R2Kast - People in Food and Farming/All In

Today we welcome Thomas to the R2Kast 🎙️ A regenerative farmer exploring how agroforestry fits into a practical farming system and what that means for productivity, resilience and long term decision making. 🌾 We spoke about his farm, why he’s integrating trees into grazing and arable land, and how agroforestry can work when it’s designed properly rather than bolted on. A big part of the conversat...

Well today we welcome Aileen to the R2Kast 🎙️ A farmer and secondary school teacher who has built a new way of bringing food and farming into the classroom. 🌾 We talked about life on an upland beef and sheep farm, her route into agriculture, and how that experience fed directly into her teaching. Aileen explained the agricultural education course she has created, how it works in practice, and why...

Today on the Tales of a Nuffield Scholar series I had the pleasure of chatting with Tom Bradshaw 🎙️ He is the NFU President, a fourth generation farmer from Essex, and a Nuffield Scholar whose journey has helped shape both his own farming business and his leadership at the very top of the industry 🌾 We talked about Tom’s early life on a mixed livestock farm, how selling cows and pigs led to contr...

Well today we welcome Martin to the R2Kast 🎙️ A farmer and CEO of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, where he works on connecting farming, nature and policy. 🌾 We spoke about his own farming journey, succession, and the shift towards nature friendly systems built around soil health, biodiversity and resilience. Martin explained why the Nature Friendly Farming Network was created, how it has gro...

Well today we welcome Lizzy to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone who has turned curiosity, nature and lived experience into a full time career teaching people how to forage, cook and reconnect with the land around them. 🌾 We talked about how a simple walk with her son led to discovering wild food, and how that slowly became a way of life. From nettles and mushrooms to bread, pizza and preservation, Lizzy sha...

Well today we welcome Madeleine to the R2Kast 🎙️ A brilliant chat with someone who found her way into farming later than most and proves there is no single route into the sector. 🌾 We talked about her upbringing around agricultural workers, a career working with children with additional needs, and the moment a simple lambing job during lockdown changed everything. From turning up in DMs and an ol...

Well today to kick off the sixth series of the podcast we welcome Anna to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone juggling life on the family farm with law, policy work and a serious passion for improving how young people are heard across food and farming. 🌾 We spoke about her journey from an arable and beef farm in Fife to studying law, living across Europe through Erasmus, and working in global policy and techno...

Well today we welcome Claudia to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone who has lived and breathed chickens since she was six years old, turning her sister’s unwanted hens into a full blown breeding hobby, a little business and eventually an educational platform followed by thousands. 🌾 We talked about how she became overstocked at eight years old, selling chicks from rabbit hutches, learning through trial and er...

Well today we welcome George to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone who has spent nearly 30 years leading the Tenant Farmers Association and has seen more policy cycles, governments and tenancy changes than most of us could list. 🌾 We talked about his journey from Belfast to agricultural economics, joining the old Ministry of Agriculture, and eventually stepping into the TFA at a time when the whole tenancy la...

Thank you for supporting for 400 episodes! What a ride it’s been! Here’s to 500 🎉 Well today we welcome Cameron to the R2Kast 🎙️ A young arable farmer who somehow found himself swapping the grain store for the Big Brother house and ended up becoming one of the standout voices of the whole series. 🌾 We talked about life on the family farm, his unusual school where you could be learning maths one...

Well today we welcome Leah to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone whose story moves quickly, from Welsh speaking smallholding life to dropping out of uni on her birthday and walking straight into agricultural marketing. 🌾 We chatted about how she messaged Andy at Hillsgreen on a whim, turned a week of work experience into 15 months, and found out she preferred real world creativity over lectures. Her honesty a...

Well today we welcome Katelyn to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone whose early career has moved quickly, from Harper Adams to placements, into food marketing, and now into a role working with sustainable ingredients made from broccoli stems. 🌾 We spoke about how she nearly studied law before a last minute spark pushed her into agri food marketing. Her time at Harper was full of funny moments, including turni...

Well today we welcome Bill to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone many folk in Scottish farming will know well. We started with his journey from Belfast to St Andrews, studying medicine before realising it wasn’t the right path, and how that eventually led him into agriculture through rugby clubs, mentors and a real love of working on the land. 🌾 We spoke about his thirty years at Rosemains, running a mixed ar...

