Farming Focus

Linked to episode 3 of the show, this bonus episode features bonus material with Chris Manley, who appeared in episode 3 of the series. 

In the episode Chris talks about the 'Walk with Me' campaign to help break the stigma of talking about mental health in the farming community. 

Farming Focus is the podcast for farmers in the South West of England, but is relevant for farmers outside of the region or indeed anyone in the wider industry or who has an interest in food and farming. 

For more information on Cornish Mutual visit cornishmutual.co.uk

For our podcast disclaimer click here. 

Timestamps

00:01 Cornish Mutual jingle

00:15 Peter Green introduces the bonus episode. 

00:52 Peter asks Chris to introduce the #walkwithme campaign.

03:20 Chris writes a poem and it grew from there.

04:10 Charles Anyan comes in. 

05:42 Many testimonies from people about walk with me and the power it has to have conversations. What are the outcomes of the movement?

08:17 Cornish Mutual get involved in the campaign.

09:4 What does success look like?

11:08 Mental health the quiet killer. 

12:02 Britain's Fittest Farmer competition. 

15:00 Gladiators??!

15:50 Peter rounds up the episode. 

In this episode host Peter Green speaks to Nuffield scholar Chris Manley (who started the #WalkWithMe campaign) and Linconshire arable farmer (and FCN ambassador) Charles Anyan to discuss physical and mental health. 

In this second series of Farming Focus we're asking the question 'does my farm have a future?'.

Farming Focus is the podcast for farmers in the South West of England, but is relevant for farmers outside of the region or indeed anyone in the wider industry or who has an interest in food and farming. 

For more information on Cornish Mutual visit cornishmutual.co.uk

For our podcast disclaimer click here. 

Timestamps

00:01 Cornish Mutual jingle

00:15 Peter Green introduces the episode. 

00:42 On my farm in 60 seconds.

01:58 Peter introduces today's guests.

03:19 Chris Manley comes in.

05:38 Charles Anyan introduces himself and his story. 

07:20 Charles has lost a considerable amount of weight.

08:04 Jingle

08:13 Why is being in a good headspace so important for running a business?

10:50 Be proactive. Are you ready for the shock of your life?

11:50 What can we do on the farm to move more?

13:50 What can you do to get started? Chris gives some tips? How are you feeling on a scale of 1-10?

17:38 Think about what you enjoy.

17:50 #Whosyourjulie?

21:05 Look out for those around you.

22:20 Make it easier for the listener. 

24:45 We need to have some braver conversations around this. 

25:43 We all need to talk more. 

26:30 Need to break the stigma. 

26:42 Showstoppers.

28:22 What 3 skills or attributes will farmers of the future require to be successful?

29:17 Peter rounds up. 

30:41 First Aid Days notice. 

Linked to episode 2 of the show, this bonus episode features bonus material with Peter Craven, who appeared in episode 2 of the series. 

In the episode Peter explains 'the family charter' .

Link to Peter Craven's Nuffield report - Peter Craven | Nuffield Farming Scholarships (nuffieldscholar.org)

Farming Focus is the podcast for farmers in the South West of England, but is relevant for farmers outside of the region or indeed anyone in the wider industry or who has an interest in food and farming. 

For more information on Cornish Mutual visit cornishmutual.co.uk

For our podcast disclaimer click here. 

Timestamps

00:01 Cornish Mutual jingle

00:15 Peter Green introduces the bonus episode. 

00:42 Peter Craven explains the benefits of the family charter.

01:30 How do you create a family charter?

03:40 The steps involved. 

05:43 Who needs to be involved?

08:38 The issue of decision making breaking down. 

10:00 Peter Green rounds up.

In this episode host Peter Green speaks to Nuffield scholar Peter Craven about family succession on farms and how to do it well. Listen to next week's bonus episode for more information on the 'family charter' which Peter refers to throughout this episode. 

Peter Green is also joined by Richard Darke, who farms with his sons Matt and Sam in south Devon. 

