Brash Ag

Could anaerobic digestion power the future of small farms? How small is too small when it comes to herd size and viable energy production?

This week, Kit and Ray sit down with EcoNomad Solutions founder Ilan Adler to explore his vision for making anaerobic digestion accessible to smaller farms.

Ilan explains how his academic background—including a PhD in rainwater harvesting at UCL—and his experience in wastewater treatment and renewable energy inspired him to develop anaerobic digestion technology for smallholders and farmers. He also discusses becoming a Royal Academy of Engineering Industrial Fellow and how the Academy’s support helped him transition from academia into building EcoNomad.

Using advanced bag technology, EcoNomad has developed low-cost, relocatable—hence the “nomad” in EcoNomad—and straightforward-to-install systems capable of turning farm waste into useful heat, electricity and biogas.

Drawing on his wealth of experience, Ilan gives a fascinating high-level view of the opportunities and challenges surrounding renewable energy generation and infrastructure. He also addresses some of the criticisms levelled at anaerobic digestion, including the use of energy crops, and explains the potential value of capturing energy from unavoidable agricultural wastes.

Based at Rothamsted Research, EcoNomad is continuing to develop its technology through research, commercial installations and collaborative projects. Ilan discusses the role of support from organisations including the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Innovate UK’s Energy Catalyst programme in helping the business develop and test new ideas.

Having recently secured investment from the British Design Fund, alongside further backing from the Beeches Group, Ilan reflects on the challenges of financing physical technology in the UK. He considers the complementary roles that private investors and public funders such as Innovate UK can play in helping hardware-focused start-ups bridge the gap between an early prototype and a scalable commercial product.

This week, Ray and Kit issue a sombre apology for some of the mistakes they made in Episode 94. Did they get too giddy about receiving the podcast’s first press release? Or were they so excited by the potential collaboration between TAFE and Deutz Engines that they forgot to check the facts? Either way, they got it wrong—and they are sorry.

In lighter news, Kit plugs the upcoming Institute of Agricultural Engineers Annual Conference. Titled Automation in Agriculture: From Innovation to Impact, the event promises to showcase the bleeding edge of agricultural technology and hardware. Whether you are an IAgrE member or not, book your place and join Kit and Ray at Harper Adams University on Wednesday 21 October.

Ray brings news from Cornish straw-chopper manufacturer Teagle Machinery, which recently welcomed celebrity guest Steph McGovern to celebrate vocational training and apprenticeships. How does the business attract and retain young talent in its local area? And what innovative approach does it use to empower younger members of its team?

The pair then climb aboard their virtual time machine for a Throwback Thursday trip to Groundswell, where they hear from:

Philippe Cousin of SENSEEN, who introduces the NutriScope. Is it a Bale Spike product? Can it help farmers and agronomists make better, more timely decisions about their crops? What does the future hold for the NutriScope—and could it support growers beyond the arable sector?

Howard and Sam Mason of Left Field Agriculture, who tell the co-hosts about their pioneering inter-row mowing robot, developed to maintain beneficial living mulches while supporting regenerative farming and soil health. How has Ray’s consultancy, Flynt Technology, supported its development? And what does the future hold for this breakthrough technology?

Andrew Sincock of Agro-Vital UK/Agritron, who explains the Triplex system for small-scale batch production of fertiliser—an approach designed for larger farms, cooperatives and joint-venture farming businesses. Could the technology give farmers greater control over how they source and manage fertiliser? How much does it cost, and how does the business model work?

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1qfRxKRpuVxHHa3o1yhr5L?si=KFSX2-A-S0iNUaSpjlllOQ&utm_source=copy-link

What inspired Andrew Diprose to swap a career in the City for reviving a weed-control technology first explored in the 1980s? What makes RootWave different from other approaches to electrical weeding? And how can partnering with established machinery manufacturers unlock entirely new markets for a core technology?

This week, Ray and Kit sit down with Andrew Diprose at RootWave's high-tech facilities in Warwickshire. Andrew explains:

How, inspired by his academic father, he swapped a career in the City for a 'shed venture' developing chemical-free weed-control technology.

What it took to build the business, develop the technology and bring it to market.

How RootWave's unique approach to generating and delivering electrical energy is designed to make electrical weed control as safe as possible.

How partnering with Garford Farm Machinery has helped RootWave take its technology into markets it may otherwise have struggled to reach.

How the business has raised investment and where the funding needed to support the journey has come from.

Why Jorge Heraud joined the board to help steer Rootwave to success.

From shed-built prototypes to high-voltage weed control and major manufacturing partnerships, this episode explores the journey behind RootWave and asks whether electricity could become a genuine alternative to herbicides.

How can we bring industry and academia together to solve some of farming's biggest challenges? What can agriculture learn from the automotive sector? And where should robotics be deployed first to deliver real value?

