The Crop It Like It's Hot Podcast

The latest Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions have arrived, bringing fresh opportunities for farmers, but also plenty of questions. In this episode, we sit down with Megan Whatty, Hutchinsons environmental specialist, to unpack the latest developments, explore what has changed, and discuss what the new actions could mean for farm businesses across the country. With funding levels lower th...

For years, many growers questioned whether oilseed rape still had a future in UK arable rotations. Pressure from cabbage stem flea beetle, difficult establishment seasons and rising input costs pushed confidence in the crop to some of its lowest levels in decades. But after two stronger seasons, sentiment is beginning to shift. So why is oilseed rape making a comeback on some farms? What are succe...

Join us for our second arable special where Farmers Guardian head of arable, Ash Ellwood, visits Duchy of Cornwall's Focus Farmers, Heather and Paul Gorringe. Together, they explore the Gorringes' journey from a conventionally plough-based system to a biologically focused, regenerative system - and lessons they are learning along the way through the Focus Farmer programme.   The Duchy of...

Thousands of tonnes of perfectly good arable produce never leave the farm gate, due to spoilage, market gluts, or shifting contracts. But what actually happens to that surplus? In this episode, head of arable Ash Ellwood visits a re-distribution site in Merseyside to dig into the true scale of on-farm waste and follow the journey of surplus produce beyond the field. Discover how FareShare and The...

If you were asked for your top piece of farming advice for a new entrant or a Young Farmer - what would you tell them?  We chat with farmers from across the country for their pieces of advice and learnings from the ground. We also chat with Dick Neale, technical manager at Hutchinsons, to find out what growers should be considering ahead of getting the drill out this spring time, common mistakes h...

Changes to Government policy dominate our headlines, from the APR reform to our 'Save Our Family Farms Campaign' looking to support farmers through changes to IHT. It can feel like our farming industry is constantly reacting to policy.  In this podcast, we discuss how a vision that George Freeman, Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk, has put to the Government, setting out how smarter regulat...

2025: the one where it didn't rain for months, we lost a major yellow rust resistance gene, SFI's were abruptly halted, and UK tractor sales tanked. It has been a challenging year, but where there is challenge, there comes opportunity for change. Join Ash, Toby and Jane as they chat all things arable, policy and machinery - while uncovering positives among the negatives as we round up 20...

This month, Farmers Guardian headed to Agri-TechE's REAP Conference in Peterborough and caught up with some speakers, industry professionals and researchers to find out what the key takeaway messages were from the conference, what research and innovations are on the way into the industry and what technology is currently being utilised on farms. Speakers  Dr Belinda Clarke, Director of Agri-Te...

Join podcast host, Ash Ellwood, as she visits a family arable farm based in Leicestershire, which has recently diversified its farming business by creating its own fresh oat drink. The diversification is led by founder and family member Miles, who has not only found a market for his farm-grown oats but also created an opportunity to return to the family farm, after completing university and workin...

In this episode, join Ash Ellwood as she chats with three industry experts all things grass-weed control.  Take a deep dive into the recent dry summer and its impacts on weed pressures and seedbanks, as well as the availability of new and existing chemistry. Learn how growers can balance their herbicide timing and spending to minimise resistance on farm, and discover top tips for minimising resist...

In this months podcast join Ash Ellwood, head of arable, as she chats with Paul Gosling, AHDB’s Senior manager for the Recommended Lists (RL), as they discuss the process for varieties to become recommended, what happens during the trials and how best to utilise the list information.   We also chat with Clare Leaman, cereal variety specialist at Niab about what resources are available to aid varie...

This episode delves into the complexities of plant breeding as we visit DSV's breeding centre in Oxfordshire and discuss how a new variety is bred and the steps required to bring it to market. Join Ash Ellwood as she takes a tour of the facility while chatting with DSV's wheat breeder, Dr Matthew Kerton. Also, our brand-new addition to the podcast features five growers from around the co...

