OnFARM Scottish farming podcast

All too often, farmers and food producers are portrayed as villains on climate change. While there is work to do, the industry's positive stories too often go untold. The co-op umbrella organisation SAOS say it is time to change that. They also want to spearhead an industry-wide collaborative push to cut emissions and ramp up sequestration. For the first of a number of climate change episodes with...

Rory Christie farms in Wigtownshire alongside his brother, and is on the boards of both the Milk Suppliers Association (MSA) and the co-op umbrella organisation SAOS. He strongly advocates investing in becoming as good at negotiation as whoever is on the other side of the table - whether that is a big corporate buyer, your farm landlord, or even your spouse or kids! Anna and Rory sat down for a wi...

What does it take to convert from conventional to organic farming? What are the benefits and pitfalls of making the switch, and what really captures people’s passion along the way? For this edition of OnFARM, Anna is joined by Debs Roberts of the Scottish Organic Producers Association (SOPA), and Phil Swire, an Aberdeenshire farmer who is midway through converting to organic. Mentioned in this epi...

Organic oilseed rape is often said to be impossible to grow. Aberdeenshire feed manufacturer Norvite are at the centre of trials hoping to prove that claim wrong - and to offer Scottish-grown organic cold-pressed rapeseed oil as a premium product for restaurants and wholesale. They also hope to offer organic animal feed - a counterpart to their soya-free, local, yet conventional dairy ration NeoLa...

Anna is munching delicious broccoli crisps this week! She's in Cupar in Fife, at the headquarters of Growers Garden. They make crisps from vegetables that would otherwise not have made the grade for supermarket shelves. Growers Garden are part of a farmer-owner co-operative called East of Scotland Growers. It is a brilliant example of individual farmers working together to benefit each other as a...

Social media star Suzanne Mulholland AKA The Batch Lady shows Anna her methods for making the most of your freezer and kitchen storage. Her online videos and bestselling books show you how you can feed your household delicious and healthy meals, with a single one-hour cooking session each week. In this second part of the chat, Suzanne also gets Anna to try batching for herself! All episodes can be...

As COVID-19 continues to impact lives and businesses, and new lockdown rules are implemented across Scotland, Gail Ellis from rural HR specialists Greenburn returns to onFARM. Gail shares practical tips for employers and employees, as well as those facing redundancy and looking for new roles. Mentioned in this episode: Podcast producers Bespoken Media All episodes of OnFARM are produced and edited...

Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight is an annual celebration, running from 5th to 20th September 2020. It shines a light on the incredible work of Scotland's farmers, growers, producers and suppliers. This whole onFARM episode is a widespread and indepth chat with Scotland Food and Drink CEO James Withers. He and Anna discuss the Fortnight, the impact of COVID-19, Brexit, and the future of food and dr...

The Batch Lady, aka Suzanne Mulholland, is a global social media sensation, publishing regular videos sharing her method of modern batch cooking. Her bestselling books show you how to "Shop Once, Cook Once, Eat Well All Week". She creates all her content in her Scottish Borders farmhouse. This episode hears some of Suzanne's best tips for making the most of the food in your freezer. It was recorde...

Farmer Jim, AKA Jim Smith the Stand-up Farmer, welcomes Anna back to his home in the Perthshire hills. This time, the pair take Jim's truck up to the sheep fields at the very top of his ground. There's chat about Jim's ambitions in both farming and comedy. (Hands up who wants to see Jim on 'Live At The Apollo'?!) There's also some decent footballing promise shown by Floss the dog, advice from Anna...

The OnFARM podcast is a positive voice for farming, agri-food, and rural enterprise, both in Scotland and the wider UK. We give rural areas, people, organisations and charities a strong voice and a platform from which to share their stories. We perform in the top 25% of podcasts globally, and we are much listened to (and talked about!) across rural communities. Would your business or brand benefit...

Perthshire's Jim Smith is Scotland's Stand Up Farmer. His Back to the Teuchter live show and his social media Farm Diaries have earned him worldwide social media fame (as well as no shortage of female admirers!) He is also a regular on BBC Scotland's Breaking The News. But he says farming will always be his number one passion. This is part 1 of 2 episodes recorded with Jim, which we are re-releasi...

