OnFARM Scottish farming podcast

As eagle numbers grow in parts of Scotland, so do farmers' concerns over livestock predation. At Rothiemurchus falconry outside Aviemore, Jonny Ames believes he might have an answer. He is training two Italian Maremma 'guardian dogs' - called Luigi and Peaches - to live 24/7 in fields with livestock, to guard sheep from birds-of-prey. He is looking to find volunteer farmers keen to trial the dogs...

All things ploughing – ahead of the 59th Scottish Ploughing Championships taking place in Ayrshire on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th October. Producer Dave is joined by Hugh Currie, Derek MacIver, and Lizzy Baxter, all from the Scottish Ploughing Championships 2023 organising committee. The championships are taking place at Monktonhill Farm, Prestwick, Ayrshire, KA9 1UL, and there will be lots of s...

Celebrations have been taking place in Caithness to mark 100 years since the Young Farmer’s movement got underway in Scotland. The Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs - SAYFC - wasn’t formed until 1938, but the first ever club was set up at a rural school house near Thurso in 1923. Centenary events have included a tractor rally, a quiz night, a forthcoming dinner and dance, and - most rece...

Patrick Laurie is an upland farmer and conservationist from Dalbeatie in Dumfries and Galloway. He talks to Monty of his pride in his herd of traditional Riggit Galloway cattle, and his growing concern for the plight of wildlife - particularly the birds that he says are disappearing from the landscape around him. He is the author of several books including Native: Life in a Vanishing Landscape , a...

East Lothian upland farmer Kelvin Pate is a relatively recent convert to bird conservation; he first started paying closer attention to the birds on his farm during Covid lockdown. He tells Anna about changes he's made on his farm to support birds, and shares his views on how people and policy can work better to protect wildlife. Thanks to sponsors Scottish law firm Gillespie Macandrew for making...

Fife food ambassador, writer and chef Christopher Trotter once ran a Michelin-starred kitchen. In this chat with OnFARM's Sarah Anderson, which we are re-releasing to mark Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight, he talks widely about sustainable and locally sourced produce, and particularly Scottish fish. He has recently published Coasts and Waters: The British Seafood Cookbook. Mentioned in this episo...

The number of adults receiving ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) prescriptions in Scotland has increased seven-fold in the last decade, according to recent headlines. Will Evans and Domhnall Macsween are both well known farmers who have both been diagnosed with ADHD. Will is chair of the Oxford Farming Conference and host of the Rock and Roll Farming podcast. Domhnall is a crofter on...

The unique Great Glen Challenge sees teams compete in cycling, kayaking, walking, and running between Fort Augustus and Fort William, covering a 49 km route. The event is a fundraiser for Scotland's rural charity RSABI - and this year, Monty and producer Dave were along for the action. Please consider donating to the RSABI Great Glen Challenge fundraising effort here . This episode has been produc...

Joanna MacGregor is the driving force behind a farm shop and play area at Farm Ness, on the Dochfour Estate outside Inverness. Joanna and her husband Donald Fraser are tenant farmers, and starred in series 5 of BBC Scotland's This Farming Life. Listen to Anna's January 2022 episode of OnFARM, recorded with both Joanna and Donald from Farm Ness: https://pod.fo/e/108b85 Mentioned in this episode: Po...

In amongst the action at the 2023 SAYFC Tug of War championships - this episode's got grit, glory, excitement, and controversy. We hear from competitors, fans, tearful relatives, and SAYFC national vice chair Ally Brunton. Huge congrats and respect to all the competitors. Episode supported by Bell Ingram. Mentioned in this episode: Podcast producers Bespoken Media All episodes of OnFARM are produc...

Rider Pilates Club is a rider-specific exercise plan, to help people sit straighter, stronger and easier in their saddle. It was created by Bristol-based Jess Rudkin, after she found that Pilates eased her own riding aches and pains. As Jess says in this episode, her aim is to "keep riding until lunchtime on the day of my funeral" - and she wants to help others to do the same. To find out more abo...

Farmer-led charity Pickups For Peace collect farm jtrucks and 4x4 vehicles, pack them with aid, supplies, and equipment, and then drive them in convoy to Ukraine. The trucks are left to help in the war effort - moving people, recovering casualties, or transporting supplies. In this episode, Monty speaks with one of the founders of Pickups for Peace, Keith Dawson, as well, as charity supporter Nico...

