The FarmED Podcast

Fiona talks to bestselling author, Rosamund Young, in advance of the Farm & Food Literature Festival at FarmED next month. Rosamund talks about her life at Kite’s Nest Farm, on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment, where she has been an organic farmer for over forty years. Peek into the surprising private lives of some of our most familiar animals.

Danielle talks to soil scientist, Jed Soleiman, who is currently working at FarmED as part of the Centre for High Carbon Capture Cropping (CHCx3) Project. Jed is passionate about regenerative agriculture and rewilding, particularly in understanding the responses of soils to these, and other land uses that could help build the physical basis to bring about nature recovery. Focusing mainly on the UK, Jed has previously worked on understanding mycorrhizal responses to rewilding at the Knepp Wildland, and is now working at FarmED under CHCx3 to investigate changes to soil carbon and energetics under arable regenerative agriculture regimes. It is hoped that this knowledge can help contribute to and inform the diverse land-use matrix we need to achieve successful landscape scale conservation in the UK.
Jed holds an MA in Geography from the University of Cambridge, an MPhil in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management from the University of Oxford, and is currently studying for his DPhil (PhD) at the University of Oxford with the Ecosystems Lab and Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery. In his spare time, Jed is also a keen gardener, wilder, and forager who loves to share his passions with anyone who’s keen to listen!

Kate talks to Flavian Obiero, a Hampshire County Farms tenant at Tynefield Farm in Titchfield. He manages 61 acres of permanent pasture & woodland with his partner Nikki and son, Noah. They have Tamworth pigs, ex-dairy goats and a mixed-breed sheep flock. All the animals are destined for meat. They currently sell through their catering business and a few markets. Future plans include selling more locally and also setting up a butchery facility on the farm, processing fresh pork and cured meats.

Fiona talks to FarmED’s beekeeper, Tony Yarrow, in advance of his two day course at FarmED - Honey Bees & their World (18th April). Tony began keeping bees in Wales in 1975.  He has worked as a bee expert with two beehive manufacturing companies and has known and worked with some of the UK’s largest commercial beekeepers. Tony keeps 15-20 colonies in four sites in North Oxfordshire, including here at FarmED, producing around half a ton of surplus honey a year for the FarmED Cafe and kitchen. 

Kate talks to Tim Field, sustainable food, farming and land management consultant and Facilitator of the North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster, a group of local farmers and landowners interested in landscape-scale regeneration of the farmed environment and local food networks in the North East Cotswolds.

In a special episode of the FarmED Podcast, recorded at the Oxford Real Farming Conference, earlier this month, Ian interviews Patrick Holden, and Patrick interviews Ian, looking back over nearly fifty years of organic, regenerative and epigenetic farming!  Patrick is the founder & CEO of the Sustainable Food Trust, whose mission is to work internationally to accelerate the transition towards more sustainable food and farming systems. He was Director of the Soil Association from 1995-2010 and has a mixed organic dairy holding in Wales. In 2005 he received a CBE for services to organic farming and in 2022 was awarded an honorary doctorate for international work in sustainable agriculture from the University of Wales Trinity St David.

Hallam Duckworth talks to Kate about setting up the cow-calf Dairyy at Honeydale. They discuss the challenges and the highs and lows - from getting weaning times right to retaining customers, developing a business plan and fulfilling his dream of making ice cream and selling it to customers at festivals.

Ian talks to Cotswold Seeds Technical Manager, Sam Lane, about what’s in a herbal ley and how they can be tailored for different soils and uses. They discuss the benefits they bring above and below ground, improving soil fertility and encouraging earthworms, while reducing parasitic worms in livestock. Sam also talks about the new, more flexible, herbal ley options with SFI.

Jim Pearse reminisces about farming Honeydale from the 1950s until 2013, when he and his wife Wendy retired and passed the baton to Ian and Celene Wilkinson. 

In advance of FarmED’s unique one-day, CPD-accredited Rural Mental Health Course in February, Kate talks to Alex Philmore from the Farming Community Network (FCN) about this issue, why 92% of farmers under 40 believe poor mental health is the biggest hidden problem they face and what you can do to notice the signs and make a difference.

Ian talks to our intern Abi about her degree in zoology and masters in tropical ecology and conservation and how it’s brought her to regenerative farming. Abi talks about starting a career in regenerative agriculture and agroecology, overcoming barriers and imposter syndrome and why she loves working in the Kitchen Garden.