Well today we welcome Ally to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone many of you will know from the telly, from farming, or now from podcasting as the co host of Meet the Farmers The Big Debate. We kicked off chatting about how that show began, how he ended up working alongside Sophie and Ben, and the challenge of debating topics when everyone secretly agrees. 🌾 We got into the farm at Weir End, how he took over...

Well today we welcome me again, this time to look back over the last two years and what they’ve really been like 🎙️ From Rwanda and Tanzania, to Ukraine, America, Japan, New Zealand, China and everywhere in between, it’s been a wild mix of travel, learning, worry, joy and a lot of growing up. 🌾 I spoke about the early trips with SAYFC, meeting people who changed the way I see the world, and then...

Well today we welcome Daniel to the R2Kast 🎙️ A brilliant chat with someone who has lived a life full of stories long before becoming a medical student. From being born on a farm to cycling thousands of miles through places like Syria, Sudan and Pakistan, his tales of hospitality, fear, humour and pure naivety were unreal. 🌾 We spoke about the moments that shaped him most, from strangers handing...

Well today we welcome me to talk all things China on the people in food and farming series of the R2Kast 🎙️ A slightly different one this time as I dove into my own story, chatting about six weeks living and teaching in Qingdao and what life was really like on the other side of the world. 🌾 We got into how the opportunity came about, from a chance conversation at RAU to a whirlwind of visas, last...

Today on the All In series of the R2Kast I was joined by Nicholas Duffy 🎙️ 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 🌍 Nick, who goes by the pen name Nicholas the Poodle, is an author, traveller and teacher from Massachusetts now living and working in Qingdao, China. We spo...

Today we welcome Annie Landless onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ Annie works on a 600 acre organic mixed farm in the Cotswolds where she manages everything from veg boxes to beef cattle and pigs. Her passion for regenerative systems shines through as she talks about herbal lays, mob grazing, and the importance of soil health. 🌱🐄🐝 We explore Annie’s journey from a family farm with a reputation for organic be...

Today’s guest is Alex Gray! 🎙️ A lecturer in agriculture, countryside management, and horticulture, Alex is passionate about breaking down the silos in rural education. 🌳📚 We talk about his background in ecology and farming, and how those two worlds—often seen as opposites—can come together through regenerative agriculture and agroforestry. Alex shares how he is rolling out new systems at Brooks...

Today I welcome Bryce Cunningham onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ An organic dairy farmer from Ayrshire, Bryce is flying the flag for Ayrshire cows and sustainable systems. 🐄🥛 At Mossgiel Organic Farm, Bryce has built a cow-with-calf system that keeps mothers and calves together for up to eight months. He also runs a dairy business delivering across Scotland, works with other organic farms, and has even adde...

Today we welcome Tom Newbury onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ A new entrant farmer, butcher, and tree surgeon, Tom embodies the many routes into agriculture. 🌳🥩 Tom shares how a childhood love of farming never left him, even though his family had no farming background. From early days “helping” on local smallholdings to finding his way through butchery and beyond, his path shows the grit and passion needed t...

Today’s guest is Tom Martin! 🎙️ Known for vibrant shirts and even brighter ideas, Tom joins me to talk about his decade in farming and the unexpected paths that led him here. 👕🌾 Farming is Tom’s fourth career, and he reflects on how much has changed in just ten years. Practices once seen as “howling at the moon” are now mainstream, and he asks what today’s wild ideas will look normal a decade fr...

Today I sit down with Iain Riddell! 🎙️ After nearly 45 years with SRUC, Iain reflects on a career that saw him advise farmers through countless reforms, challenges, and opportunities. 👨‍🌾📖 We talk about how consultancy has evolved—from free advisory services in the early days to today’s scheme-driven pressures—and the constant truth that farming is never without challenge. Iain shares stories o...

Today I welcome Tim May onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ A fourth-generation farmer from Hampshire, Tim has transformed Kingsclere Estate into something far beyond a traditional farm. 🌾 We hear how his Nuffield Scholarship inspired him to shift from 100 percent arable into a mixed regenerative system, bringing livestock back and building a network of partners rather than employees. Tim shares his vision of fa...