Farm Gate

This is the first of our impromptu in-the-field podcasts, recorded at Groundswell 2025.

In this programme we discuss the role and unique perspectives of women in regenerative farming.

ffinlo Costain is joined by Nikki Yoxall - Claire Beaumont - and Nick Viney.

Farm Gate and 8point9.com's monthly discussion programme. Regulars, ffinlo Costain (8point9.com) and Joe Stanley (GWCT Allerton Project), are joined by Ben Raskin, Head of Agroforestry at the Soil Association.

They discuss:

• Agroforestry
• The spending review
• Fossil fuels and food systems
• Keeping up with climate change
• And drainage

To watch this podcast instead, search FarmGatepodcast on YouTube.

Venture capitalists need to be able spot a good investment - but to do that they need a remarkable understanding of the market in which they operate.

Christopher Ramsay and Simon Evill are the brains behind Pelican Ag, a venture capital company right at the heart of the regenerative agriculture movement - here they provide insight into the key themes and trends that are shaping the next phase of market growth.

• Nikki Yoxall - Regenerative farmer and advocate,
• Julia Kirby-Smith, Executive Director of the Better Food Traders network,
• Kate Russell, Chief Operating Officer at Tellus Natural Capital, and
• Christopher Ramsay, Founding Partner of Pelican Ag.

Find more land use news here: https://8point9.com/https://8point9.com/

Watch this podcast here: https://youtu.be/99vul9V0ljE?si=z_Axec1gnGkP6H-r

Can large carnivores become an asset rather than a liability for livestock farmers? Could there be a net benefit for farmers sharing their landscapes? ...And were wolves really single-handedly responsible for changing the shape of the rivers in Yellowstone National Park?

ffinlo Costain meets Jonny Hanson, Nuffield Scholar, and author of Living with Lynx, Sharing landscapes with big cats, wolves and bears.

They discuss the pros and cons of large carnivore reintroductions - and the choices, opportunities and costs for society as a whole.

Make sure you listen to the end, because the last question is the killer.

• Read Jonny Hanson's Nuffield report - https://www.nuffieldscholar.org/scholars/2023/jonny-hanson
• Buy the book, Living with Lynx, by Jonny Hanson

This is the third episode in our series: Filling the Funding Gap, in which we discuss how particular natural capital markets work and whether they can help farmers to bridge the gap between public payments and the real costs of transition towards resilient and regenerative food production.

ffinlo Costain is joined by two experts from Regenerate Outcomes: Matt Jordon, Chief Scientific Officer and Tom Dillon, Director.

Farm Gate's Filling the Funding Gap series is sponsored by Barclays, Environment Bank, Forest Carbon, Howden Insurance, Regenerate and Saffery.

Farm Gate Leaders - Episode 3 - ffinlo Costain (editor, 8point9.com) is joined by the film-maker and self-described “wrangler of scientists”, Peter Byck, who's also a professor of practice at Arizona State University.Byck is the director and producer of Carbon Cowboys and Roots So Deep, and before that, Carbon Nation. He has a gift for storytelling; for breaking down complex science and giving it a human face. His big passion is adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing and his films are hugely influential.LINKS:Roots So Deep: https://rootssodeep.org/Carbon Cowboys: https://carboncowboys.org/8point9.com: https://8point9.com/Farm Gate is part of 8point9.com, the land use news channel, which is sponsored by First Milk, Pelican Ag, Rural Solutions, the Usk Catchment Partnership, Agrolo and individual donors.#@8point9 #peterbyck #carboncowboys #AMPGrazing #Regenag #regenfarming #cattle #cattlefarming

Reports indicate that funding for nature-friendly farming in England is due to be slashed in the UK spending review, taking place on the 11th of June.

What's likely to happen? What does it mean? And what can farmers do about it?

ffinlo Costain is joined by Martin Lines, Chief Executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network - by Julia Aglionby, Executive Director of the Foundation for Common Land and Professor of Practice at University of Cumbria - and by Joe Stanley, farming commentator, Wheat from the Chaff co-host and Head of Sustainable Farming, at the GWCT Allerton Project.

ffinlo Costain (8point9.com) and Joe Stanley (GWCT Allerton Project) discuss:

• Net zero reports from The Tony Blair Institute and the AFN Network+
• UK climate change preparedness
• UK Government 'retakes' the decision to scrap SFI 2024
• Anaerobic digestion
• And those reports - by FAI and SFT - that were damned by Monbiot.

This is the final programme in our Filling The Funding Gap series - and I'm investigating the role of insurance. We'll look at how extreme weather is driving farm losses and ask what can be done to mitigate the risks - and we'll consider the role of insurance in supporting different kinds of natural capital market.

ffinlo Costain is joined by Rory Gibson, regional director for Howden Insurance in Perth in Scotland.

Farm Gate's Filling the Funding Gap series, is sponsored by Barclays, Environment Bank, Forest Carbon, Howden Insurance, Regenerate and Saffery.

Farm Gate is part of 8point9.com