In this second series of Farming Focus we're asking the question 'does my farm have a future?'.

Farming Focus is the podcast for farmers in the South West of England, but is relevant for farmers outside of the region or indeed anyone in the wider industry or who has an interest in food and farming. 

For more information on Cornish Mutual visit cornishmutual.co.uk

For our podcast disclaimer click here. 

Timestamps

00:01 Cornish Mutual jingle

00:15 Peter Green introduces the episode. 

00:43 'Peter's Future Farm in 60 Seconds'

02:04 Peter introduces Peter Craven. 

03:03 Peter Craven comes in - to what extent are family businesses still the bedrock of farming?

03:33 How did Peter C become interested in succession?

05:17 Why don't we like talking about succession?

05:48 How to make time for talking about succession?

07:04 Introducing the family charter. 

07:50 Cornish Mutual jingle.

08:00 Peter Craven's Nuffield travels. 

10:10 What is the danger if a family gets succession wrong?

11:16 The importance of listening. 

11:44 Peter Green is joined by Richard Darke, who farms with his sons Matt and Sam near Kingsbridge in Devon. 

12:44 Why did the Darke family need to start sorting the succession topic?

14:18 Sorting out succession. 

15:50 What was the risk for the Darke's if they couldn't solve the succession issue?

17:02 Farmers should talk about succession at an early stage, says Richard. 

19:08 What questions should listeners ask themselves about planning for the future?

20:50 Make sure the family feel included.

22:05 Showstoppers.

23:22 Practical tip from Peter Craven. 

24:22 What skills or attributes will farmers of the future need to be successful?

25:25 Peter Green rounds up. 

In this second series of Farming Focus we're asking the question 'does my farm have a future?' We're going to reflect on what lies ahead and on some of the exciting solutions being put forward. 

For the opening episode host Peter Green is joined by Helen Browning, a Wiltshire farmer who is also CEO of the Soil Association, and Jake Freestone who manages Overbury Farms in Worcestershire. 

Farming Focus is the podcast for farmers in the South West of England, but is relevant for farmers outside of the region or indeed anyone in the wider industry or who has an interest in food and farming. 

For more information on Cornish Mutual visit cornishmutual.co.uk

For our podcast disclaimer click here. 

Timestamps

00:01 Cornish Mutual jingle

00:15 Peter Green introduces the episode. 

01:53 'Peter's Future Farm in 60 Seconds'

03:20 Cornish Mutual jingle.

03:28 Peter welcomes Helen and Jake to the podcast.

03:40 Helen introduces her farm.

04:20 Jake introduces Overbury Enterprises.

05:48 What changes is Jake anticipating at Overbury?

06:50 How prepared is UK farming for the future?

08:05 What do farmers need to do to thrive in the future? - Jake offers his thoughts.

10:54 UK food policy - how do farmers balance production and the environment? Helen offers her thoughts.

12:35 Will there be particular types of farm that will struggle? Helen doesn't think so but thinks that it is more about the farmer than the farm.

13:35 Jake on 'survival of the fittest'

14:23 Cornish Mutual jingle

14:32 What are the opportunities for farmers in the south west?

15:42 How might the profile of the agricultural work force change?

17:02 Investment in tech.

18:53 Will small farms benefit from tech and innovation going forwards?

19:57 What is Jake doing now to help his farm thrive going forwards?

20:38 What is Helen doing to help her farm thrive in future?

21:30 Showstoppers - 3 key points to take away. 

23:10 What skill or attribute will farmers need in future - in 3 words.

23:50 Peter concludes the episode. 

Throughout this series we have been encouraging farmers across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset to ask how resilient their businesses are going forwards, and see what we can all do to make them more resilient?

From soil health to farm safety and communications to bovine tb, we’ve put a wide variety of topics through the resilience lens. I  this episode we take a step back and review the big picture, asking what resilience really means for farmers in the south west? What can we take from the series? 