Tanya talks to Fiona about taking honey bees back to their ancestral home in the trees. At FarmED free-living bees occupy hollow cavities made in old trees by wood sculptor Rhys Davies. She talks about the hive mind, encompassing intelligence of bees, mating patterns, communication channels and the differences between wild and managed colonies. She also explains how honey can help cure skin problems. 

Danielle talks about using waste from the FarmED kitchen to produce rich compost for use in the Kitchen Garden, minimising food waste. She talks us through Compost tumblers, Bokashi (a Japanese form of fermentation) and using earthworms and microorganisms to produce the richest compost.

What does Farm to Fork food mean and how does it work in restaurants and at home? Sally and Fiona discuss supply chains, food miles, working with Community Supported Agriculture Schemes, and how to eat more seasonally and nutritionally. Recipe tips included! 

Tim May from Kingsclere Estate talks about his innovative Pitch-Up project (running throughout November), a creative way of opening up opportunities for farming entrepreneurs, from shepherds to chicken enterprises and counsellors. He discusses the importance of including a budget for mental health and embracing the ‘cycle of change’.

Ever wondered how farmers decide what to grow in their fields each season? Do you remember learning about Turnip Townsend in history lessons at school? Ian explains how growing a succession of different crops reduces the need for chemicals and improves the quality of the soil, offering environmental and economic sustainability. He discusses the eight year rotation at FarmED, including four year herbal leys, a mixture of seventeen grasses, legumes and herbs. Regenerative farming. 

Podcast hosts, Kate and Danielle, introduce the brand new series of FarmED Podcasts. They discuss our new flagship course, An Introduction to Agriculture and talk about their own introductions to agriculture. Kate talks about her grandfather, George Henderson and his inspiring book, The Farming Ladder, while Danielle talks about her passion for earthworms. 

Jonty Brunyee from FarmED talks to Julie Cleijne, CEO & Founder of Sustainable Kitchen Consultants, about sustainable sourcing of food with a focus on the hospitality sector.  Hear about the challenge facing the sector, and farm to fork sourcing to benefit the planet, human health and your food business. 

‘We can talk about soils and farming all day but without great leaders we are going nowhere' - Jonty Brunyee.

Jonty talks to John Knights, former Corporate Vice President of a Fortune 100 company in the US and Co-founder of LeaderShape Global.

John explains how leadership is much more than just about telling people what to do - it’s about influencing, persuading and engaging others. John specialises in transpersonal leadership with a focus on feelings, emotions and values which requires self awareness and will ‘make you a better customer and parent as well as employer’.

John ends by talking about the introductory course he is leading at FarmED, which will include deep dives into how to to develop your new styles of leadership and decision making.

‘We are taught that decision making should be rational,’ says John. ‘But  intuition, insight, instinct and ethical philosophy all have an important impact and if we are aware of these different processes we will make better decisions.’

‘Everyone is and can be a leader and regenerative transition requires good leadership if we are to get there fast enough and deep enough,’ says Jonty.

To find out how you can improve your own leadership skills, join John at FarmED on…

Edd Colbert talks to framland bird specialist, James Kempton, from the University of Oxford. James is conducting surveys of birds at FarmED as part of a supplementary bird feeding project across the NE Cotswold Farmer Cluster Group. He talks about the importance of birds as part of an integrated farmland ecosystem and the benefits to farmers of increased numbers of bird species on their land. Edd and James are joined by some of FarmED’s avian residents and visitors - yellowhammers, robins and chaffinches!   

James Kempton is a DPhil student at the University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology. His research concerns flight of albatrosses and falcons, and in particular how an understanding of their flight control and energetics can inform the development of more sustainable and capable drone technology. As part of his interest in sustainability, James is leading the survey component of a project that investigates the impact of supplementary feeding on farmland bird species. This project takes place in association with the NE Cotswold Farmer Cluster, headed by Tim Field, and is funded by a Farming in Protected Landscapes (FIPL) grant. 

With sustainability interests abroad, he is also leading a research expedition to the Cyclops Mountains of New Guinea in search of ‘lost’ and new animal species whose (re)discovery will help garner sustainable conservation interventions in this extraordinary and threatened mountain range.   My Zoology page: https://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/people/james-kempton?Richard Broughton's 2020 paper on which the current study design is based: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00063657.2021.1922356?journalCode=tbis20FIPL in Cotswolds National Landscape page: https://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/looking-after/farming-in-protected-landscapes/

FarmED is working with 3LM, The Savory Network Hub in the UK and Ireland, to deliver 12 days of comprehensive holistic management training in 2022.

