Roger Dixon-Spain farms with his wife, Gilly, on Lismore, a 10-mile long island in the Inner Hebrides, just off the west coast of Scotland. Roger spent most of his life as a conventional farmer in Cambridgeshire, before a series of chance events led him to Lismore – and to a radically different approach to farming. Here, Roger traces that journey, introduces us to the concept of “holistic land management”, and explains how he and Gilly are building a viable business on marginal land – as well as preparing the ground for the next generation of farmers.

Find out more about Roger, Gilly and their work at www.lismoregrassfedbeefandlamb.co.uk. Roger recently gave a webinar titled “Starting my Life’s Work at 70” – available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcpZ1net3f0&feature=youtu.be

This month, two new farmers share their experience of getting land through the Ecological Land Cooperative, and tell us why having a stake in the land is so crucial. Then, we hear from a farmer on a small Scottish island about moving from conventional agriculture to a more holistic way of farming, and making a living from marginal land. We learn how a simple system of nurturing chopped down trees back to life is restoring soils and supporting rural communities in Uganda. And, finally, a naturalist shares his research into insect migrations – and tells us why they’re so important to agriculture.

This month’s episode is supported by Treedom - a platform that makes it easy to support a farmer in Africa or South America to plant a tree. When you buy a tree with Treedom you’re financing farmers to plant trees as part of small agroforestry systems, and providing the local know-how and support to ensure those trees have the best start in life and truly benefit the farmers, their communities and the soil. Once you buy a tree you can also follow its journey online. Since they started in 2010, Treedom have planted over a million trees. Let’s green the planet.

Website: http://go.treedom.net/rh5f

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treedom_trees/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/treedomtrees/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4LB9MIGsvGknvcSzA9Affg

This month we bring you an inspirational farmer who’s helping to build a more resilient local textile economy through Fibreshed UK. We hear about a project reintroducing a one-time staple crop – chestnuts – into the Southern United States. We learn how The Edible Classroom is bringing regenerative agriculture into schools, cafeterias and community kitchens, and we finish in Wales with a poem that speaks to the heart of rewilding.

Featuring:

Gala Bailey Barker

Ranan Sokoloff

Angela McKee Brown

Sam Robinson

Poetry by Megan Elenid Lewis

In this special episode, we visit the Bowhouse, a food hub in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The East Neuk is a coastal region dotted with picturesque fishing villages and blessed with fertile volcanic soils. But – as is the case in much of the UK – very little of the food produced here is destined for direct local consumption. The Bowhouse is changing that by creating opportunities for local producers to reach customers, grow their businesses, and collaborate. We hear from founder Toby Anstruther, Market and Events Manager Rosie Jack, and some of the many producers who’ve found a home at the Bowhouse.

At the end of the episode, we’ll get an update from Rosie Jack on how the Bowhouse has been affected by the pandemic, and how it’s adapted to ensure customers can still access local food – and that producers still have a route to market.

A *bonus* episode following on from our 6 part series, 'Cereal': uncovering the hidden truths behind our bread and the people who are building a new grains movement.

This episode dives deeper into the work of High Rise Bakers: community bakers creating delicious nutritious bread in a shared kitchen on the ground floor of a high rise flat in The Gorbals area of Glasgow. High Rise Bakers were featured in episode 5 of 'Cereal' where we heard that bread is not just money, bread is nourishment, deliciousness, companionship, connectedness, pride, politics.

If you enjoy this episode then definitely listen to the full Cereal series which was released on Farmerama from mid-Nov to the end of Dec 2019.

'Cereal' shows that the radical changes that bread has undergone are revealing of much wider truths about our relationships with food, to farmers, with the land, the environment, and with each other. If you eat food, you have a stake in this story.

Please listen, share, review and subscribe, and support the farmers and food producers instigating change. All episodes can be found on Soundcloud and all podcasting platforms. And if you’d like to support Farmerama, visit patreon.com/farmerama.

This bonus episode of Cereal is produced and edited by Katie Revell, with support from Abby Rose and Jo Barratt. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt.

Photo Credit: High Rise Bakers, Glasgow

As we bring this episode to you, we know that the Coronavirus pandemic is putting many of the farmers and growers out there are under more pressure than ever to provide food for your local communities and to rapidly find new markets for your produce – all whilst being concerned with the health of those around you. So we wanted to take a moment to say as ever we and so many others are grateful for all the work you do: thank you - Farmerama is made for you!

This month, we go back to the Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) one last time, this time to focus on the economic system and ask the question: what form does our economy need to take if we want to support a regenerative farming future? To start helping us answer this question, we hear from biologist, author and co-founder of the ORFC Colin Tudge, who helps us understand today’s dominant economic paradigm, and shares his vision for an economy that supports regenerative farming.

Next, we speak to Tony Greenham, a finance professional, economist, sustainability consultant and Executive Director at South West Mutual, who explains how, in his view, the economy has failed us and what he thinks a more sustainable economy might look like. We share some of the final episode of CEREAL, the 6-part series we released at the end of last year, to illustrate how everything Colin and Tony spoke about is embedded in our food systems, including in our bread.

Two of the key characters in CEREAL were baker and regenerative retailer at Small Food Bakery, Kimberly Bell, and Fred Price, farmer at Gothelney Farm. They both run regenerative businesses that produce food to nourish people, bring joy, promote healthy lifestyles and build communities. We hear from them about what shifting towards regenerative business and a regenerative economy means to them.

This episode of Farmerama was made by Abby Rose, Louis Hudson and Hanna Soderlund. With me Jo Barratt and Katie Revell. We’re extremely grateful to our Patreon supporters, who help us make the show. If you'd like to support Farmerama, visit patreon.com/Farmerama. Community support is provided by Hanna Soderlund, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins and Olivia Oldham. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt.

This month’s episode brings more inspiring stories from the Oxford Real Farming Conference. We hear from a former MEP about UK land reform, learn about land stewardship in Scotland, talk to a community owned family farm, and chat about land justice and the future of land ownership in the UK. We also share an exciting new opportunity for you to get involved in a shared land-ownership model.

This month, we bring you the first of 3 special episodes focusing for the most part on stories from the Oxford Real Farming Conference, or ORFC. This year, we were delighted to be the ORFC’s official media partner. So, fresh from the conference, we hear about the role of myth-making and storytelling in building the regenerative farming movement and we learn about a new initiative to put nutrient density at the heart of good food and farming. Then, we hear from a young fashion designer about her innovative accessory collections re-awakening our connections between fashion and farming. And we have an urgent call for councils across the UK to recognise the value of real farming.

At ORFC in 2020, Georgia shared a story called ‘The Herdsman’, a true story which shows what cheap food is doing to the land, the animals and the people involved in its production. Georgia shares the story here for Farmerama

Georgia talks about the role of myth-making and storytelling in building the regenerative farming movement in Episode 53 of Farmerama

https://georgiawingfieldhayes.org/

https://twitter.com/georgiawingers?lang=en-gb

https://www.theethicaldairy.co.uk

https://www.instagram.com/theethicaldairy/?hl=en

Photo used is from the ethical dairy's instagram feed.

As the new decade dawns we bring you stories of hope and diversity from the Oxford Real Farming Conference. We hear from black farmers and growers who are working with the land to bring social justice and connection to their communities. We also hear from a long time landowner in the UK about building new ownership structures to bring the land back into community. Throughout the episode there are songs and themes that weave the conference together.