The Pasture Pod

A Canadian themed episode to bring "Season 2" to an end. Arron came over to the UK in January 2023 and spoke to loads of people over the course of a week. I went to see him at the AHDB meeting in Northumberland at George Burrell's and it was such a refreshing and positive experience. Even though he has such a different environment to contend with, the principle of system first is such a powerful thing.  He popped into Culteuchar, met Mo, stayed the night (not in that way) and was polite about my handful of heifers and sheep. Hope you enjoy it.  If you do, Arron is starting a new podcast of his own with Amy Hughes called Think Outside the Fence. 1st August 2023 release, I think. First guest is me and the interview has happened. I don't think I'm catastrophising but looking back on it I am definitely getting Gerald Ratner / Holly Willoughby vibes, so this might be the last Pasture Pod before I'm cancelled.

After 12 years apart, two acquaintences meet. Everything has changed, Michael is even fatter and has less hair; Chris seems to have given Michael his extra body mass - he's lighter and fitter.  Chris is also more self aware and intimidates Michael slightly less than in 2010. They talk for a long time and record some of it.  Michael likes to think he and Chris have become friends whereas Chris doesn't think about Michael at all. They talk about life and farming, carbon and environmental services, calves on and direct selling, getting abuse for an episode of Country Calendar and not giving a shit. They talk about neurodiversity.  The end. Link to Country Calendar episode: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FwM7mosNF-rQnuYygKLRqo7g2VB1SyxO/view?usp=sharing Pasture Pod hoodies, t shirts and beanies can be found at https://thepasturepod.myshopify.com/ For the hardcore, the Pasture Pod Patreon page is patreon.com/thepasturepod

Once apon a time soil was less cool than flares (when they weren't trendy) and plastic shoes.  I may have been forced to wear the latter two items of clothing as a young adult but at least I wasn't studying soil science!!  BUT times have changed, a revolution has happened and soil science might be - quite possibly - one of the coolest things going.  Joel Williams is one of the people that have made it cool - a bit like Damon Albarn was to Britpop without the pretentiousness.  If you get depressed at all the chat that sneers at carbon sequestration from those with the loudest voices, listen to this to feel a lot better.  The power of rotational grazing and its benefits to soil health is very real - keep putting up those fences folks and keep getting pumped up by pasture! LInk to info on Joel's Foliar Nitrogen course:  https://www.integratedsoils.com/foliar-nitrogen

Gus and Duncan are full siblings with impressive EBVs for 3 Hour Bantz; Low CoP and Positive Mental Attitude. They are both structurally correct with good locomotion and teeth but increasingly bare heads.   The Pasture Pod returns to its roots with this episode - hardore farming chat and a glimpse into the motivation of a couple of awesome individuals.

If Nikki is a human being, I am a slug.  By this I mean - we share 80% of our farming DNA but it still seems we see things differently.  This was a theraputic conversation that allowed me to accept the final 20%.  "It is what it is" as they say in Love Island. It's OK not to think exactly the same way and maybe there's wisdom in other opinions.  Now I feel like Jerry Springer. I mentioned "Scotland the What" and specifically the Balleter Toy Shop sketch.  Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzS3AdzZ0Nw  Hope you enjoy this episode.

Holly Beckett could possibly change your life. Quietly and without a lot of fuss she has been helping people become more focussed,  less stressed and have a renewed appreciation of life.  She has been introducing mindfulness to the UK farming industry and its making a difference to people. Keep an open mind.  Even if mindfulness is not for you, I think this interview is full of wisdom and great stories. If you fancy trying the 5 day brain training challenge click here More generally, Holly's website is here: https://www.focussedfarmers.com/ The Steve Jobs speech Holly mentions is brilliant: Steve Jobs Speech - Joining the dots Holly also mentions research that suggests the human mind can have an effect on physical matter. Not quite as much as the girl from Stranger Things but ..... Slit experiment - detailed; Slit experiment - simpler

This is enormous.  Its the biggest and longest.  Don't be scared. Alex Brewster is a fascinating chap whatever your own farming philosophy.  In my opinion he is one of the best communicators in UK agriculture. A Soil Farmer of the Year, a Nuffield Scholar and someone who stole the show at the Oxford Farming Conference. You will soon know him as Beanie due to some sort of mystical unexplained force makes you ditch his real name.  Try and play along with Beanie Bingo which involves drinking alot each time the phrase "Point of Balance" is used.    

Daniel has grown a beard that provides more biodiversity habitat than Knepp Estate. He cares for it deeply, sometimes with product.  He has scanned many sheep in his career but his true destiny is to be the biggest sheep nerd in either hemisphere.  He is from a place called New Zealand and if he was on a cruise liner his favourite deck would be deck six. I honestly know of few people with such strong sheep chat.  I think you'll like it.

With his long torso and teeny, tiny legs Graham Lofthouse and his family own 109.99999999999999 Hectares in Galawater in the Scottish Borders.  A man driven by the knowledge that nothing is ever perfect but there's always hope that one day it might be, we speak about all sorts - sport, psychology, decimal points and obsessive attention to farming detail.  I make a big enough mistake to probably get a Hawick Fatwa issued on me regarding 1980s lock forward Alan Tomes. Graham has a huge agricultural knowledge and breaks down how he makes money from a relatively small land resource.  A former AgriScot Sheep Farmer of the Year, I hope we can be best friends in future.

