R2Kast - People in Food and Farming/All In

Today I had Nick on the R2Kast 🎙️ Nick is CEO of Velcourt Group, overseeing a business working across farming, forestry, conservation and rural asset management throughout the UK. 🌾 We spoke about growing up in Dorset with no farming background, becoming fascinated by agriculture and eventually heading to Harper Adams before joining Velcourt. That relationship has lasted his entire career, taking...

Field to Front Door – Episode 16 on heritage grains, no input farming and selling direct Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace catching up as plans for next season start taking shape, with plenty on heritage grains, direct selling and experimenting with different ways of growing crops. David has made another impulse purchase, this time a roller mill, which led us i...

Today I had Jill on the R2Kast 🎙️ Jill runs the National Association of Agricultural Contractors and has spent much of her career representing the people and businesses providing essential services across UK agriculture. 🌾 We spoke about growing up around farming, wanting to become a shepherdess and studying animal science before starting her career with the Humane Slaughter Association. That too...

Series three of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar continues 🎙️ This series is looking at some of the biggest challenges, innovations and conversations shaping agriculture today, and this time we’re getting into a topic that is becoming increasingly important across UK farming, natural capital 🌱 I was joined by 2026 Nuffield Scholar Liz Warner, a first generation tenant farmer from Devon who farms aroun...

Today I had Neil on the R2Kast 🎙️ Neil is Chief Executive of the National Beef Association and Scottish Beef Association, representing beef producers and working with government and industry across the UK. 🌾 We spoke about growing up around farming in Aberdeenshire, an unexpected career in paper production that took him around the world and eventually finding his way back into agriculture through...

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace catching up after a couple of weeks away, with harvest largely behind us and attention starting to turn towards what comes next. A big part of this one was David’s growing direct selling venture. We chatted about everything from vegetables, milk and meat through to eggs, delivery companies and whether bringing produce from mult...

Today I had Clare on the R2Kast 🎙️ Clare is a farmer’s daughter, behavioural scientist and the driving force behind Grounded Research, using research and data to make sure farmers and others across the food supply chain have a genuine voice in decision making. 🌾 We spoke about growing up on an arable farm in Cambridgeshire, moving into marketing and consultancy, life as a military wife and eventu...

Series three of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar is here 🎙️ Thank you for watching series two, where we looked ahead to the scholars and Next Gen Scholars presenting at the 2026 Nuffield Farming Scholarships Conference in Leeds. This time we’re changing things up and looking at some of the biggest challenges, innovations and conversations shaping agriculture today 🌾 To start the series I was joined by...

Today I had Frank on the R2Kast 🎙️ Frank is a Chartered Security Professional whose career has taken him from farming in Lincolnshire into the military and then security roles across the world, including a decade working in Kazakhstan. 🌾 We spoke about how that career eventually brought him back towards agriculture and the creation of Rural Safeguard, using decades of experience in security to he...

Field to Front Door – Episode 14 on selling direct, harvest, food prices and taking back control Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace catching up as harvest continues, with plenty happening around grain, changing markets and some increasingly ambitious plans from David. We got into regenerative milling wheat, cleaning grain, mixed cropping and what Martin has lear...

Today I had Grace on the R2Kast 🎙️ Grace is a British vet based in New Zealand, working across large animal medicine, parasite management and the development of DAGI, while also helping establish the Aotearoa Veterinarians Union. 🌾 We spoke about a pretty incredible upbringing across Australia, Papua New Guinea, Africa and the Middle East, before eventually coming back to the UK to study veterina...

Today on Tales of a Nuffield Scholar supported by NFU Mutual we bring series two to a close with something slightly different 🎙️ After seven episodes looking at the presentation groups taking to the stage at the 2026 Nuffield Farming Scholarships Conference in Leeds, we finish with the Next Gen Scholars who will also be taking to that stage to share their experiences 🌱 The Next Gen Scholarship gi...

