R2Kast - People in Food and Farming/All In

Today I welcome Bryce Cunningham onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ An organic dairy farmer from Ayrshire, Bryce is flying the flag for Ayrshire cows and sustainable systems. 🐄🥛

At Mossgiel Organic Farm, Bryce has built a cow-with-calf system that keeps mothers and calves together for up to eight months. He also runs a dairy business delivering across Scotland, works with other organic farms, and has even added a bakery and coffee shop with no ultra-processed ingredients. 🍞☕

We talk about history too—how Robert Burns once farmed on the same land and how Ayrshire cows connect past and present. From heritage to modern challenges, Bryce shares his belief in doing things differently while building a future for the family farm. 🌱✨

Enjoy! 😊

#BryceCunningham #MossgielFarm #OrganicDairy #CowWithCalf #AyrshireCows #SustainableFarming #OrganicMilk #ScottishFarming #LocalFood #FarmInnovation #HeritageFarming #FoodTransparency #NoUltraProcessed #FarmCooperative #FarmingFuture #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we welcome Tom Newbury onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ A new entrant farmer, butcher, and tree surgeon, Tom embodies the many routes into agriculture. 🌳🥩

Tom shares how a childhood love of farming never left him, even though his family had no farming background. From early days “helping” on local smallholdings to finding his way through butchery and beyond, his path shows the grit and passion needed to carve out a future in food and farming. 💪🌾

We talk about his journey into land, the challenges of getting started, and how resilience and adaptability shape every step. It is the very spirit of what R2Kast was built on—stories of how people find their way into this sector. 🌍✨

Enjoy! 😊

#TomNewbury #NewEntrantFarmer #Butchery #TreeSurgery #RoutesIntoFarming #FirstGenFarmer #UKFarming #AgriLife #AgriResilience #YoungFarmers #FoodAndFarming #AgriJourney #SustainableFarming #FarmDreams #FarmingPassion #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is Tom Martin! 🎙️ Known for vibrant shirts and even brighter ideas, Tom joins me to talk about his decade in farming and the unexpected paths that led him here. 👕🌾

Farming is Tom’s fourth career, and he reflects on how much has changed in just ten years. Practices once seen as “howling at the moon” are now mainstream, and he asks what today’s wild ideas will look normal a decade from now. 🌙➡️☀️

We talk about identity in farming, how a farm can reflect the personality of the farmer, and why curiosity matters. Along the way there is humour, honesty, and plenty of chat about shirts. 👔✨

It is a conversation about embracing change, enjoying the journey, and celebrating individuality in agriculture. 🌱

Enjoy! 😊

#TomMartin #FarmingJourney #RegenerativeAgriculture #AgriShirts #FutureFarming #FarmIdentity #AgriChange #FarmingInnovation #RuralStories #AgriLife #FarmersOfUK #FarmingPassion #SustainableFuture #AgriCommunity #AgriCulture #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I sit down with Iain Riddell! 🎙️ After nearly 45 years with SRUC, Iain reflects on a career that saw him advise farmers through countless reforms, challenges, and opportunities. 👨‍🌾📖

We talk about how consultancy has evolved—from free advisory services in the early days to today’s scheme-driven pressures—and the constant truth that farming is never without challenge. Iain shares stories of Elgin, Stonehaven, and St Boswell’s, and how Scottish agriculture has changed through decades of policy shifts. 🇬🇧🌾

Now semi-retired, Iain has turned his attention to hemp, exploring new uses and opportunities in a crop that just keeps surprising him. 🌿

It is a conversation about continuity, change, and the deep relationships that make agriculture so rewarding. 🌱✨

Enjoy! 😊

#IainRiddell #SRUC #FarmAdvisory #AgriculturalConsultancy #ScottishFarming #CommonAgriculturalPolicy #FarmingHistory #FarmSupport #RegenerativeCrops #HempFarming #RuralScotland #AgriPolicy #SustainableFarming #AgriInnovation #FarmingJourney #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I welcome Tim May onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ A fourth-generation farmer from Hampshire, Tim has transformed Kingsclere Estate into something far beyond a traditional farm. 🌾

