Farmerama

In this special episode, we hear about the project “Agroecology: Enabling the Transition”, which brings together farmers, crofters and growers across Scotland to exchange knowledge and experience. Through farm visits, conversations and shared meals, the project aims to create supportive spaces where participants feel comfortable to ask questions, voice opinions, and learn new things. Funded by the Knowledge Transfer Innovation Fund, the goal is to help embed and support the transition to agroecological practices in Scotland.

Katie Revell met with three members of the South-West Scotland group – farmers John Veitch and Heather Close, and facilitator Abi Mordin – to hear about their experiences with the project.

“Agroecology: Enabling the Transition” is a partnership between Landworkers’ Alliance, Pasture for Life, Soil Association Scotland, the Nature Friendly Farming Network, Propagate and Nourish Scotland.

This episode of Farmerama was made by Katie Revell. Thanks as always to the rest of the Farmerama team: Abby Rose, Olivia Oldham, Jo Barratt, Dora Taylor, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless and Eliza Jenkins. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt.

To learn more about the “Agroecology: Enabling the Transition” project, visit:

https://www.nourishscotland.org/agroecology-enabling-the-transition/

Find out more about Heather and Philip Close’s farm, Balsar Glen, here: https://www.balsarglen.com/

Join the Regenerative Farmers Network South West Scotland here: https://dgsustainablefoodpartnership.org/regenerative-farming-network

This month, we are at ORFC celebrating the first in-person conference for three years! We learn about beneficial beetles, alternative forms of land ownership, and some of the potential problems with the overproduction of soya.

Thank you to everyone who signed up to our Patreon. We appreciate every one of you - your support helps us to keep bringing you the stories of regenerative farming around the world, each month.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/farmerama

Links:

Dr Kelly Jowett: https://beetlekell.wordpress.com/

OSL: https://www.opensystemslab.io/projects

Wicked Leeks: https://wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk/

Innovative Farmers: https://www.innovativefarmers.org/

Welcome to Farming Fashion, our three part series co-produced by Southeast and SOuth West England Fibresheds and Farmerama Radio.

In this third and final episode we talk to three designers from independent design studios who work with native natural fibres and dyes and who are pioneering a shift toward a new paradigm for fashion. While none of them would claim to be fully ‘regenerative’ they are transparent and open about their approaches to becoming more so, and take a deep, thoughtful approach to making small, truthful steps in the right direction.

The first voice we hear is Tilly Kaye from Zero to Product, a design studio offering design and development services to the fashion industry.

Next we hear from Pheobe English, another designer who through her connection with the Southeast England Fibreshed and Plaw Hatch Farm, is also now on a journey to rethinking how her brand designs and produces fashion.

Finally we hear from Deborah Barker, who besides being a co-producer in this series conducting the majority of the interviews, has herself worked with natural dyes for 15 years and is also the regional coordinator for the Southeast ENgland Fibreshed.

Welcome to Farming Fashion, our three part series co-produced by Southeast and SOuth West England Fibresheds and Farmerama Radio.

In this second episode of the Farming Fashion series we will hear from three farmers or growers who have diversified their businesses explore fibre processing, responding to one of our biggest farming fashion challenges in the UK today - the lack of small to mid scale fibre processing infrastructure.

The first voice we hear from is David from Rampisham Mill, the UK’s newest fibre spinning mill which opened in Dorset earlier this year, specializing in semi-worsted spinning of sheep wool in small to medium scale volumes.

We also hear from Rosie Bristow, a costume designer who through her recent Masters research to grow, harvest a hectare of flax, is now exploring models and building prototypes for machinery that can process it.

And finally we hear from Mallon Linen, an arable farm located in County Tyrone that is reinvigorating this heritage industry in Ireland, by not only growing the fibre but also aiming to process it into textiles.

Welcome to farming fashion, our three part series co-produced by Southeast and South West England Fibresheds and Farmerama Radio.

