R2Kast - People in Food and Farming/All In

Today I had Andrew on the R2Kast 🎙️ He is the current NFU Scotland President, farming in Aberdeenshire alongside a career that’s spanned agricultural finance, machinery and business. 🌾 We spoke about growing up on a family farm, studying agriculture in Aberdeen and then heading into the commercial side of the industry through Velcourt, banking and dealership roles before coming back into farming...

Today on the Tales of a Nuffield Scholar series I had the pleasure of chatting with Alex Brewster 🎙️ Alex is an upland beef and sheep farmer in central Scotland, running a large scale hill farm that has gone through huge system change over the past decade, with a real focus on soils, grazing and whole farm resilience 🌾 We spoke about Alex’s early life, heading off to New Zealand as a young lad an...

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace picking things back up again, this time right on the edge of peony season kicking off and everything that comes with it.  We covered a mix in this one from the reality of seasonal pressure with peonies and getting everything lined up for harvest, through to weather challenges across the UK and how different things look dep...

Today I had James on the R2Kast 🎙️ He works in PR across the agricultural and automotive sectors, creating content, campaigns and media that connect businesses with the wider industry. 🌾 We spoke about his background growing up in London, studying journalism and then moving into PR when the opportunities in traditional media started to shrink. That led him into agriculture and automotive, where h...

Today on the Tales of a Nuffield Scholar series I had the pleasure of chatting with Robin Asquith 🎙️ Robin is Head of Environment at Camphill Village Trust, working at the intersection of farming, nature and social care, supporting people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health challenges through real farm based environments 🌾 We spoke about Robin’s early life growing up in North Yor...

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace this time joined by Sophia as well, which brought a really good angle looking at the next generation and what farming looks like coming through.  We covered a proper mix in this one from peony production and how that whole system works, through to direct selling, subscriptions and building a customer base that actually val...

Today we welcome Matt Smee to the R2Kast 🎙️ Head of Agricology, a free knowledge hub bringing together practical information for farmers, growers and researchers across the food system. 🌾 We spoke about Matt’s journey into agriculture, starting in international development in Burma and Thailand before returning to the UK to explore farming hands on. That led into over a decade running small scale...

Today on the Tales of a Nuffield Scholar series I had the pleasure of chatting with Gordon Whiteford 🎙️ Gordon is a farmer based in Moray running a diverse business built around free range and organic egg production, alongside dairy, sheep and a strong direct to consumer focus through his farm shop 🌾 We spoke about Gordon’s early life growing up on a dairy farm in Ayrshire before his family moved...

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace picking things straight back up where we left off, still very much figuring out what this is and where it could go.  This one was a proper deep dive into farming realities. We got into everything from sugar beet and margins through to regen, inputs and whether it’s actually possible to grow without sprays. There’s a real h...

Today we welcome Julie McLaren to the R2Kast 🎙️ Julie is Relationship Director, Agriculture & Landed Estates, and currently serves as Vice Chair of Women in Agriculture Scotland.  Julie joined me to discuss her journey into the agricultural sector after more than two decades working in business and rural finance. We spoke about the importance of relationships in agricultural finance, the...

Today on the Tales of a Nuffield Scholar series I had the pleasure of chatting with Sarah Hughes 🎙️ Sarah works with Syngenta leading their amenity business across the UK and Ireland, covering sectors such as turf, forestry, pest management and ornamentals. She is also a 2017 Nuffield Scholar whose study explored the economics of vertical farming and whether controlled environment agriculture coul...

In this opening episode of Field to Front Door, Martin Caunce and David Wheatley sit down with Wallace Currie to test an idea that has been brewing for just 24 hours. From arable crops and flour milling to peonies, orchards and social media, the conversation explores what it really takes to sell direct and rebuild trust between farmer and consumer. Honest, off the cuff and unfiltered, this sets th...

Today we welcome Liz Barron-Majerik to the R2Kast 🎙️ Scotland Director for Lantra and someone who has spent years working across STEM, forestry and land-based education. 🌾 We started with the ALBAS awards, celebrating excellence in land-based and aquaculture skills, and the wider development programme that supports finalists beyond the ceremony itself. Liz explained how industry champions are dev...

