Brash Ag

Is 6 cylinders still better than 4? Have Smith Robotics really got a Balespike product on their hands? Is the UK back on track when it comes to funding for agri-tech?

This week Kit and Ray bring you Chapter 2 of their expedition to Cereals 2026 with five more interviews from around the show.

They catch up with:

Martin Hamer and Phil Mattey of Fendt, discussing the latest engine developments in the 200hp range of tractors. Can four cylinders really be better than six? We also get a fantastic run down of the state of the UK machinery market and sentiment of farmers, is the predicted poor harvest in the US leaving UK farmers feeling buoyant?

Ryan Smith of Smith Robotics, explaining their wildlife scanning technology and what it can offer for farmers, conservationists and environmentalists. Can we really call their wildlife monitoring device a bale spike product?

Jack Wrangham of Drone Ag, showcasing their latest drone in a box solution. Can automated drones really offer farmers with cheap, near continuous data capture? How many hectares can a single drone in a box cover? How much is it going to cost?

Micheal Reardon of UK Agri-Tech Centre on how the UK government is supporting Agritech businesses during challenging times and how the public and private sectors can work together to support growth and investment in the farming and technology sectors.

Tom Brookes of Opico gives the pair a walk through of the latest spot sprayer technology from Rumex. How many nozzles does the machine have? Is it crop specific and how much does it cost? Kit also gets a chance to fan boy, as we get a run down of the latest improvements in the FarmDroid robot.

Is there really a market for a €90000 blackgrass detecting drone? Are German manufacturers taking the UK market seriously? Is a farmer built RTK network a UK agritech (secret) success story?

Is there really a market for a €90,000 blackgrass-detecting drone? Are German manufacturers taking the UK market seriously? Is a farmer-built RTK network one of British agtech's best-kept success stories?

This week Ray and Kit bring you Chapter 2 of their Cereals 2026 adventure, featuring five fascinating interviews from across the show.

They catch up with:

Finlay Russell of NoFence, discussing how virtual fencing technology is helping livestock farmers adopt regenerative farming practices and manage grazing more effectively.

Mark Arnold of RTKFNet, sharing the story behind the UK's farmer-built RTK network, how it has grown, and how the technology is expanding beyond agriculture into new industries.

Oliver Watson of Amazone UK, explaining why Amazone is investing heavily in the UK market and what they hope to learn from showcasing a prototype machine at Cereals.

Zoe Rühlmann of SAM Dimension GmbH, introducing SAM Cam AI, a drone-mounted scanning system designed to detect, map and quantify blackgrass infestations with remarkable precision.

James Everitt-Car of Techneat Engineering, discussing the evolution of intelligent spot spraying, from machine-learning systems targeting weeds on hard surfaces to tractor-mounted sprayers capable of detecting and treating weeds in-field.

#BrashAg #BrashAgPodcast #Cereals2026 #CerealsEvent #Agriculture #AgTech #AgriculturalEngineering #FarmingInnovation #PrecisionAgriculture #RegenerativeAgriculture #NitrogenUseEfficiency #Innovation #FarmTech #Engineering #IAgrE #EngineersAndBeers #DiddlySquat #ArableFarming #FutureOfFarming #UKAg

Was the Cotswold Brash kind to the co-hosts? Were they knee deep in mud or was the show a roaring success? What new tech is worth keeping an eye out for?

This week Kit and Ray travel to Clarkson's Diddly Squat farm and Cereals 2026. They catch up with number 1 super fan, Kieran Walsh as he kindly hosts them on Grounded Agvice Ltd Stand. The pair give their thoughts on the first day of the show and share an interview with Mechteld Blake-Kalff of Hillcourt Farm Research and her thoughts on the importance of Nitrogen use efficiency and the part that technology can play to help. The co-hosts also celebrate a successful “Engineers and Beers” event hosted by them in their respective roles for the Institution of Agricultural Engineers.

#BrashAg #BrashAgPodcast #Cereals2026 #CerealsEvent #Agriculture #AgTech #AgriculturalEngineering #FarmingInnovation #PrecisionAgriculture #RegenerativeAgriculture #NitrogenUseEfficiency #Innovation #FarmTech #Engineering #IAgrE #EngineersAndBeers #DiddlySquat #ArableFarming #FutureOfFarming #UKAg

Can robots really farm better than humans? Where have machines got an edge? Does the real value come from humans and machines working in harmony?

This week Ray and Kit catch up again with Jonathan Trotter from Agrii. Jonathan tells the co-hosts about the exciting ongoing trial of promising new agritech at the Revesby Estate in Lincolnshire. The estate land (and air) has played host to the likes of Skippy Scout from Drone Ag, PerPlant and their tractor-mounted crop scanner, Soil Acoustics' soil monitoring equipment, BioScout's AI-powered spore detection technology and the integration of these data streams into Agrii's Contour platform. Can these tools prove their worth to farmers? Jonathan unpacks how technology-backed agronomy stacks up against the traditional human approach to crop health and which technologies moved the needle most for their farmers. Jonthan also shares some thoughts on other interesting trials and projects that Agrii has been involved in, including trials of the Earther rover weeding technology and a fascinating project with M&S and their supplier huntapac to grow the world's first fully autonomous parsnip crop.