In our exciting re-launch episode, we chat with Hutchinson's head of environmental services, Georgina Wallis, who gives us an update on the recently scrapped Sustainable Farming Incentive funding and an insight into the latest spending budget. We then head to NIAB's soil hole, where chief executive, Prof Mario Caccamo, discusses the importance of independent variety selection.  With chan...

The Nuffield Farming Scholarship offers financial support for sustainable farming practices and involves a two-year commitment. Three arable-focused scholars, Jamie, Sam, and Tom, were interviewed in a podcast, where they discussed their projects and the application process. The scholarship provides a travel bursary for research, access to a valuable network, and a community of scholars. Scholars...

This episode sees Farmers Guardian arable specialist Ash Ellwood discuss how one farmer has introduced sheep into their arable rotation, what role data can play on farm and finds out the latest on the urea legislation changes, all recorded from The CropTec Show in Stoneleigh. Speakers - Jo Franklin (Arable & sheep farmer), Tom Macbride (Yagro) , Robert and Will Ingham (Glasson Fertilisers) 

Being a farmer comes with the privilege of being a custodian of the land, and a love of the countryside and wildlife is why many farmers do what they do. In this episode of Crop It Like It’s Hot, the Arable Farming team speak to three conservationists about how arable farms can become a haven for wildlife. From hedgerow management tips to habitat creation, and encouraging more beneficial insects,...

Many growers might feel like they have taken three steps back in weed control this year, with grass-weeds seemingly doing particularly well. But what can be done this autumn to get back on top of them? In this episode of Crop It Like It’s Hot, the Arable Farming team get the latest from weed control connoisseur, John Cussans.  With all the tools in the box needed to keep on top of emerging weeds,...

Growers keep being told ‘widen your rotation’, but how do you manage risk with reward when it comes to growing new crops? How long should you give a crop in the rotation before throwing in the towel? And where do you start in deciding what to grow? From alternative pulse markets, to Wildfarmed wheat, to the weird and wonderful, in this latest episode of Crop It Like It’s Hot, we take a look at wha...

Risk management in agriculture is largely associated with personal safety, however in other industries, the management of risk extends to financial and planning and resource management. In this episode of Crop It Like It's Hot, machinery editor, Toby Whatley sits down to with three farmers with different business models, crops and land assets to hear how they approach risks to their business...

As the agricultural industry navigates the loss of the Basic Payment Scheme, in this episode of Crop it Like it's Hot the Arable Farming team takes a look at future funding options available to arable farmers. From Environmental Land Management to productivity grants, there are plenty of options out there, but do they fit the bill and are they worth taking up? In this episode, head of farming...

With the UK seeing long periods of no rainfall almost annually, and changes to abstraction licensing and planning restrictions on water storage threatening to compound the issue, water security in agriculture is a concern many growers should and are taking seriously. In this episode of Crop it Like it’s Hot, the Arable Farming team delves into the world of water policy, application and economics,...

Since the Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) was established by ADAS 10 years ago, it has recorded multiple crop world records, droughts, floods and a fertiliser crisis. But all of these events have helped the network to gather important information on how growers can maximise crop production on their land. In this episode of Crop it Like it’s Hot, ADAS’ Dr Sarah Kendall discusses key learnings from...

Agriculture is both a hard industry to recruit in and a notoriously hard industry to get into if you’re not from a farming background. With the UK facing a cost of living crisis, the prospect of supporting good employees may be daunting, but there are many things farm businesses can be doing to help retain and attract good staff. In this employment-focused podcast, Alice Dyer finds out how to be b...

The integration of cover crops have been a key ingredient for many farmers in improving the health of their soils and their overall farming system. But they don’t come without their challenges, and ‘getting them to work’ isn’t always as straightforward as it seems. To find out what we’re doing wrong and how to get more out of them tune into the latest episode of the Crop It Like It’s Hot podcast....

More businesses are now looking to offset their environmental footprint, and with new laws on enhancing biodiversity for housing developers, there are some interesting opportunities emerging for land managers to make some extra cash. But is trading natural capital all it is cracked up to be, or could land owners be tying themselves into long-term contracts to fulfil a fairly new and unknown concep...