OnFARM's 150th episode! To celebrate this milestone, we gave Highland Show go-ers the chance to pitch us their ideas for future podcast subjects. Hear our shortlist of the ideas that we heard, and find out which lucky winner will get their own future episode, to be sponsored by our partners Bell Ingram. Who will get their own future OnFARM episode? Contenders include: 100 years of the Highland Pon...

Eagle populations have been boosted in the South of Scotland to their highest numbers for decades, thanks to The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project  (SSGEP), a collaborative project between land managers and conservationists. Rick Taylor joins Anna to talk about their work. We also hear from Freddie Ingleby from  Caledonian Climate  - an environmental service and consultancy fir...

From the cattle ring to the Highland Hall, the machinery lines and everywhere inbetween, Monty and Dave cover as much of the action at Ingliston as can be crammed into one episode of OnFARM. Among many others, we catch up with the Sheep Game's Cammy Wilson, celebrate the Highland Pony Society's centenary with president Sylvia Ormiston, and check in with veteran Kelso stockman Keith Redpath ahead o...

The Golden Shears world sheep shearing championships are hosted in 2023 by the Royal Highland Show. The competition's first return to Scotland in over 20 years has teams from 30 countries competing in machine shearing, hand shearing, and wool handling categories. Competitors gathered earlier this week for a last-minute training session at Crookston Farm in the Borders. OnFARM's Monty and producer...

RHET chairman and Dumfries and Galloway farmer Alistair Marshall is midway through a cross-Scotland cycling fundraiser. His e hopes to visit schools in all 13 RHET regions in the run-up to the Royal Highland Show. The aim is to raise over £10,000 to support RHET to continue to provide free educational activities and experiential learning for young people aged 3 -18 years. OnFARM's Anna Davies was...

Anna attended the recent national conference of SOPA – Scottish Organic – at the Royal Highland Showground.  It was a brilliant forward-thinking day; in fact the theme of the event was “The Road Ahead”. Organic is still quite a small part of the total food and farming economy, but it is growing, and there is huge potential for the future.  This episode is packed with inspiring and insigh...

Most of us in farming - unfortunately - know someone who’s been in an argument or a dispute. It could be between relatives over an inheritance, or over a business relationship, or whatever it might be. You may not realise you can call on support from professional mediators - or even, in some cases, offer to step in as a mediator yourself. This episode is all about the power of mediation – hearing...

We are alongside the main arena at Fife Show, courtesy of OnFARM partners and sponsors Gillespie MacAndrew. Guest co-presenters are Carol McQuillan and Sam Connington from GM's Land and Rural Business Team. They check in with RSABI's Carol MacLaren about their upcoming fundraiser The Great Glen Challenge. We also hear from Jenn Stewart at Johnston Carmichael, and NFU Scotland president Martin Kenn...

A follow-up to our episode on the restoration of Braemar Castle in Royal Deeside. We are with Bell Ingram team volunteers, senior architect Iain Cram, and expert Scottish thatcher Brian Wilson, as they gather sheaves of heather to redo the roof of a folly - or 'fog house' - in the castle grounds. Mentioned in this episode: Podcast producers Bespoken Media All episodes of OnFARM are produced and ed...

Braemar Castle in Royal Deeside has been under scaffolding for many months - as it is being lovingly restored by a team led by the local community, with architecture support from specialists at Bell Ingram. In this episode - the first of two recorded at Braemar Castle - Monty meets vice chair of Braemar Community Ltd. Doreen Wood, director of stonemasonry at Harper and Allen masonry Steven Harper,...

The 2023 Helping It Happen awards from Scottish Land and Estates are open for nominations here . In this mini-series in partnership with SLE, Anna meets the 2022 winners, to find out how the recognition has helped them or given their work a boost. We also hear in each episode from SLE chief executive Sarah-Jane Laing. Helping it Happen 2022 award-winners showcased in this second episode: Tourism &...

The 2023 Helping It Happen awards from Scottish Land and Estates are now open for nominations here . In this mini-series in partnership with SLE, Anna meets the 2022 winners, to find out how the recognition has helped them or given their work a boost. We also hear in each episode from SLE chief executive Sarah-Jane Laing. Helping it Happen 2022 award-winners showcased in this first episode: Housin...

The first ever SAOS Growing Tomorrow's Leaders cohort have recently completed their training. Growing Tomorrow’s Leaders programme has been designed to help Scotland's rural sector cope better with its many and growing challenges, including climate change, sustainability and supply chain issues. OnFARM's Anna took part in the training herself - and recorded this episode at their recent graduation...