Today on the Tales of a Nuffield Scholar series I had the pleasure of chatting with Trevor Alcorn 🎙️ Trevor is a dairy farmer from County Tyrone, a CAFRE dairy development adviser, and a 2015 Nuffield Scholar whose topic asked a question many farming families still wrestle with today, does the family dairy farm have a future 🌾 We started with Trevor’s own story, farming for generations near Omagh...

Today we welcome Nikki and Ollie Lake to the R2Kast 🎙️ A farming couple who have built Thorabella Farm around direct sales, diversification and connecting people back to where their food comes from. 🌾 We spoke about starting from scratch, buying 40 acres and gradually building a mixed system with buffalo, Jersey cows and sheep. Buffalo became central to the business, both from a grazing and comme...

Today we welcome Jemma to the R2Kast 🎙️ A sheep farmer, ultra runner and multiple time world record holder whose story covers farming, serious injury and rebuilding both physically and mentally. 🌾 We started with life on her new farm, moving from the original family place after her dad passed away, downsizing, starting again and slowly building a flock of around 300 ewes alongside a small develop...

Today we welcome Jackie Hough to the R2Kast 🎙️ A sheep farmer in the Boland Fells and Industry Manager for Land Based at City & Guilds. 🌾 We began with life on the farm in the north of England, running around 700 to 800 sheep alongside finishing cattle. We discussed lambing indoors in challenging terrain, breed choices including Cheviot mules and Bluefaced Leicesters, and why systems have to...

Today we welcome Sarah Jane to the R2Kast 🎙️ Chief Executive of Scottish Land and Estates and someone who has spent two decades shaping rural policy in Scotland. 🌾 We spoke about her background growing up in Kelso, her route from studying philosophy and psychology into rural policy, and how a summer job with the local authority set the direction for her career. From joining SLE in 2004 to becomin...

Today on the Tales of a Nuffield Scholar series I had the pleasure of chatting with Ben Taylor Davies 🎙️ Ben is a regenerative agriculture consultant, farmer, and Nuffield Scholar whose story spans family farming, global travel, and a very honest journey through challenge, change and curiosity 🌾 We spoke about Ben’s early life on the family farm in Herefordshire, how the business narrowed into co...

Today on the All In series of the R2Kast I was joined by Devin 🎙️ The series where we share the stories of people with no ties to food or farming but who still have something powerful to say about life, ambition and what drives them 🌍 Devin is the founder of Dev Aviation and someone I’ve known for years, back to our time working together at SRUC. We started by chatting about that journey, from mi...

Today we welcome Russ to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone whose career spans farming, engineering, regenerative agriculture, mentoring and rural youth leadership at a European level. 🌾 We talked about growing up on a family farm, studying engineering, travelling extensively, and how seeing farming systems around the world shaped his focus on change in agriculture. Russ explained his role in setting up farme...

Today we welcome Sandy to the R2Kast 🎙️ A marketer who grew up on a farm in south west Scotland, trained as an engineer, and then took a very different route through the drinks industry before landing in agricultural marketing. 🌾 We spoke about his move away from engineering, working in brand development, launching products, and realising that how you sell something often matters more than the pr...

Today on the Tales of a Nuffield Scholar series I had the pleasure of chatting with Jim Chapman 🎙️ Jim is an arable farmer from Warwickshire, a Nuffield Scholar, and someone many will recognise for his work around farm safety and lived experience within agriculture 🌾 We spoke about Jim’s early life in farming, his love of machinery, and the accident that changed everything when he lost his arm in...

Today we welcome Aimee to the R2Kast 🎙️ A conversation built around a simple but powerful idea. What happens if you stop shopping in supermarkets and start sourcing food and everyday items elsewhere. 🌾 We talked about the 90 day challenge Aimee is in the middle of, cutting out supermarkets completely and relying instead on local shops, producers, farm gate sales, butchers, bakers, farm shops and...

Today we welcome Lauren and Andrew to the R2Kast 🎙️ A farming couple based in Highland Perthshire running a hill farm alongside their direct to consumer business, Glenkilrie Larder, and a cook school built around food, farming and education. 🌾 We spoke about the farm system, sheep, cattle and deer, breed choices, labour, succession and why they’ve focused on animals that suit the landscape rather...