Joining host Peter Green is Liz Bowles, CEO at the Farm Carbon Toolkit and James Daniel who is founder of Precision Grazing. 

Throughout this series we are focusing on the topic of resilience. 

Farming Focus is the podcast for farmers in the South West of England, but is relevant for farmers outside of the region or indeed anyone in the wider industry or who has an interest in food and farming. 

For more information on Cornish Mutual visit cornishmutual.co.uk

For our podcast disclaimer click here. 

Timestamps

00:01 Cornish Mutual jingle. 

00:14 Peter Green introduces the episode.

01:20 Liz Bowles introduces herself.

02:06 James Daniel introduces himself. 

02:37 What does resilience mean to Liz?

03:50 What does resilience mean for James?

05:05 Peter introduces first example - from  Sabine McEwan in episode 4

07:20 Second example with Heather Wildman. 

10:09 Jingle

10:17 Soil Health and Tom Tolputt example from episode 1.

12:40 Climate resilience example from episode 6.

18:40 Episode 5 example from Anna Jones on the importance of communication. 

22:05 Episode 9 TB example.

26:00 Showstoppers and what does resilience mean for Peter?

30:00 We need perspective. 

32:48 The cream tea finale!

34:10 Peter rounds up the episode. 

Probably one of the biggest challenges UK agriculture has faced for several years is TB in cattle and it’s certainly something that tests the resilience of all our beef and dairy farmers here in the South West. From the badger cull to movement restrictions and on-farm testing - much has been tried to prevent the spread of the disease, albeit with very limited results. Today we’re going to ask what role vaccination can play in the TB debate and whether a full vaccination programme could make South West farms more resilient?

Peter is joined by a vet and a farmer. Ralph Drouin is a TB tester with Shepton Vets in Somerset. He worked in a mixed, mainly farm practice in Somerset until dairy quotas arrived in 1984. He then joined MAFF as a Veterinary Officer, dealing with BSE, TB and Foot and Mouth Disease. He’s been with Shepton Vets since 2015. Max Sealy is a fourth-generation dairy farmer from near Chippenham in Wiltshire. He’s also a farm consultant with 25 years of experience in farm management. 

Throughout this series we are focusing on the topic of resilience. 

Farming Focus is the podcast for farmers in the South West of England, but is relevant for farmers outside of the region or indeed anyone in the wider industry or who has an interest in food and farming. 

For more information on Cornish Mutual visit cornishmutual.co.uk

For our podcast disclaimer click here. 

Timestamps

00:01 Cornish Mutual jingle. 

00:14 Peter Green introduces today's show.

02:32 Ralph takes us through some of his experiences regarding TB in cattle.

03:19 When did TB start becoming a major issue in the south west?

04:07 Max talks about his experience with TB in cattle. 

05:58 How does it feel on TB test day?

07:16 The farming community working and standing together.

08:05 Why is TB such a big challenge?

10:00 What were the impacts of TB on Max of breakdowns? - Loss of income especially.

11:00 What does resilience mean to Max?

12:33 What does a TB resilient farm business look like? 

15:30 How could cattle farmers improve their biosecurity on their farms?

17:15 What does Max feel about this?

20:00 Usefulness of cattle vaccination from Max's point of view.

21:25 What would the logistics be of a farm vaccination programme?

27:02 Vaccination of the wildlife pool.

28:48 Getting on top of the disease.

30:00 Is Max confident that the south west will be TB free in future?

31:25 Showstoppers

34:20 Cream Teas...

35:00 Peter rounds up. 

We’ve mentioned regenerative agriculture quite a bit so far in this series but this has often been in relation to the soil and farming practices. What, if any, relevance does it have in the marketplace? Could a regenerative brand or set of values work to increase revenue on farms, add value to west country produce and provide opportunity for a more resilient economic future? Or, should regen ag remain a farmer led movement only relevant to farming practices? Well, to debate this subject we are joined by Mark Brooking who is the Sustainability Director at First Milk and Dorset dairy farmer Sophie Gregory who produces organic milk for Arla. 

