What role can farmers play in the growing natural capital economy?

In this episode of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar, we’re joined by 2026 Nuffield Scholar Liz Warner, a first-generation tenant farmer from Devon, to explore natural capital, climate resilience and the future of farming.

Liz’s Nuffield Scholarship, “Cultivating Capital: A Farmer’s Role in a Growing Natural Capital Economy,” explores how farmers can engage with emerging natural capital markets while continuing to produce food and run profitable farm businesses.

We discuss:

🌱 What natural capital actually means for farmers
💷 How emerging markets such as biodiversity net gain, carbon and nutrient neutrality could create opportunities
🌾 Balancing food production with nature recovery
💧 The potential role of farmers in tackling issues such as water management
📈 How natural capital could contribute to more resilient farm businesses
🌍 What Liz hopes to learn from natural capital markets around the world
🚜 The challenges and opportunities for smaller farms and individual farmers looking to engage

Liz also shares her experience as a first-generation tenant farmer, the realities of farming on a shorter-term tenancy and why she believes farmers need to have a voice in the development of natural capital markets.

As part of her Scholarship, Liz plans to explore natural capital markets in countries including Brazil, the US and the Netherlands, looking at what is working, what hasn't worked and what lessons could potentially be relevant to UK agriculture.

Tales of a Nuffield Scholar is supported by NFU Mutual and explores the ideas, challenges and opportunities shaping UK agriculture through conversations with Nuffield Scholars past and present.

In the first episode of Series 3, we catch up with 2025 Nuffield Scholar Natalie Hepburn to hear how her farming journey has evolved — from keeping a few chickens as a hobby to running a diversified 30-acre farming business producing goat’s milk skincare and sheep’s milk cheese.

Natalie talks about her Nuffield research into farm diversification and direct selling, the lessons she took from visiting farms and businesses around the world, and how her thinking has changed as a result of the scholarship.

We also explore the importance of the Nuffield network and the relationship between scholars and their sponsors, with Natalie sharing how her sponsor, the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust, has supported her throughout her journey.

And, as she looks back on the experience, Natalie has some simple advice for anyone considering applying for a Nuffield Scholarship: go for it.

Thanks to NFU Mutual for Sponsoring.

In this episode of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar, we take a closer look at Nuffield’s Next Gen Scholarship, designed to give young people aged 18–25 the opportunity to develop their knowledge, broaden their perspectives and build connections across the agricultural industry.

The episode is split into two parts, beginning with the Next Gen Regenerative Agriculture scholars. We hear from Jessica Walker and Summer Wyatt Buchan, who share their experiences of the scholarship, including their four-week study tour, the people and businesses they encountered, and the insights they gained into regenerative agriculture, soil health and integrated farming systems.

The second half focuses on the Next Gen Dairy scholars, with Lottie Wilson, Isabel and Ed discussing their own scholarship journey. From the application process and meeting their fellow scholars to travelling together and visiting a wide range of dairy businesses, they reflect on what they learned and how the experience has influenced their own approach to agriculture.

Together, the scholars offer an insight into what it is like to take part in a Next Gen Scholarship, from the initial application and meeting the group to the challenges and opportunities of spending several weeks travelling and learning together.

The episode also explores how the Next Gen programme is evolving, with scholarships spanning different areas of agriculture, and why opportunities like this can be so valuable for the next generation of farmers and agricultural professionals.

Find out more here: https://www.nuffieldscholar.org/scholarships/nuffield-farming-next-gen-scholarships

What does sustainable growth really mean for a farming business?

In this episode of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar, we hear from Dave Oates, Edward Fain Trefusis and Sam Steggles, three Nuffield Scholars who will be presenting together at the 2026 Nuffield Farming Conference in Leeds.

From building diversified businesses and exploring new land uses, to managing risk, navigating change and understanding when growth is enough, the conversation explores what it really takes to build a sustainable business.

The Scholars discuss:

🌱 Why financial sustainability matters just as much as environmental sustainability
🚜 How innovation and diversification can create new opportunities
🌍 Learning from agriculture around the world — and recognising the opportunities closer to home
👥 Why having the right people around you can be just as valuable as what you learn on your travels
🔄 How to build businesses that can anticipate, adapt and bounce back
And the question: when is enough, enough?

Hear their stories and get a taste of the ideas and experiences that will take to the stage at the Nuffield Farming Conference in Leeds this November.

With thanks to our sponsor NFU Mutual.

In this episode of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar, host Wallace Currie is joined by Charlotte Cole, Gregor Bruce and Ben Lowe to explore the thinking behind their Nuffield Scholarship studies ahead of the 2026 Nuffield Farming Conference in Leeds.

The discussion covers:

• How productivity and animal welfare can go hand in hand in pig production.
• Why the early development of pullets could influence the future of egg production.
• The role of circular farming in creating more resilient, sustainable businesses.
• Insights from study tours across Europe, Australasia and North America, and what UK agriculture can learn from them.