This week, Kit and Ray head up the Fosse Way to visit Warwick Agri-Tech at the University of Warwick, meeting the engineers developing practical technology for growers today.

Hear from three members of the team:

Alicia Feledziak – Business Development Manager at Warwick Agri-Tech, explains how the initiative brings together engineering, crop science and industry to tackle real-world farming challenges, how Warwick Agri-Tech was founded, and why collaboration is key to accelerating innovation.

Harry Boyce – Lead Engineer (Hardware and Robotic Developments), demonstrates how his team is helping J&A Growers tackle one of nursery production's biggest labour challenges. With more than 200,000 tree saplings needing to be sorted every day, Harry explains why automating even part of the process could transform productivity.

Ben Ayre – Lead Engineer, Intelligent Vehicles – Integration and Trials, gives Kit and Ray a demonstration of autonomous logistics in a commercial strawberry operation, arguing that supporting human pickers may deliver greater value than trying to replace them with complex harvesting robots.

From autonomous logistics to AI-enabled tree sorting, this episode explores what happens when world-class engineering meets real farming problems.

What can we learn from DEUTZ's new manufacturing partnership with TAFE? Could 3D printing turn customers into your best R&D team? And are subscriptions and AI giving manufacturers too much control over the products we buy?

In this week's News Feed, Ray and Kit unpack:

TAFE's newly announced agreement to manufacture DEUTZ 50–100 hp engines in India. Is it simply a cost-saving move for DEUTZ, or part of TAFE's strategy to secure world-class powertrains for its next generation of tractors?

They also explore how Festool and Renault are using 3D printing to put manufacturing directly into customers' hands. Could user-generated parts and accessories become a competitive advantage rather than a threat?

The pair discuss reports that a Ford Bronco was effectively disabled over a missed subscription payment. Whether the story is entirely accurate or not, it raises a bigger question: have manufacturers pushed subscription models too far, and are engineers sacrificing customer ownership in the process?

Finally, with AI becoming embedded across engineering businesses, Ray and Kit ask whether companies are becoming dangerously dependent on AI providers whose pricing, policies and capabilities remain outside their control.

Kit also shares two interviews from a Harper Adams study tour organised by Gofar, the team behind FIRA, exploring why Australian farmers have come to the UK and what British agriculture can learn from the exchange.

What is concentrated light and how can it beat lasers at annihilating weeds? How can autonomous weeding help fill in resource gaps? Who actually grows the trees that get planted for every new conservation project and hedgerow in the UK?

This week Kit and Ray are on the road (Up the Fosse Way again!) and headed to J&A growers in Warwickshire to see an Earth Rover robot in action, eradicating weeds in beds of Hawthorn saplings. The pair speak with Earth Rover CEO James Miller, hearing about his career working in engineering consultancy, moving to work for Tafe in India as the group CTO and why he moved back to the UK to spearhead the future of chemical free weed control. Harry Ellis, Field Test engineer at Earth rover also helps to give more detail about the system, how it works and his experience since starting at Earth Rover a year ago.

While in the field the co-hosts also take the opportunity to speak with Jamie Dewhurst Director at J&A Growers to hear why he has chosen to work with Earth Rover and what benefits the autonomous concentrated light autonomous weeding system (CLAWS for short) has brought to the business of growing saplings for wholesale.

Could UK agritech steal a march on the likes of L&Aser and Carbon Robotics when it comes to chemical free weeding?

The future’s bright the future’s….concertrated

Are electric tractors the future workhorses of agriculture? What can life in New Zealand teach us about the fragility of global oil supply chains? And could electrification completely redefine how farm machinery is designed and used?

This week Roger Robson-Williams joins Kit and Ray around Kit's dining room table to discuss his journey from crop scientist in the UK and New Zealand to becoming a freelance sustainability expert—and the owner of an electric tractor affectionately known as Lottie.

Roger has a background in crop and horticultural science, working for the likes of RHS, FAR and The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd. His experience has given him a deep understanding of the challenges facing farming. Now a small holder and Sustainability consultant, Roger takes a systems-level view of the transition away from fossil fuels, explaining why electrification is about far more than simply replacing diesel engines with batteries. The trio explore how energy generation, storage, machinery and farm infrastructure must work together if agriculture is to make the most of electric power.

Roger also shares what he's learned from putting Lottie through her paces on the farm. Which jobs are best suited to electric tractors? Is there a future for converting existing machinery, as pioneers like Ben Bament and Loxley Innovation are demonstrating? And as implements become smarter and electrically powered, could the mechanical PTO eventually become a thing of the past?...Critically the trio discuss if a better metric for electric tractor is crumpets per hour?

To check out more from Roger and his consulting work visit Future-Fit Business Benchmar. Kia ora Roger!