Throughout this series we are focusing on the topic of resilience. 

Farming Focus is the podcast for farmers in the South West of England, but is relevant for farmers outside of the region or indeed anyone in the wider industry or who has an interest in food and farming. 

For more information on Cornish Mutual visit cornishmutual.co.uk

For our podcast disclaimer click here. 

Timestamps

00:01 Cornish Mutual jingle. 

00:14 Peter Green introduces today's show.

01:42 How is First Milk working with farmers to encourage regenerative practices?

04:38 Sophie describes her farm and how she is using regenerative practices on her farm.

08:47 There is a demand for doing things differently from consumers, but regenerative agriculture is quite a complicated message to put across, says Mark.

11:52 Sophie explains Arla's frame on regenerative agriculture and how regenerative milk could mean different things to differnet farms. 

14:24 Sophie explains what being an organic farm means and how she has to farm alongside nature. 

15:19 What does resilience mean for Mark?

17:44 Can we be too carbon centric? The need to look at things holistically.

18:03 What does resilience mean for Sophie?

20:00 Adding value in different ways.

20:22 The pros and cons of having a regenerative standard.

22:49 Sophie explains that you don't want to alienate people from regenerative agriculture. 

24:14 Peter sums up today's show. 

26:30 Sophie says that everyone should try something, even if it's on a small area.

27:23 Mark encourages farmers to visit someone who has tried something. 

28:08 Cream tea question. 

29:22 Peter finishes the show. 

Today on the show we look at rural crime across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset. Host Peter Green is joined by rural crime researcher Dr Kate Tudor, PCSO Michael Storey from the Rural Affairs Unit at Avon and Somerset Police and Sergeant Natalie Skinner from Dorset Police’s Rural Crime Team to discuss how farmers and rural communities can make their businesses and communities more resilient by preventing and reducing the likelihood of being victims of rural crime in the first place. 

Throughout this series we are focusing on the topic of resilience. 

Farming Focus is the podcast for farmers in the South West of England, but is relevant for farmers outside of the region or indeed anyone in the wider industry or who has an interest in food and farming. 

For more information on Cornish Mutual visit cornishmutual.co.uk

For our podcast disclaimer click here. 

Timestamps

00:01 Cornish Mutual jingle. 

00:14 Peter Green introduces today's show.

01:20 PCSO Mike Storey gives an overview of rural crime across the south west. 

02:46 Prevention is better than cure.

03:10 Dr Kate Tudor explains the potential rise in rural crime. 

04:27 Natalie Skinner explains there has been a reduction in rural crime of 28% in Dorset this last year.

05:20 What does Natalie attribute this to? Natalie explains there are quite a few crime prevention activities taking place.

06:55 Dr Kate Tudor explains what farmers can do to help prevent rural crime.

08:46 How are forces working across county borders?

10:45 Mike explains the watch schemes. 

12:39 A farmer sprays his fencing unit pink. 

13:26 Dr Kate Tudor explains the impact on victims of rural crime. 

15:10 Natalie explains her personal experience of how victims feel.

16:58 Dr Kate Tudor talks about social media and offenders use it. 

17:58 Criminals' approach and how they use farming magazine and technology, including drones. 

19:12 Equipment Theft Prevention Bill

21:00 Mike talks about follow up work. Lots of people just walk on farm now. 

22:03 What does Natalie see in Dorset?

22:37 Mike talks about a story of a victim who had pockets of scrap metal around his farm. 

23:34 Does rural crime make business sense?

25:30 How do criminals move stolen goods? 

26:28 Resilience and what it means - Kate

28:00 Resilience for Mike.

29:03 Resilience for Natalie. 

30:05 Peter sums up the episode with the showstoppers. 

31:35 Cream teas...cream first or jam first?

32:22 Peter rounds up.