The episode concludes with advice for anyone considering a Nuffield Farming Scholarship, encouraging prospective applicants to seize the opportunity and think about the reasons they can apply, rather than the reasons they can't.

Thanks to our sponsor NFU Mutual.

What does the future of agriculture look like if we invest in people as much as production?

In this episode of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar, supported by NFU Mutual, we're joined by five Nuffield Farming Scholars whose research explores the people behind our industry, from mental health and succession to leadership, identity and attracting the next generation into agriculture.

Featuring:
🌾 Andrew Richardson – Young people in farming and aquaculture
🧠 Lucia Slack – Addressing suicide in agriculture
🤝 Sharon May – Supporting farming families
🌱 Tash Edwards – Certification, sustainability and profitability
🚜 Peter Green – Helping farmers embrace change and strengthen their businesses

Together, they share insights from their travels across the world and discuss the ideas that will shape their presentations at the 2026 Nuffield Farming Conference.

Whether you're passionate about farming, leadership, rural wellbeing or the future of our industry, this conversation offers a powerful insight into the people driving positive change.

🎟️ Find out more about the Nuffield Farming Conference and Scholarships:

In this episode of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar, we explore innovation in modern horticulture with Nuffield Scholars Lucy George and Polly Hilton.

Lucy shares how she's pioneering commercial tea production in Wales, while Polly explains how she's creating premium ciders from traditional orchards and helping preserve valuable local landscapes.

Together, they discuss the lessons they've brought back from their Nuffield travels, why education and consumer awareness are vital to the future of horticulture, and how innovation is often about looking at familiar challenges in new ways.

Whether you're interested in horticulture, diversification, sustainable food production or the Nuffield Farming Scholarships, this episode offers fresh perspectives on the future of British agriculture.

Tickets for the 2026 Nuffield Farming Conference in Leeds: https://www.nuffieldscholar.org/Leeds2026

With thanks to our sponsor NFU Mutual.

From the depths of the ocean to the forest floor, Episode 12 is a fascinating dive into some of the most unexpected corners of food and land systems.

Wallace is joined by three Nuffield Scholars ahead of the Leeds conference: Molly Gupta, who manages seaweed farming development at WWF; Peter Rowe, a commercial forester exploring hybrid aspen trees and the diversification of UK forestry; and Tom McVeigh, a Suffolk farmer investigating hazelnuts and walnuts as viable commodity crops for a post-subsidy era.

Together they explore how a banana documentary changed Molly's career trajectory, why Peter cycled through Europe to reduce his carbon footprint, and how Tom found the answer to a Chilean farmer's problem in Belgium. They also dig into what it means to enter the Nuffield world from a non-traditional background — and why that might be exactly what the scholarship needs more of.

This episode is part of a series offering a preview of what to expect at the Nuffield Farming Conference in Leeds. If you're considering applying for a scholarship, Wallace has a message for you at the end.

Sponsored by NFU Mutual — the UK's leading rural insurer.

In this episode of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar, Wallace is joined by three 2025 scholars who'll be taking to the stage at the 2026 Nuffield Farming Conference in Leeds — Laura Eden, a farm vet from North Yorkshire specialising in dairy goats, Alex Crawley, founder of Grazing Management Limited, and Awal Fuseini, a researcher and AHDB associate with a background in halal slaughter and meat science.

The three scholars give a taste of what to expect from their conference presentation group, Livestock Systems Built for the Future, covering everything from the untapped value of extensive grazing in preventing wildfires and flooding, to what the UK can learn from New Zealand's biosecurity standards, to the surprising findings that shifted each scholar's research focus mid-journey.

They also share their experiences of the Contemporary Scholars Conference in New Zealand, the contacts made, the conversations had, and why it's the part of the scholarship nobody quite expects.

If you're thinking about applying for a Nuffield Scholarship, this one's worth a listen.

Applications are open: https://www.nuffieldscholar.org/scholarships/apply-now

With thanks to our sponsor NFU Mutual.

Series two kicks off with a cracking panel, and a topic that couldn't be more timely.

Wallace is joined by four Nuffield Scholars ahead of the 2026 Nuffield Farming Conference in Leeds: Laura Underdown, Stuart Oates, Ali Warren Walker and Ben Andrews. Between them they're covering natural capital markets, fossil-free farming, valorising agricultural waste, and catchment-level flood management, and this conversation gives you a taste of what to expect from the stage in November.

If you've ever thought about applying for a Nuffield Scholarship, this episode will make your mind up.

🎙️ Sponsored by NFU Mutual — the UK's leading rural insurer.

🎟️ Tickets for the 2026 Nuffield Farming Conference in Leeds are available now: https://www.nuffieldscholar.org/Leeds2026