In this first episode we speak to farmers who grow and produce yarns from their own flocks and explore what regenerative fibre farming, and adding value to that fibre, really looks like on the ground.

The first voices we hear from are Leila and her mother Ellen from Tamarisk Farm, a Soil Association certified mixed farm on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset.

Then we hear from Katie Allen of Loopy Ewes, a designer and shepherdess who designs and makes her own knitwear collection using the fleece from her flock of native breed sheep in Gloucestershire.

The final voices we hear are Jen Hunter and Andy Wear from Fernhill Farm, Somerset - one of the country’s largest native breed sheep farms which is one of the country’s largest fibre farms and now certified regenerative by A Greener World.

In this episode we have 2 interviews for you. First, Olivia visited a community garden in her homeland, and then Abby chatted with a winemaker in California who walks us through the organic no-till vineyard system he has co-created with his team.

This episode of Farmerama was made by Olivia Oldham, Jo Barratt and Abby Rose. A big thanks to the rest of the Farmerama team Katie Revell, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins and Dora Taylor. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt

Thank you to everyone who signed up to our Patreon. We appreciate every one of you - your support helps us to keep bringing you the stories of regenerative farming around the world, each month. If you'd like to join our growing Patreon family, please visit patreon.com/farmerama where you can choose your level of support.

This month we are hopping all over the world. Firstly we hear from Andre Miguel of Hortas de Cascais about how community gardens have spread across a whole region in Portugal. Next, we head to Amaqanda Learning Garden in Philippi Village, South Africa where we speak to Yanga Gceya of Captain Fanplastic about how kids are connecting with their ecosystem by becoming plastic pirates. Then, we’re in Bulgaria where we hear from Filip Harmandzhiev, owner of Livadi farm, about an interesting membership model for his farm shop. Finally we’re back in the UK, to Kingsclere Estates, to chat to Tim May about a farming approach that layers and connects many businesses on one farm.

This episode of Farmerama was made by Abby Rose and Jo Barratt. A big thanks to the rest of the farmerama team Olivia Oldham, Katie Revell, Dora Taylor, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless and Eliza Jenkins . Our theme music is by Owen Barratt.

This month we hear how one ranch is managing to build green cover in its 22nd year of drought in California.. And about the vineyard they’ve designed to allow for grazing sheep below the canopy all year round. And we learn about the roots of the Fibershed movement, again in California, ahead of the release of our upcoming mini-series Farming Fashion from Fibreshed UK.

This episode of Farmerama was made by Jo Barratt, Abby Rose and Olivia Oldham. A big thanks to the rest of the Farmerama team - Katie Revell, Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins, Fran Bailey and Dora Taylor.

This is a bonus Cereal episode featuring an extended interview with Anne Parry, miller at Felin Ganol watermill in Ceredigion, Wales. Anne features in episode 4 of Cereal: “The Miller is Missing”.

In this episode, Anne shares how she and her husband Andy restored and revived their historic watermill, and explains how the Welsh Grain Forum is working to rebuild local grain economies.

If you haven’t listened to our Cereal series yet, we’d really encourage you to check it out. Listen here: www.farmerama.co/about/cereal

Find out more about Felin Ganol, and where to buy their flour, at: www.felinganol.co.uk

‘Cereal’ bonus episode: Scotland the Bread

This is a bonus Cereal episode featuring an extended interview with Connie Hunter, Miller-Manager at Scotland the Bread, “a collaborative project to grow better grain and bake better bread”, based at the Bowhouse in Fife, Scotland. Connie features in episode 4 of Cereal: “The Miller is Missing”.

Connie mills small batches of heritage grain using a cool-running Zentrofan mill. She explains the many benefits of using fresh flour, and tells us a bit about the work Scotland the Bread does with schoolchildren and community groups.

If you haven’t listened to our Cereal series yet, we’d really encourage you to check it out. Listen here: www.farmerama.co/about/cereal

Find out more about Scotland the Bread, and where to buy their flour, at: www.scotlandthebread.org