re up in the Lake District today, in Cumbria to meet farmer and cheesemaker Martin Gott who runs Holker Farm and St James Cheese with his wife Nicola. Martin and Nicola have rented the Cumbrian farm since 2006 after moving up from Somerset. They established a flock of milking sheep and began m...

Helen is the third generation of her family to farm at Longridge Farm in Gloucestershire, which is 100 acres in area. Originally a dairy farm along with sheep and traditional orchards, Helen now runs a 50 head sucker herd with Dexters, 120 breeding ewes, a dairy goat rearing system, a small pig rearing unit, 100 turkeys for the Christmas market, a livery yard and the orchard. She is also a part ti...

Flavian manages 130 sows from farrow to finish on a mixed farm in Hampshire which also has sheep, beef, arable and a farm shop. Before he started this role in 2021 he managed the pig unit at Plumpton College in East Sussex.  Flavian moved to the UK at the age of 15, having grown up in Kenya. The plan was to go to university to study veterinary medicine, but instead he ended up taking a year out af...