The Farmers Weekly Podcast

In this episode, after a week of torrential rain and floods washes away newly drilled cereal crops, we ask: will it really be another wet autumn?

We find out why Defra policy is on hold ahead of the Autumn Budget – in a special interview with NFU president Tom Bradshaw.

We discover how farmers are measuring their environmental and social impact –and making their businesses more profitable as a result.

You can find out more about environmental and social baselining by visiting Soil Association Exchange and the Lloyds Banking Group.

And we speak to Andrew Brewer – the newly crowned Carbon Farmer of the Year, courtesy of the Farm Carbon Toolkit.

This episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast is co-hosted by Johann Tasker and specialist arable reporter Louise Impey.

To contact the Farmers Weekly Podcast, email [email protected].

In the UK, you can also message us by texting the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0.

In this episode, we look at the future for farm support following a UK cereal harvest said to be among the worst in living memory.

We travel to London for Back British Farming Day as growers and livestock producers meet MPs to get the farming message across.

We look at NFU calls for an increase in the UK budget for agriculture – and industry calls for recognition of the wider benefits farming brings.

We examine how high street banks are offering special deals for farmers prepared to adopt more sustainable management practices.

We discuss the merits of the HSBC Sustainable Farming Pathway and the Soil Association Exchange initiative supported by Lloyds Bank.

And we discover how bees are helping Euston Estate Farms in Suffolk ensure that landscape management delivers the benefits it promises.

The harvest 2024 report referred to in this episode was published by the Economic and Climate Change Unit.

This episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast is co-hosted by Johann Tasker and specialist arable reporter Louise Impey.

To contact the Farmers Weekly Podcast, please email [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!

In the UK, you can also message us by texting the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0.

In this episode, we look at the future of the UK potato sector with a special visit to the Potato Days UK event at Dyson Farming.

With the crop under pressure to reduce its carbon footprint, we find out how potato growers and processors are reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

We discuss the role regenerative agriculture has when it comes to potato production – a crop which involves moving huge amounts of soil.

And we look at the latest research on biostimulants and ask: do they really work and what is the science behind them?

We also discuss prospects for budget cuts at Defra, the latest on the UK bluetongue outbreak and vaccines for combating bovine tuberculosis.

This special episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast is co-hosted by Johann Tasker and specialist arable reporter Louise Impey.

To contact the Farmers Weekly Podcast, email [email protected]. In the UK, you can also message us by texting the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0.

Welcome to this special episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast – the Farmers Weekly Question Time event at Cookstown in Northern Ireland.

Recorded in front of a live studio audience, farmers, students and other guests quiz industry leaders on topical agricultural issues.

Our panel is:

- John Gilliland, Professor of Practice in Agriculture & Sustainability, Queens University Belfast
- John McLenaghan, deputy president, Ulster Farmers Union.
- Bronagh O'Kane, livestock farmer
- Jude McCann, Farming Community Network
- Michael Meharg, Loch Neagh Partnership

Topics include:

- How to solve Lough Neagh pollution
- Support for smaller livestock farms
- How to get new entrants into farming
- Making the most of Jeremy Clarkson
- Tenancies and rental opportunities
- Northern Ireland Farm Welfare Bill
- Health and wellbeing among farmers
- Tips for profitable farming

Sponsored by Lantra, this Farmers Weekly Question Time event was recorded in front of a live studio audience on Thursday, 29 August 2024.

Hosted by Farmers Weekly Podcast editor Johann Tasker. To attend future Farmers Weekly Question Time events, visit fwi.co.uk/questiontime.

In this episode, Queen guitarist and wildlife campaigner Brian May is under fire after calling for an end to badger culling in England.

The complaints come head of a  BBC TV documentary in which Sir Brian argues that badgers are wrongly blamed for spreading bovine tuberculosis.

We look at why British holidaymakers have been banned from bringing back feta cheese from Greece this summer.

The move is part of a wider ban on UK imports of sheep and goat products  from Continental Europe, which is being ravaged by a ruminant disease.

 We've a harvest update and all the latest commodity prices – and find out why Clarkson's Farm means a boost for agricultural students.

And we discover why a snail farm in a Liverpool office building is at the centre of allegations about tax avoidance.

This special episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast is co-hosted by Johann Tasker and Scottish farmer Sandy Kirkpatrick.