This training is ideal for pioneering farmers, land managers and advisers with a passion for regenerative agriculture.

We are running the training over four three-day blocks in 2022. We will first introduce the fundamentals of holistic management before we explore the concepts of land planning and ecological monitoring, holistic planned grazing and financial planning.

•  Course 1: Holistic Management Fundamentals (28th - 30th March 2022)
•  Course 2: Holistic Financial Planning (25th - 27th April 2022)
•  Course 3: Holistic Planned Grazing (23rd - 25th May 2022)
•  Course 4: Holistic Ecological Monitoring and Land Planning (27th - 29th June 2022)

In addition to the formal training, we will facilitate peer to peer learning and discussion. We will also hear from a number of guest speakers and farming practitioners, take a tour of the various enterprises at FarmED and visit local regenerative and agroecological farms that are adopting a holistic approach.

Participants will be fed from nutritious, seasonal, and locally produced food from the FarmED kitchen.

As an added bonus all participants will be given lifetime access to the Regrarians workplace - a private online knowledge community led by internationally renowned educator and regenerative farmer Darren J. Doherty.

This training is accredited by the Savory Institute and is the gateway to becoming an accredited professional educator, adviser, monitor and verifier in Holistic Management.

Cost

The comprehensive 12-day training package is £1950 + VAT.

The fee will cover tuition, all course materials (manuals, forms, writing materials, and ecological monitoring kit) guest speakers, great food and visits to local farms.

Special offer - 10% discount for members of the Pasture Fed Livestock Association.

Our Food and Nutrition Coordinator, Alexis Sinclair, talks to Dr Sally Bell who is hosting 'Doctor on the Farm: Mood Food' here at FarmED on June 13th. Hear about her five foundations of health, the importance of how our food is produced for both our health and that of the planet, and how to make immediate changes in your daily lives with food that feeds your gut and brain.

Jonty talks to Danielle Semple from Exeter University about her passion for geography, earthworms and soil health.

Jonty talks to Jimmy Woodrow, Manager of the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association.

What does Pasture For Life mean and where is it heading?  What’s the difference between pasture for life and the more common term, grass-fed?

Jimmy talks about everything from stocking rates to yields, the nutritional benefits for humans, evidence of reduced med bills for farmers and how rotational grazing can lock-in carbon and improve depleted soils on arable land.  Crucially he explains how the pasture-fed culture in the UK can promote regenerative agriculture.

Jonty, our General Manager, is joined by Claire Thayers from Happerley Transparent and Dr Richard Baines, Senior Lecturer at the RAU.

What is food tourism and how can it aid the rural economy? What’s the best way to create enhanced experiences for locals and visitors? What are the opportunities and challenges facing rural entrepreneurs post Covid and Brexit?

Jonty, Richard and Claire discuss everything from how to create immersive local food and drink experiences with farm walks and food and drink tasting, to the importance of authenticity. The crucial link between food tourism and agritourism and the importance of collaboration between producers and tourism operators is also explored.

Richard Baines talks about his work with Cotswold Taste, setting up the first agritourism trails in the Cotswolds with food hubs to sell local food. Jonty talks about the new FarmED Kitchen as a destination. There’s also plenty of advice for entrepreneurs looking to get involved with food tourism.

Food tourism helps join the dots, adds value and local economic multipliers, and connects with consumers - it’s arguably the capstone of a regenerative farming and sustainable food system.

When writer, broadcaster  and environmental campaigner George Monbiot returned to FarmED to continue his journey to learn more about sustainable food production, we took the opportunity to gather together some young farmers and environmentalists to ask him some probing questions and record a podcast.

Areas up for debate ranged from the need for criteria to define regenerative agriculture, plus processed foods, plant based diets and what George describes as ‘the fantastically complex’ debate about food production and the environment. He also discusses his views on how agritech can be used to scale up regenerative farming, CAP, ELMS, and how soil is ‘the basis of our entire lives’.  Encouragingly, George described how he’s ‘very interested in what’s happening here’ (at FarmED) and the ‘strong argument in favour of integrated regenerative rotational farming.’

