Claim OwnershipR2Kast - People in Food and Farming/All In
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© Wallace Currie
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Brought to you from Rural2Kitchen. The podcast where agricultural minds open up.
Sponsored primarily by Howden Rural Insurance as well as the Scottish Farmer Follow us on all platforms here - https://linktr.ee/rural2kitchen
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412 Episodes
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In this episode of R2Kast, we delve into the fascinating journey of Brian Shaw, a 1974 Nuffield Scholar, recorded at his home farm, Dryfeholm 🏡. Brian shares his extensive experience in pig farming, offering insights into the challenges and rewards of managing a tenanted farm with the Crown Estate 🐖.The conversation also explores Brian’s reflections on the evolution of the global pig industry and the profound impact his Nuffield Scholarship has had on his farming practices and outlook on agricultural innovation 🌍. Opinions are that of those involved, no that of the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust.Enjoy!#NuffieldScholarship #PigFarming #AgricultureLeadership #FarmingInnovation #YoungFarmers #UKFarming #SustainableAgriculture #FarmManagement #FarmToFork #GlobalAgriculture #RuralLeadership #FarmingChallenges #AgriCommunity #FarmingJourney #AgriBusiness #Inspiration #Motivation #Success #Innovation #Love Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 shared how learning at a gentle pace helps people rebuild confidence around food and nature. 🍎One of my favourite moments was when Lizzy laid it out plainly and said not to be a “silly willy poohead” when it comes to foraging. If you’re not 100 percent sure, don’t eat it. Slow down, learn properly, and don’t rely on apps when it’s a matter of safety. That mix of humour and responsibility summed her approach up perfectly. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 old shirt to falling in love with lambing and farm life, her journey was honest and refreshing. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about her work today on a rare breeds farm, combining livestock, education and community engagement, alongside studying regenerative agriculture. Her passion for learning, asking questions and making space for others coming in behind her really shone through. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 technology spaces before feeling the pull back home. Her honesty about missing the farm and realising food security was missing from major policy conversations really stood out. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about her work bringing young voices into policy spaces, from national food strategies to building something new through the UK Youth Food and Farming Forum. Her belief that young people should be meaningfully involved, not tokenised, came through strongly and made for a powerful conversation. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 error, reading Practical Poultry and building a client base before most kids knew their times tables. Her stories of juggling colours, managing the pecking order and keeping hundreds of birds as pets were brilliant. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing how that childhood obsession turned into the work she does today, from breeding Pekins in every shade of the rainbow to helping people across the UK look after their hens properly. Her knowledge on housing, red mite, dust baths, feeding, flock introductions and avian influenza was unreal, and her passion for welfare came through the whole way. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 landscape was shifting. His stories about navigating succession rules, short term agreements, landlord relationships and the fight to protect tenant rights were fascinating. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about his faith and how deeply it shapes the way he leads. From rural church work to the Farming Community Network, he spoke about supporting people not just technically but pastorally, and how that “head and heart” balance is at the centre of everything he does for the sector. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 minute and milking cows the next, and how a news interview at a farming protest planted the first spark that maybe he belonged on camera. A few months later he filled out an application on a whim and suddenly he was in lockdown, phone gone, heading into the house. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about the friendships he built in there and the moment he opened up about inheritance tax. That clip travelled far beyond the show and struck a chord with thousands of farmers who felt seen and heard at a time when the sector needed it. Cameron spoke about what that reaction meant and how powerful it felt to use a mainstream platform to give farming a voice. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 about wanting pace, purpose and practical learning made a lot of sense. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about her role with the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society. From the madness of running social media at the winter fair, to launching a content creator internship so the show can finally be covered properly, to helping steer one of the biggest events in UK agriculture. Her passion for Wales and pride in the show really shone through. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 turning up to crop class in sparkly wellies and confidently identifying a blade of grass as green. During her placement year she found herself learning everything from finance to branding to factory life, all while navigating the chaos of large team meetings and the curse of confusing acronyms. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about her current work helping turn broccoli stems into fibre ingredients, reducing waste and adding nutritional value in a really clever way. Her passion for people came through constantly, from supporting international visitors to juggling marketing, communications and everything else you’d expect in a fast moving startup environment. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 arable estate, the changes he’s overseen, the monitor farm years, and the diversification that’s brought new life into the place. His honesty about learning on the job and the value of great mentorship was brilliant. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about his curling career. Representing Ireland, beating Canada in a world final and winning the 2012 World Senior Championships. The pride, the teamwork and the story behind it really shone through. 🌍We rounded off with RHS governance, being chair during COVID, the emotion of the showcase year, his MBE, and the advice he gives to anyone coming into farming today. Bill has lived a life full of graft, passion and service to the industry.Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 the tenancy, the move into diversification, his ongoing hunt for the perfect legume crop and the reality of trying peas, beans and soya with very mixed results. His honesty about the highs and frustrations of arable farming made for a brilliant conversation. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about his TV days and the chaos, comedy and madness behind the scenes. From Discovery filming the whole place, to his dad unexpectedly stealing the show, to dealing with online criticism and learning when not to reply. It really showed how grounded he is and how much he values people and community. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 heading to Ukraine to deliver a pickup in a war zone and realising how lucky we are at home. From there it rolled straight into America with SRUC, the FFA convention and seeing youth development on a huge scale. 🍎One of my favourite parts to talk through was the Nuffield journey itself. The highs, the tough bits, the health scares in Brazil, the people who kept me going, and the way it all came together on stage in Aberdeen last week. It was a reminder that these things test you, stretch you and shape you, but they also introduce you to a family you didn’t know you needed. 🌍We wrapped up with where life is now, the new job, the changes at home, my hopes for the next five years and why being yourself has taken me further than anything else.A proper down to earth chat about people, food, and the stories that connect them all.Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 minute passport chaos and hopping across continents to land in a country where nothing was familiar and everything was new. I spoke about the early wobble of being totally disconnected from home, the kindness of strangers like the student who fixed my WiFi, and those first few days when fear and excitement were sitting right beside each other. 🍎One of my favourite parts to reflect on was the teaching itself, and how humour, photos, the odd Mandarin word and a fair bit of physical comedy helped bridge language barriers. The students were phenomenal, the workload intense, and the whole education system made me stop and think deeply about what we expect from young people and what it costs to create excellence. 🌍We wrapped up by talking about travel, friendships, food (yes including insects and chicken head), moments of culture shock, how safe the country really felt, and what China has taught me about people, resilience and stepping into the unknown. I left feeling grateful, curious and genuinely changed by the experience.A proper down to earth chat about people, food, and the stories that connect them all.Enjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 spoke about how the name came about, the meaning behind it, and how it’s helped him grow as a writer 📚We chatted about his books, five of them so far, that range from young adult fiction to poetry and how he wants to write stories that people actually want to read, not ones they feel they have to. He’s got a real creative energy about him and it’s clear he loves what he does ✏️We also spoke about teaching English across the world and how that’s taken him from Laos to Chile, California and now China. It was great hearing his take on what living here’s really like, the respect and patience in the culture, and how he’s learning Mandarin bit by bit 🇨🇳One of my favourite parts was when Nick talked about the way writing connects people, not just through words but through how we listen and understand each other. It’s that same energy I see in teaching too and it made for a really honest and thoughtful chat 🌱A proper conversation about life, learning and seeing the world with open eyesEnjoy! 🙂 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 beef to her current role at Harnhill. She shares how bread and sourdough brought her back into farming and how her interest in good food links directly with the way she now grows grain for local mills and bakers. 🍞🌾Annie also reveals her love for beekeeping, a skill passed down from her aunt, and how she finds peace in the company of thousands of buzzing bees. We dive into how she balances farming with communications and marketing, and even touch on her McGregor roots with a family story that may link her to the outlaw Rob Roy. 🐝🍯🏴It is a conversation full of heritage, humour, and hope for a future shaped by regenerative thinking and community connections.Enjoy! 😊#AnnieLandless #OrganicFarming #RegenerativeAgriculture #SoilHealth #MixedFarming #MobGrazing #PastureForLife #MarketGarden #VegBoxes #CotswoldsFarming #Beekeeping #Sourdough #LocalFoodSystems #FarmToFork #HerbalLays #SouthwestGrainNetwork #CommunityFarming #SustainableFood #FamilyFarms #BeefLady #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 Brooksby College that get agriculture students, ecologists, and horticulture students working on the same land. 🌱👨🏫Our conversation explores the need for holistic land stewardship education, how New Zealand provides inspiration, and why young people should learn about ecosystems before specialising. It is a powerful discussion about the future of rural learning and how we prepare the next generation. 🌍✨Enjoy! 😊#AlexGray #Agroforestry #RegenerativeAgriculture #RuralEducation #EcologyAndFarming #LandStewardship #BrooksbyCollege #SustainableFarming #HolisticLearning #AgriEducation #AgriFuture #SoilHealth #AgriStudents #RuralSkills #EducationInnovation #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 added a bakery and coffee shop with no ultra-processed ingredients. 🍞☕We talk about history too—how Robert Burns once farmed on the same land and how Ayrshire cows connect past and present. From heritage to modern challenges, Bryce shares his belief in doing things differently while building a future for the family farm. 🌱✨Enjoy! 😊#BryceCunningham #MossgielFarm #OrganicDairy #CowWithCalf #AyrshireCows #SustainableFarming #OrganicMilk #ScottishFarming #LocalFood #FarmInnovation #HeritageFarming #FoodTransparency #NoUltraProcessed #FarmCooperative #FarmingFuture #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 to carve out a future in food and farming. 💪🌾We talk about his journey into land, the challenges of getting started, and how resilience and adaptability shape every step. It is the very spirit of what R2Kast was built on—stories of how people find their way into this sector. 🌍✨Enjoy! 😊#TomNewbury #NewEntrantFarmer #Butchery #TreeSurgery #RoutesIntoFarming #FirstGenFarmer #UKFarming #AgriLife #AgriResilience #YoungFarmers #FoodAndFarming #AgriJourney #SustainableFarming #FarmDreams #FarmingPassion #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 from now. 🌙➡️☀️We talk about identity in farming, how a farm can reflect the personality of the farmer, and why curiosity matters. Along the way there is humour, honesty, and plenty of chat about shirts. 👔✨It is a conversation about embracing change, enjoying the journey, and celebrating individuality in agriculture. 🌱Enjoy! 😊#TomMartin #FarmingJourney #RegenerativeAgriculture #AgriShirts #FutureFarming #FarmIdentity #AgriChange #FarmingInnovation #RuralStories #AgriLife #FarmersOfUK #FarmingPassion #SustainableFuture #AgriCommunity #AgriCulture #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 of Elgin, Stonehaven, and St Boswell’s, and how Scottish agriculture has changed through decades of policy shifts. 🇬🇧🌾Now semi-retired, Iain has turned his attention to hemp, exploring new uses and opportunities in a crop that just keeps surprising him. 🌿It is a conversation about continuity, change, and the deep relationships that make agriculture so rewarding. 🌱✨Enjoy! 😊#IainRiddell #SRUC #FarmAdvisory #AgriculturalConsultancy #ScottishFarming #CommonAgriculturalPolicy #FarmingHistory #FarmSupport #RegenerativeCrops #HempFarming #RuralScotland #AgriPolicy #SustainableFarming #AgriInnovation #FarmingJourney #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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