Today I had Tim on the R2Kast 🎙️ Tim is a livestock farmer in Yorkshire, Deputy Chair of the Food Standards Agency and someone who has spent his career working across agriculture, science and public health. 🌾 We spoke about farming in the South Pennines, running Beef Shorthorn cattle and sheep, and why changing weather patterns are becoming one of the biggest challenges facing upland farming. We...

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace catching up as harvest continues, with plenty to chat about from heritage grains and regenerative farming through to some pretty brutal yields and what actually makes farming stack up financially. David had been exploring heritage grains and the growing market around them, which led into a really interesting conversation about...

Today I had Philip on the R2Kast 🎙️ Philip is a parasitologist at the Moredun Research Institute who has spent decades researching sheep and cattle parasites, helping farmers better understand disease and develop more sustainable approaches to livestock health. 🌾 We spoke about growing up in Northern Ireland, how a fascination with parasitology led him into research, and the work Moredun has done...

Today on series two of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar supported by NFU Mutual we continue looking ahead to the 2026 Nuffield Farming Scholarships Conference in Leeds 🎙️ This is the final episode of the series focusing on the main Nuffield Scholarship presentation groups before we finish series two with the Next Gen Scholars 🌍 This episode focuses on the presentation group “Sustainable Growth through...

Today I had Hans on the R2Kast 🎙️ A commercial fisherman and boat builder who has spent decades working the west coast of Scotland and is now operating what he believes is the world’s only fully electric commercial fishing boat. 🌾 We spoke about growing up between Glasgow and Argyll, learning boat building before moving into commercial fishing, and how years of working on the water eventually led...

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace catching up as harvest begins, discussing everything from grain markets and crop prices to social media and what’s happening on farm as another busy season gets underway. A big part of this episode focused on grain markets and futures trading, looking at the risks of selling crops before they’re harvested and how weather, yield...

Today I had Georgia on the R2Kast 🎙️ Georgia is a veterinary student, Commonwealth Games medallist and World Champion who has gone from competing at the highest level in para cycling to pursuing a career as a vet. 🌾 We spoke about growing up around horses in rural Leicestershire, always wanting to become a vet and then unexpectedly being identified through a talent programme that led her into eli...

Today on series two of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar supported by NFU Mutual we continue looking ahead to the 2026 Nuffield Farming Scholarships Conference in Leeds 🎙️ Across this series we’re hearing from scholars who will feature within the conference presentation groups, giving a flavour of the conversations, ideas and experiences set to shape the event 🌍 This episode focuses on the presentation...

In the final episode of the series, we explore how the island's farmers have diversified their businesses to adapt to changing markets and build resilience for the future. Along the way, we'll discover how these new enterprises are creating benefits that extend far beyond the farm gate, supporting local jobs, producing essential goods and services, creating educational opportunities, and helping p...

Field to Front Door – Episode 11 on regenerative farming, harvest decisions and learning from failure Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️ David, Martin and Wallace catching up on everything from harvest preparations and regenerative farming to football, Yorkshire Show and what’s happening on their farms right now.  Field to Front Door 11.pdf A big part of this episode was a deep dive...

Today I had Sally-Ann on the R2Kast 🎙️ What a conversation this was. Sally-Ann wears more hats than almost anyone I’ve had on the podcast, working across agriculture, entomology, ecology, palaeontology and education, while somehow also becoming part of the winning Hawstone Farmers Choir on Britain’s Got Talent. 🌾 We started with the choir journey, from answering a social media advert looking for...

Today on series two of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar supported by NFU Mutual we continue looking ahead to the 2026 Nuffield Farming Scholarships Conference in Leeds 🎙️ Across this series we’re hearing from scholars who will feature within the conference presentation groups, giving a flavour of the conversations, ideas and experiences set to shape the event 🌍 This episode focuses on the presentation...

Do you thrive on challenge? Or perhaps you’re looking for someone who can help bring clarity to the whirlwind of running a business and a busy life? 🌱 Today on the TwoCan Mentor podcast I was joined by Becci Berry and Andrew Ferguson 🎙️ Becci came into farming from a completely different background in marketing and sponsorship, taking on the family farm following the loss of her husband and learn...