Bill Gray and Alan Laidlaw say they will "move heaven and earth" to put on a 2021 Royal Highland Show despite ongoing Covid uncertainty. The RHASS chairman and chief executive also reflect on weathering 2020's 'perfect storm', and look back on their favourite moments from the last 14 weeks of OnFARM episodes. Mentioned in this episode: Podcast producers Bespoken Media All episodes of OnFARM are pr...

This episode is one big THANK YOU to those people across rural Scotland, and the food and drink economy, who’ve gone above and beyond during Covid lockdown. We speak to people who have scrambled to keep their communities fed, given an extra push for charities, or just continued their vital jobs in difficult circumstances. There are 6 stories in the episode - all people we wanted to say thanks to....

We look back at the Highland Society’s history all the way back to 1784, on a tour of Ingliston House with RHASS chairman Bill Gray. It's Bill's first visit to the Society's boardroom since the momentous decision to cancel the 2020 Royal Highland Show due to Coronavirus. For this episode, Monty also speaks to: Farming journalist and writer Andrew Arbuckle Ken Fletcher, editor of the Scottish Farme...

Equestrian events attract some of the biggest crowds at the Royal Highland Show, with top show jumpers, displays of Clydesdales, Shetlands and other breeds, as well as the frenetic and joyful activity of the Pony Club Games! In this episode of OnFARM with RHASS, Anna delves into all things equestrian, and hears from breeders, judges and competitors at the very top of their discipline. Contributors...

There is so much time, passion, and painstaking commitment that goes into getting a beast ready for the ring at the Royal Highland Show. It can be the culmination of a life's work and ambition. For those men and women who dedicate their lives to showing stock, there is no feeling to match your animal winning its class. This edition of OnFARM with RHASS hears what it is like firsthand, from some of...

The Countryside Area is the section of the Royal Highland Show reserved for heritage crafts and traditional skills. It is quieter, and slightly apart from the hustle and bustle of the main showground. You can stop to soak in the sights and experiences, and try your hand at some of the crafts. In this episode of OnFARM with RHASS, Anna meets some of the artisans that exhibit in the Countryside Area...

Ever since it got its Royal Charter in 1784, the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) has been committed to helping individuals and organisations that improve, encourage, benefit, or otherwise advance rural Scotland. It does this through grants, scholarships, awards and other support. This work is funded in large part from money raised at the Royal Highland Show, and through...

We are marking the start of what would have been the 2020 Royal Highland Show by hearing from Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, Fergus Ewing MSP. In a wide ranging conversation with RHASS chief executive Alan Laidlaw, the Cabinet Secretary: - praises the Royal Highland Show as "the fulcrum of rural life in Scotland" - describes his pride in Scotland's rural communities fo...

It is Royal Highland Show week! Or it would be in more normal times. In The View From Town, OnFARM explores ways people not directly connected to agriculture still connect and relate to food, farming and the countryside. Anna also speaks with Marks and Spencer's head of agriculture Steven Maclean, and hears from a family of urban visitors to the Royal Highland Show. What draws them back to Inglist...

If you are looking for the very best in food and drink, from the finest Scottish producers, the Royal Highland Show is clearly the place to be. The food hall - more properly ‘Scotland’s Larder Live’ - is always one of the Show’s biggest draws. In the absence of a 2020 Show, we have the next best thing. We’ve brought together food and drink experts Wendy Barrie and Charlotte Maberly, with a host of...

Is there any feeling quite like seeing the gates open on day one of the Royal Highland Show? As a visitor, you have so many trade stands, businesses and people you want to see and hear from. There are never enough hours in the day to get round all the attractions. This episode of OnFARM seeks to replicate that busy day. It's packed full of voices, including some very well known names in Scottish a...

Anna speaks with Katrina Barclay from the Royal Highland Education Trust. Since the start of COVID-19, RHET's work has quickly adapted, to focus on supporting parents, families and teachers to deliver lockdown home-schooling. But while the delivery method has changed, the charity's purpose is just as it has been for over 20 years: to help children and young people in Scotland to understand where t...

For many, the Royal Highland Show is their one big chance each year to get together with friends, and to re-connect with people they don't otherwise manage to see. This time, OnFARM is exploring the importance of those 4 summer days at Ingliston for social connection and mental wellbeing. Anna is joined by Nina Clancy from RSABI, and Professor Sarah Skerratt, who has done lots of academic research...