#BrashAg #Agritech #Agronomy #PrecisionAgriculture #DigitalFarming #Robotics #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfFarming #Agrii #Agronomy

Can farmers really justify investing $1million in a new machine? How can AI be leveraged to solve physical problems in ag? Why did Nvidia, one of the world's most valuable companies, invest in laser weeding agtech?

This week Kit and Ray are joined by a pioneer, innovator and entrepreneur Paul Mikesell CEO of Carbon Robotics (arguably the brightest agtech company right now!). Paul has a long career in Deeptech development, working for companies including Oculus (Meta) , Uber, Clutrix (Maria DB Corporation). Paul has been spearheading chemical free laser weeding for farmers and growers around the world. He explains how the laser weeder tech works, how to keep it safe, how the carbon robotics product has evolved and why protecting IP is so important. Paul shares some refreshingly brash thoughts about some of the recent big failures in the agtech start-up ecosystem and why they should have failed. More than anything Paul shares his relentless optimism for agtech, agricultural engineering and the future of farming.

#AgTech #AgriTech #AgriculturalEngineering #CarbonRobotics #LaserWeeding #AIinAgriculture #FarmTech #Robotics #PrecisionAgriculture #WeedControl #BrashAg

Where do VCs get the money from? Is the power-law dead for farm tech funding? What is a $100 million chicken?

This week Kit and Ray are joined by General Partner of Farmhand Ventures and member of the Agricultural Autonomy Institute steering group, Connie Bowen. Connie brings her candid approach and brash insights to bear on the Brash Ag podcast. With a background in engineering and an impressive investment portfolio including L5 automation, Scout, New West Genetics and Nutt Bio, Connie is well placed to talk to the co-hosts through the fascinating world of venture capital investing. Connie gives her thoughts on why Agtech investors should be more focused on Cows and chickens than unicorns and how start-up giants like Monarch Tractors can fail and why their failure is all part of the venture game.

Connie also gives her take on the UK agtech start-up scene and the part played by Innovate UK in innovation and start-up support in the UK. She even shares a few comments on Small Robot Company and its valuation history…

How do agronomy businesses stay at the forefront of technology development? What happens at the interface of robotics and farming? How can farming experience help to mould and shape new technologies?

This week Ray and Kit speak to Jonanthan Trotter, technology trials manager at agronomy company Agrii. Jonathan's career perfectly intersects cutting edge tech and farming, providing a vital horizon scanning role to bring in and experiment with new technologies to keep Agrii at the bleeding edge of modern agronomy.

Jonathan is from a traditional farming background, growing up on a family farm. After graduating from Harper Adams University he followed a career path into working on farms and estates, covering everything from grain analysis in shipping to growing crops on the home farm. Since then he followed a path into agronomy and technology, working for Frontier managing crops trials and then Lincoln University supporting researchers (and Professor Simon Pearson) to ensure they had the crops they needed to test autonomous harvesting and scanning systems and that they had the agronomic advice they needed to develop their machines.

Jonathan has a wealth of information and experience to share for farmers, engineers and innovators alike.

How did charcoal support entire ancient civilisations? What is biochar and can it support and improve today's soils and modern farming techniques?

This week Ray and Kit talk to farmer turned charcoal maker and now Nuffield Scholar, Luke Breedon. Luke runs the successful, sustainable charcoal business Slatehill Charcoal. While Luke didn’t come from a farming background, he did have a passion for woodland management and as part of his degree at RAU he completed a dissertation on the topic. Fast forward a few years and Luke has spent time farming in Australia and then for Velcourt at Down Ampney Estate. With the arrival of their first child Luke and his wife decided that they should start a venture closer to home that could fit around family life.

Since launching Slatehill charcoal, predominantly selling into the BBQ charcoal market, Luke has had a fascination with biochar. Following this interest through to completing a Nuffield scholarship and travelling around the world to learn more about how biochar can be used on farms. Luke shares some amazing insights with the pair and helps explain the four pillars that he sees to building a successful biochar business along with how farmers can get the most from biochar application.

As ever Brash Ag brings you real insights from real innovators and pioneers in the world of farming and technology

Is it unusual to see robots working in a field? Do ag robots have to look “roboty”? Do Dutch farmers embrace technology more than the rest of the world? What special cafes has Jonthan been to recently?

This week Kit and Ray catch up with friend of the pod and former guest, Jonathan Gill. Jonathan is now Head of Field Operations at Earth Rover. After a recent trip to Holland to visit a customer he was struck by how many robots were working in the fields. Naturally he texted Kit to tell him he was wrong and thus started the debate “Is the future of farm robots based on tractors or something altogether more robot like in appearance?”

The trio fight it out to try and answer the question and along the way share stories, insights and laughs.

How do you stand out in a big organisation like JCB? How do you transition from a technical role to management?

In light of Kit taking over as President of Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) the Ray and Kit welcome Charlie Nicklin CEO of IAgrE on to the podcast.

Charlie shares his career story from growing up on a farm to ultimately being Chief engineer on some of JCBs flagship products and now CEO of IAgrE. Charlie talks about progressing from a National Diploma to a degree at Harper Adams. Charlie explains how Professional Registration and Chartership helped him to stand out from the 500 strong crowd of engineers at JCB and what Chartership means for him.

As CEO he talks through his role and how he has helped to shape the organisation and why farmers and engineers should seriously consider membership and professional registration.