#BrashAg #AgriculturalEngineering #AgriTech #ElectricTractor #Electrification #FarmInnovation #FutureFarming #FarmMachinery #Engineering #PrecisionAgriculture #RenewableEnergy #BatteryElectric #NetZero #CleanTechnology #Podcast

Can sunrise yoga cure a hangover? What new technologies are needed to remove fossil fuels from farming? And has Ray really been replaced by Brash Ag's number one fan, Kieran Walsh?

This week Kit and Ray head to the Sustainable Food Trust Podcast Tent at Groundswell Festival 2026, where they were kindly invited by Stuart Oates to record a live episode, generously supported by the Rothschild Foundation.

The pair begin by reflecting on their time at Groundswell, discussing how the event compares with more traditional agricultural shows and sharing some of the innovations that caught their attention before sitting down with Stuart Oates to explore one of farming's biggest long-term challenges: achieving fossil-free farming.

Drawing on his experience as a farmer and his Stuart Oates scholarship, Stuart examines where fossil fuels are still deeply embedded across agriculture—from diesel and fertiliser to plastics and the wider supply chain. Together they discuss where the biggest opportunities lie, the trade-offs involved, and how engineers, automation, electrification and emerging technologies could help farmers reduce their reliance on fossil-based resources while maintaining productive, profitable businesses.

#BrashAg #Groundswell #Groundswell2026 #FossilFreeFarming #AgriculturalEngineering #AgriTech #RegenerativeAgriculture #FarmInnovation #Engineering #NuffieldScholar #NetZero #SustainableFarming #Automation #FutureFarming #Podcast

What if the biggest opportunity in precision spraying isn't a new sprayer at all?

This week Kit and Ray are joined by Jamie Hutchinson, founder and CEO of Cordon Technologies. Jamie's career has taken him from venture capital to founding a successful wine retailer, running a regenerative vineyard in France, and now developing one of the most interesting spraying technologies to emerge in recent years.

After becoming frustrated with the limitations of conventional crop spraying in his own vineyard, Jamie set out to rethink the process from first principles. Rather than replacing existing machinery, Cordon's technology transforms conventional sprayers into dynamic precision application systems capable of adjusting spray recipes on the move.

The conversation explores:

Why Jamie believes we've been thinking about crop spraying the wrong way.

The challenge of balancing productivity with regenerative farming.

Why understanding the farmer's problem matters more than chasing the latest technology.

Raising investment for agricultural engineering and what investors are really looking for.

The realities of patents, intellectual property and building an agritech start-up.

Why the next generation of agricultural engineering businesses needs to focus on solving real problems rather than simply building clever technology.

It's a fascinating discussion about entrepreneurship, engineering, precision agriculture and what it really takes to bring new technology into the hands of farmers.

#BrashAg #AgriTech #FarmInnovation #AgriculturalEngineering #PrecisionAgriculture #SmartFarming #CropProtection #AgInnovation #Engineering #AgPodcast #Startups #Innovation

Are start-ups changing agriculture for the better? Has Clarkson's Farm improved the public's understanding of ag-tech? Can robots stay lightweight as they scale? And is AI making engineers better—or just lazier?

This week Kit and Ray are back in their respective studios to take a break from adventures at shows and interviews to talk about some topics that have been playing on their minds. This week the pair discuss:

Ray’s recent Professional Perspectives article written for The Institution of Agricultural Engineers. Ray tries to demystify the term start-up and answer the question “What is the role played by start-ups in the agritech sector?”

What impact has the recent series of Clarksons farm had on the perception of automation and robotics in agriculture to both farmers and the public. Could researchers and academics learn a thing or two about robot tractors from Kaleb Cooper and Jeremy Clarkson?

Farm Droid have announced a new, bigger, stronger, wider, faster robot, due to be formally released in September. The pair discuss the implications and whether Farmdroid can stay true to its roots and tread lightly on the soil or will they follow the crowd with farm machinery and continue to get bigger and heavier?

The pair discuss Jevons paradox, that really digs into the cross over between economics, engineering and innovation? Could automation and cheap robots enable humans to carry out more activities such as tillage rather than less? Could this lead to poorer soils as a result?

Kit confesses his guilt about using AI to help him as an engineer. Does Ray feel the same? Is AI an unlock or just cheating? The co-hosts discuss their thoughts and how they do and don’t use AI.

Finally, Cornish farm machinery manufacturer Teagle Machinery is looking for help naming it’s four welding robots. Check out their social media to see how you can help…

#BrashAg #Agriculture #AgTech #Farming #PrecisionAgriculture #AgriculturalEngineering #Robotics #FarmAutomation #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Startups #Innovation #JevonsParadox #ClarksonsFarm #FarmDroid #TeagleMachinery #Engineering #FutureOfFarming #DigitalAgriculture #UKAgiculture