We hear how his Nuffield Scholarship inspired him to shift from 100 percent arable into a mixed regenerative system, bringing livestock back and building a network of partners rather than employees. Tim shares his vision of farming as a platform for multiple businesses—from roaming dairies and hens to rental units and food ventures. 🐄🐓

Our conversation dives into PitchUp, his innovative way of inviting entrepreneurs onto the farm to co-create circular economies. Tim speaks with honesty about change, family legacy, and the challenge of redefining what a farm can be. 🌍

It is a story of reinvention, resilience, and bold thinking about the future of food and land use. 🌱✨

Enjoy! 😊

#TimMay #KingsclereEstate #PitchUp #RegenerativeFarming #MixedFarming #CircularEconomy #FarmInnovation #NuffieldScholar #FarmDiversification #FarmerLedChange #AgriBusiness #SoilHealth #RuralInnovation #FarmingFuture #PartnershipFarming #FoodSecurity #UKFarming #AgriTech #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we welcome Lee-Anne Oliver onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ A farm vet based near Hexham, Lee-Anne has built her own practise while balancing the pressures and joys of working with livestock and rural communities. 🐄🐑

We hear how she graduated in 2007, worked across farm animal practice, and eventually took the leap to run her own business. Lee-Anne speaks honestly about the realities of being a farm vet, from calving cows at two in the morning to supporting families as much as animals. She reflects on generational change, community bonds, and why resilience is as much about people as it is about medicine. 💉👩‍⚕️

Our conversation also covers the challenges in the veterinary profession today, from graduate support and corporate buyouts to work-life balance and the emotional weight of caring for clients. Lee-Anne shares why she still loves her role, how seasons shape her outlook, and why the future of large animal practice needs the right mix of passion and protection. 🌦️❤️

A heartfelt, powerful chat about the human side of veterinary work in agriculture.

Enjoy! 😊

#LeeAnneOliver #FarmVet #VeterinaryLife #LivestockCare #CattleAndSheep #VetPractise #RuralCommunity #AgProfessionals #VetChallenges #WorkLifeBalance #FarmingFamilies #VetSupport #AgSector #FarmAnimalHealth #GenerationalChange #VetLeadership #ResilientCommunities #VetStories #R2Kast #PeopleInAg #SeasonalLife #VetResilience #RuralVet #FarmVetLife #AgPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I welcome Glen Barclay onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ A journalist with The Scottish Farmer and vice chair of SAYFC communications, Glen has a story that blends timber contracting, football sidelines, and rural journalism in a way few could imagine. 🌲⚽

We hear how growing up in a timber family gave him a grounding in rural life before he found himself sitting on the bench as a substitute goalkeeper with a notebook, writing match reports. That passion for words eventually took him to Australia, where he worked with the Central Coast Mariners during the time Usain Bolt tried his hand at football. 📰🌏

Glen shares how Covid left him stranded abroad, how journalism became his calling, and why stripping opinion out of agricultural reporting is one of the toughest parts of his work. He also reflects on history, from Russian revolutions to family forestry, and how those roots keep him connected to the land. 🌳📖

A brilliant chat with someone who is shaping agricultural media while still keeping a love of sport and heritage at his core.

Enjoy! 😊

#GlenBarclay #ScottishFarmer #YoungFarmers #JournalismInAg #TimberRoots #FootballStories #CentralCoastMariners #UsainBoltFootball #CovidJourneys #RuralLife #FamilyFarming #StorytellingInAg #MediaAndFarming #HistoryLover #SoilToSport #AustralianAdventure #PodcastLife #R2Kast #ScotAgStories #YouthInAg #CommsAndMarketing #AgJournalism #FarmingCommunity #CulturalJourneys #PeopleInAg

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we welcome Niels Corfield onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ A consultant, educator, and soil enthusiast, Niels has become one of the leading voices in regenerative agriculture across the UK. 🌱🌍

We hear how he grew up in a scientific household, moved through IT and tech work, then found his way back to land through plant nurseries and adult education. That shift led him to become a trainer in soil health, running field sessions where farmers literally put spades in the ground to understand structure, rooting depth, and infiltration. 🪱🌿

Niels speaks with me about beating the weather, why dry soils are harder to manage than wet ones, and how monitoring on more than 250 farms has given him clear patterns to share with the industry. He explains what healthy soil really looks like and why practical, hands-on learning is the best way to engage farmers of all kinds. 🌦️🚜

An inspiring conversation for anyone interested in resilience, climate, and the future of food.