If a life lived in fear is a life half lived then Tim has a double life #pasturearithmetic.  One of the founders and drivers of the Exlana breed he loves breeding and statistics .... what are the chances of that?  The Exlana sale is on Tuesday 3rd August. Checkout their website https://www.exlana.co.uk/sales Link to register for the Farmax ‘The Benefits of Pasture Monitoring and Data Collection’ Webinar go to: https://forms.gle/oAwuiWtVGr3ynz7n9

Recorded when Jamie was 38 years old, this week Jamie has his 40th birthday.  We didn't talk that long rather the editor is well rubbish. Jamie is from Shetland and has made great strides in his farming business despite being in a challenging environment.  He is also the most northerly Fodder Beet grower in the world though his friend Matthew from up the road is wrestling this crown from him as we speak.

Not all heroes wear capes some have a buzz cut and speak Welsh.  Rhys may be the most succesful first generation farmer I know but I still want to be a little vague just in case any of the other first generation farmers I know think it might be them instead. There are around five people in this world I've learnt most from in terms of pasture.  Rhys is one of the five.  I hope you learn as much. I've tried to summarise some technical things in the photos.

Five months later than it should have been but Murray is worth waiting for.  A New Zealander of great enthusiasm, I got up with him the night before a Soil Association Scotland "Paddock Grazing for Profit" day. The Soil Association Scotland do a whole range of days on lots of topics (see here) Murray was a key person in pumping people up about pasture in Scotland and those on The Farming Forum might know him as Global Ovine.

Born and raised on the right side of the Fen and far enough away from the smell of cabbages in Lincolnshire, Liz Genever grew up to be a significant driver of knowledge transfer in England.  A force of nature within AHDB Beef & Lamb for a number of years, she was key to helping get the Ram Compare and Challenge Sheep projects up and running; she was one of the first specialists to seriously talk about rotational grazing and she even set up a project that introduced Farmax to the UK. Anyone who has been to the Sheep Breeders Roundtable will be under no illusions that she might have organised it all. She has recently left AHDB to start up on her own as an independent consultant.   An hour and ten minutes wasn't really enough but hope you enjoy it.    

A break from the norm.  I interview a number of people all in one - shorter - podcast. Recorded in the Summer of 2018 with background noise loud enough to be irritating, this was the Livestock in Low Input Systems (LILIS) conference. I went around and, like a man desperate for friends, tried to make conversation with people. I laughed awkwardly and those that didn't run away felt sorry enough for me to give me their time. There are a couple of references made that may need explanation: 1.  The furry nature of my microphone was commented on. See photos as illustration   2. The "Doric" is made reference to in my conversation with Gordon Whiteford. This is a particular dialect spoken in the North East of Scotland.  It's not quite another language but those unfamiliar to it will struggle.  It is a beautiful thing. 3. Paul Renison is not a Knight of the Realm to my knowledge but not all heroes are called Sir.  I make the link to Jon Bon Jovi and Paul.  As this is only audio, you as the listener were unable to admire Paul's fantastic mullet that is uncannily reminiscent of the once great soft rocker himself. Normal service will resume soon where I talk to one person ad nauseum without excessive background noise. Thanks to the SOPA team for letting me have free reign at their conference and thanks to the Walker family for their hospitality. Hope you enjoy it.

Recorded in April 2018. Neil McGowan is from the best county in the UK, if not the world .... (that's Perthshire just in case you don't know this already). He is a breeder of stock and the result of excellent genetics himself - both sides of his family have been pedigree breeders for generations. Hear how his great grandfather got hung in the Chicago Winter Fair Hall of Fame (it's not as bad as it sounds) and of the magic of the old Perth Bull Sales.  We discuss why Scotland might have lost its "Stud Farm of the World" title. I try and extract the dark arts of pedigree breeding from Neil and he tells me about Anna Pavlova, maternal character and the importance of simply looking at animals for a long time. We talk about marketing and needs related to wants of the customer. He was one of the first in the UK to sell rams through an on farm sale and he is now expanding this to include bulls and heifers. See http://www.incheochfarm.co.uk/ for details. He also tells one of the best stories in breeding - Phar Lap. Hope you enjoy it.

Charley and Andrea Walker tell us about their story - from having no farm to 250Ha, 800 ewes, 90 cows and A LOT of paddocks. We also learn about Charleys' character flaws and his obsession with burning daylight. Plus what it's like to be a woman who drives a JCB Fastrack so well that most of the truckers in the East Midlands know you. This is Part 1 of a two part Episode.  Part 2 features more intensive pasture chat. For any Integrated Land Management Plan enquiries contact Michael at mwdblanche@gmail.com  

Charlie comes clean about his addiction to restaurant table decoration consumption and the parallels his friendships have with the homo-erotic "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe". He talks openly about the family tragedy that changed everything. Also - if you are after profitability nuggets - this is a gold mine!  There will be a supplementary episode to this where Charlie provides hardcore pasture chat. It should only be listened to if you reckon you can handle heavy pasture detailing.  There was just too much good stuff to fit into 1.5 hours.

It's About Time was not on time this week - not perfect but at least it's definitely done! This is the last in the series and I want to thank everyone that was involved and everyone that is listened. Thanks to all those that took the trouble to message.   Special, special thanks to the Frank Parkinson Agricultural Trust. This simply wouldn't exist without their help. Best book on time ever is Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks  

If in doubt seek expert help.  My quest gets closer to an inconvenient truth as I speak to coaches, consultants and, big potato grower with normal sized potatoes, Robin Griffiths.  This is the proper time management episode and was a bit of a revelation to me. Mention is given to the pomodoro technique with insufficient explanation until closer to the end. The pomodoro technique is simply using a timer to spend 25 minuites on a task then having 5 minutes break with the option then to start again. Pomodoro is Italian for tomato which was the type of kitchen timer the inventor of the tehnique had at hand. Google it and you'll see one. References include websites: Clare Evans website Ram and EnableAg Sian Bushell