Are you going to Cereals Event this year? Ever wondered what’s involved for the host Farm of Cereals? How does it affect his operation and rotations? We’ve sat down with Adrew Ward MBE to talk about Cereals 2025 being at his  farm; Heath Farm, in Lincolnshire.  

Covering everything from the Cereals Event to Baked Beans, Wardy’s Waffle, to his ongoing involvement in farmer protests up and down the country. We cover a lot of ground in this episode, not one to miss!

It’s time to discuss winter wheat! The UK’s most grown crop. Rob Wilkinson is Director of Farming at Strutt & Parker responsible for managing South EAU Farm Partnership who have won Best in Field for winter wheat 2024 – with a variable cost of production of just £54.16/t. If winter wheat is part of your rotation, this episode is essential listening, as it covers everything from input strategies to grain marketing and is full of technical and achievable ideas.  

'The right data + The right time = The right decision” - in discussion with Fraser Bain of A.G. & K.J. Bain. This week, we’re in East Lothian with a fourth generation arable farmer discussing how shifting from manual record-keeping to in-season farm analytics has boosted decision-making on his farm. From varieties to gross margins, learn how Fraser dives into the details of his farm records and why he finds the insights he gains valuable for his operation.  

Attention to detail and efficiency have never been more important, according to Murray Forsyth –  Managing Partner at Smiddyburn Farms in Aberdeenshire. Winning our award for Best Attention to Detail, Murray speaks with Gabby Hart at YAGRO about how he runs a meticulous operation, and why. From the small changes that drive big results, to a mindset of continuous improvement and the value of collaborative benchmarking. 

It’s a trio discussion this week between farmers James & Lawrence Spink, joined by their agronomist, Ryan Baker of Frontier. E.W Spink won our Oilseed Rape Award for 2024 with a variable CoP/t of £112.76 and secured 4.6t yield in a high pressure Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle NVZ. This remarkable achievement is owed to many factors and superb attention to detail – listen to hear all about their methods, machinery and operation. They also won Fastest Harvest Turnaround for 2024 and explain why they value their Analytics Platform.  

Simon Gent, Farm Manager at IX Ltd has won our spring barley award for their 2024 crop of malting Laureate for a variable Cost of Production at just £40.54/t – and have grown spring barley beneath market median for the last 8 years. Listen now to hear the techniques and technology which IX Ltd are using to keep their performance consistent, including software, hardware and inputs.  

Welcome to a brand new Best in Field Award Series for Harvest Year 2024. We’re travelling from Dorset to Aberdeen handing out data-backed awards to our farming champions. Celebrating key metrics like lowest variable cost of production seen across the YAGRO platform. Our winter barley Winner is Dan Moore and the Team at Cranborne Farms in Hampshire – Who landed a variable Costs of Production of £65.35/t for their crop of Marris Otter.  Luke visits to learn all about their operation and how they stay ahead of the game.  

This final episode of Season 1 of the Best in Field Podcast reflects on some discussions with our award-winning farmers, and sets the scene for the upcoming Best in Field award series launching next month. We catch up with Ross Dawson, Customer Success Manager at YAGRO, about the value which historic farm records can bring to modern enterprises. And your host, Luke, switches seats and is interviewed by Rupert Harlow about what you can expect next month – and why you should tune in to Season 2 of The Best in Field Podcast.

Mental Health Awareness and Support is our topic this week. With the gloomier months upon us, and the pressure on farmers only increasing throughout the industry, we take the time to sit down with YANA – the network supporting farmers through difficult times, reminding them they are not alone. Also joining us is Strategic Farm Manager Ben Martin, who is a meaningful advocate for mental health in farming. 

Visit https://www.yanahelp.org/ or contact 0300 323 0400 / [email protected] for free confidential support.  

A special episode today as YAGRO launch their Harvest 24 Review! Dr Becca Doherty joins us to delve into this comprehensive and free resource for farmers – including some key takeaways and few of her favourite charts and insights. Want to access the Harvest 24 Review for yourself? Head to this link: https://yagro.com/harvest24review