Enjoy! 😊

#NielsCorfield #SoilHealth #RegenerativeAgriculture #BeatingTheWeather #SpadeTest #SoilStructure #FarmingResilience #ClimateAdaptation #PastureFed #Agroecology #FieldEducation #SoilMonitoring #FarmingClusters #OrganicMatter #SustainableFood #WeatherAndFarming #HealthyLand #AgTraining #R2Kast #FutureOfFarming #AgStories #LandSkills #SoilLife #RegenerativePractices #PeopleInAg

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode is a special one as I bring the full Scottish Rally team onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ Jillian, Joanne, Angela, Kelly and I came together to share our experience of this summer’s Rural Youth Europe rally in Slovenia. 🇸🇮🌍

We talk about what Rally actually is, the theme of planting ideas and cultivating the future, and how rural youth can shape policy and create opportunities across Europe. From committee work to travel stories, the five of us reflect on learning, laughter, and the challenges that come with such an international gathering. 🌱🤝

Jillian and Joanne share their Munro-climbing fundraiser for SAYFC’s Big Build, Angela talks about leaving nursing in Aberdeen for a one-way ticket to Australia, and Kelly reflects on the juggle of teaching primary sevens while leading in Young Farmers. The stories show how much adventure, commitment, and passion is in Scotland’s youth movement. 🏔️✈️

This was a chance to relive Slovenia, from cultural exchange to building friendships that will last a lifetime.

Enjoy! 😊

#ScottishRallyTeam #RuralYouthEurope #Slovenia2025 #YoungFarmers #YouthLeadership #InternationalExchange #SAYFC #BigBuildChallenge #MunroBagging #PrimaryTeaching #NursingAbroad #ForestManager #ArchitectureInAg #PolicyYouthVoice #RuralIdentity #TravelAndLearning #EuropeanConnections #AgYouthMovement #R2Kast #GlobalYouth #PlantingIdeas #CultivatingTheFuture #FriendshipsForLife #AgStories #CommunityInAction

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we welcome Rodrigo Navarro onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ Rodrigo’s story takes us from a South African restaurant in London where he worked as a head chef, all the way to Hampshire where he now runs an organic pastured egg business. 🍳🌿

Rodrigo shares how he and his wife decided to leave the city behind and chase a dream of rural living, influenced by their family histories in Chile and Ireland. What began with cooking meat over fire has transformed into caring for 600 hens in mobile sheds that follow organic dairy cows across herbal leys, creating a near circular system of farming. 🐓🐄

We dive into his chef background, the South African braai, his passion for bold flavours, and the enormous shift to regenerative poultry farming. Rodrigo explains the challenges of access to land, why organic standards matter, and how timing chicken movements with dairy herds can create healthier soils and better eggs. 🌱🥚

It is a fascinating conversation about food, farming, heritage, and bravery in changing paths. Rodrigo’s passion for doing things the right way and his belief in sustainability shines through, showing us how food and farming are deeply connected. 🌍🍷

Enjoy! 😊

#RodrigoNavarro #OrganicPoultry #PastureRaised #ChefToFarmer #SustainableFarming #OrganicEggs #RegenerativeAgriculture #KingsclereEstates #SouthAfricanFood #BraaiCulture #BoldFlavours #RuralDream #FromCityToCountryside #HeritageFarming #SoilHealth #CircularFarming #FoodAndFarmingStories #R2Kast #FarmToFork #ChileanRoots #IrishHeritage #CommunityFarming #OrganicLiving #HealthyLandHealthyFood #PasturedEggs

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.