‘It was wonderful to welcome George Monbiot to FarmED,’ says Manager, Jonty Brunyee. ‘Though his somewhat controversial view on alternative proteins, rewilding and land management, runs contrary to the work of many farmers, our mission is promote regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems, and in order to do that we need to provide a space for healthy debate, giving a platform for those of different views to meet and air their opinions and ideas. It certainly makes for stimulating discussion.’

The interviewees are Lucy, a biology student, Sophie, FarmED’s Event Coordinator, who studied Geography at Exeter Uni, Will, who is heading to Bristol University to study geography, Abbie, a young farmer and agricultural student, Chris who completed an MSc in Agricultural Technology and Innovation and Jack who, until recently, worked in natural food retailing in London.

We’re joined by FarmED Founder, Ian Wilkinson; Ali Mirza from Cotswold Made Co; James Butterworth from the Cotswold Market Garden and Nick Pullen from Wild Thyme restaurant in Chipping Norton. Chaired by FarmED Manager, Jonty Brunyee, they talk about their personal stories of how the pandemic has impacted their businesses and the challenges and opportunities facing growers, restaurateurs and farm shops. The discussion ranges from food security and sourcing local food, to the importance of biodiversity and human diversity, and the issue of how to engage everyone from farmers, GPs, schoolteachers and supermarket shoppers.

‘It’s about how to make good local food accessible to all, finding the gaps in the food chain and how to fill those gaps,’ says Jonty.

Funding for the production of this podcast came from the Farming the Future Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund. Thanks to the A Team, Roddick, Samworth and Thirty Percy Foundations for your support.

Jonty is joined by Dr Sally Bell, Holly Beckett from Focussed Farmers and sustainable farming advocate, Russ Carrington, to talk about how mental and physical health and wellbeing are so vital during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Sally Bell qualified as a doctor in 1999, trained as a GP and spent three years as an aid worker in Darfur and Uganda. A few years ago, she and her family suffered some serious health issues and it caused her to look deeper into the root cause of disease. She became convinced that there were better solutions to complex and chronic health problems than the conventional GP approach. She trained with the Institute for Functional Medicine and is convinced that with ‘five foundations of health’ our bodies have a remarkable ability to heal themselves.

Russ Carrington was the executive secretary for the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association and is very active in the Young Farmers movement. He has been chairman of the Agricultural and Rural Issues (AGRI) steering group,  sat on Defra’s Green Food Project Steering Group and through the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC) he actively participates in political activities at a European level. Russ has also started a Transition Farming Movement in Herefordshire, which is using innovative methods to discover opportunities that can lead to sustainable practices and resilient communities.

Sally, Holly and Russ talk to Jonty about their personal journeys, discussing the importance of sleep and eating whole foods, how we can achieve our goals more effortlessly and how mindfulness can aid resilience during the coronavirus pandemic.

Funding for the production of this podcast came from the Farming the Future Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund. Thanks to the A Team, Roddick, Samworth and Thirty Percy Foundations for your support.

Last week architects Tim Tasker and Anthony Carlisle came to FarmED to see progress on the creation of the new centre for Farm and Food Education. They talked to Fiona Mountain about the concept for the design of the eco-buildings, the planning process and materials used. Having just launched our podcasts we’re sadly going to have to put them on hold for a while, but do subscribe to keep up to date when we’re up and running again.

Ruth West and Francesca Price  talk to Jonty and Fiona about the origins of the Oxford Real Farming Conference and the new ORFC in the Field event to be held this summer at FarmED

Chelsea Green is a leading book publisher covering organic farming, integrative health, and sustainable living. In Episode 3 of the FarmED podcast, Jonty talks to Matt Haslum and Rosie Baldwin from Chelsea Green Publishing, writer Fiona Mountain and FarmED founder Ian Wilkinson about the importance of storytelling and publishing great books with the power to inspire.

Emma Mills, from the Kitchen Garden People, runs the community supported agriculture scheme at FarmED, and in Episode 2 of the FarmED podcast she talks to  Jonty and Ian about the role of horticulture in regenerative agriculture and about how to set up and run a CSA.

The FarmED team -  including FarmED Founder, Ian Wilkinson, Manager, Jonty Brunyee, Assistant Manager, Chris Nash and Marketing Coordinator, Fiona Mountain - talk about the story of FarmED and its mission to accelerate the transition towards regenerative farming and sustainable food systems.