To contact the Farmers Weekly Podcast, email [email protected]. In the UK, you can also text the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0. 

In this episode, we pay a special visit to the UK's biggest farmer-owned grain storage facility at the height of harvest.

Camgrain stores up to 500,000 tonnes of cereals, oilseed rape and pulse crops every year on behalf of its 500 farmer-members.

Camgrain's four advanced processing centres work around the clock to take in hundreds of lorry loads of grain from the field every day.

We follow the grain trail from the field into the store where grain is tested and blended to get the best value for growers.

We visit the grain laboratory and discover how Camgrain ensures grain meets the strict specifications and consistent supply demanded by customers.

This special episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast is co-hosted by Johann Tasker and Farmers Weekly arable correspondent Louise Impey.

To contact the Farmers Weekly Podcast, email [email protected]. In the UK, you can also text the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0. 

In this episode, we get to grips with the latest Sustainable Farming Incentive – and what it means for your farm business.

Scottish growers face heavy losses after virus-hit potato crops are destroyed in an effort to protect high-health status seed production.

Could more winter linseed be grown as an alternative break crop?

We've a harvest update and all the latest market prices.

And we review a sumptuous history book of Aberdeen Angus cattle – the world's most popular pedigree beef breed.

This episode is co-hosted by Johann Tasker and Sandy Kirkpatrick, with additional reporting by Philip Case and Adam Clarke.

To contact the Farmers Weekly Podcast, email [email protected]. In the UK, you can also text the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0. 

In this episode, the government pledges a new deal for farmers to boost confidence across the industry.

We look at what the promise might mean – and what it might deliver.

Lottery money for landscapes – farmers could be among the winners from a £150m heritage fund to revitalise wildlife habitats and the environment.

Industry leaders highlight the importance of the sheep sector – and the contribution it makes to rural communities and the environment.

We find out more during a visit to the National Sheep Association's flagship sheep event at the Three Counties Showground in Worcestershire.

We’ve our regular market round-up and all the latest commodity prices.

And a Suffolk farmer unveils a memorial to an American aircrew whose bomber crashed on his farm in World War Two.

This episode is co-hosted by Johann Tasker and Farmers Weekly arable correspondent Louise Impey, with additional reporting by Philip Case and Charlie Reeve.

To contact the Farmers Weekly Podcast, email [email protected]. In the UK, you can also text the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0. 

In this episode, farm leader Tom Bradshaw says a bigger budget is needed for British farmers to deliver food security and reach Net Zero.

The NFU president wants the government to set aside £5.6bn for agriculture – more than twice the current annual amount.

We visit the Royal Welsh Show where the budget for agriculture in Wales is also a hot topic of debate and discussion.

We’ve a harvest update – and all the latest commodity prices.

And former farm minister Mark Spencer spills the beans on his time in government – and what it’s like to be in the Defra hot seat.

And a Scottish funeral director turns a land rover defender into a hearse.

This episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast is hosted by Johann Tasker with Scottish farmer Sandy Kirkpatrick.

Additional reporting by Farmers Weekly deputy editor Abi Kay, Philip Case, Philip Clarke and Guy Peckett.

You can contact the Farmers Weekly Podcast by emailing [email protected]. In the UK, you can also text the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0. 

In this episode, a young farmer tells how he is lucky to be alive after being trapped under a stack of falling bales.

Christopher Rolfe was airlifted to hospital following the accident thanks to Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance.

Chris told his story at the start of Farm Safety Week – the annual campaign by the Farm Safety Foundation and the Yellow Wellies charity.

The busy harvest period often sees a spike in the number of farm accidents – including collisions on the road between tractors and other vehicles.

As harvest continues, police are conducting roadside are checks on tractors and trailers to make sure they are safe.

We learn how the Tilly Your Trailer campaign can ensure your grain and silage trailers are properly maintained and stay on the right side of the law.

We also take a look at the prospects for oilseed rape following ongoing concern for the future of the crop in the UK.

We’ve our regular market round-up and all the latest commodity prices.

And we find out why King Charles has bestowed the royal title on the Royal Golden Guernsey Goat breed – and what it means for farming.

This episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast is hosted by Johann Tasker with Scottish farmer Sandy Kirkpatrick.

Additional reporting by Farmers Weekly arable correspondent Louise Impey.

You can contact the Farmers Weekly Podcast by emailing [email protected]. In the UK, you can also text the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0.