Farm Gate

ffinlo Costain talks to Vicki Hird - a farming expert and author who's been at the heart of environmental, food and agricultural policy discussions for over 30 years.  Her new book, Rebugging The Planet, is set to be the must-buy stocking filler for Christmas this year.  We discuss the new book, which shows us that bugs are beautiful, charismatic and economically valuable.  We also discuss food and farming policy, and how the new post-Brexit farm payments will affect agricultural land use in England.   Vicki Hird is also head of sustainable farming at Sustain. Produced by Farmwel.

Do farm animals experience emotions, or are the behaviours people perceive as emotions purely an instinctive response?  Do cows, for example, feel happy or depressed?  And should a farm animal's ability to react instinctively, or to respond emotionally, affect the way that we care for and handle livestock? ffinlo Costain, the chief executive of Farmwel, is joined by Professor David Main from the Royal Agricultural University, and by Rachel Horler, a cattle farmer from Maundrils Farm in Somerset, UK. Produced by Farmwel.

The best solutions for land use deliver multiple outcomes - especially in places where land is relatively scarce and expensive. What if we could combine the farming of electricity from the sun with land management that regenerates the soil and produces high quality nutrition?   ffinlo Costain talks to Trent Hendricks and Sophy Fearnley-Whittingstall.   Trent is from Cabriejo Ranch in Missouri, USA, where he produces lamb and beef with certification from the American Grassfed Association and the Allan Savory Land to Market programme.  Sophy lives in Wiltshire and provides community engagement and communications advice for the UK solar industry. Produced by Farmwel.

This year's UN Food Systems Summit is being seen by many as an opportunity to define the future of food. The summit may also be the launch pad for a new science & policy interface - what's being described as an 'IPCC for Food'.  But do we really need an IPCC for Food? Shouldn't we simply better fund and better utilise the mechanisms we already have? ffinlo Costain is joined by food systems experts from IPES Food. Jennifer Clapp, from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, is part of the UN's High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition. Molly Anderson is a specialist in hunger, food systems, and multi-actor collaborations for sustainability from Middlebury College in Vermont, USA. Produced by Farmwel.

In this programme, ffinlo Costain discusses corporate sustainability and green wash, with Benet Northcote and Ed Gillespie. Is it possible for large companies to become genuinely sustainable - or will greed always triumph over green? Benet is a senior adviser at Seahorse Environmental and the deputy chair of the UK's Conservative Environment Network. Prior to that he was the director of corporate responsibility for the John Lewis Partnership, and worked as deputy private secretary to The Prince of Wales. Ed Gillespie is a facilitator for the Forward Institute and co-founder of the sustainability agency, Futerra.  He is also a co-presenter of Jon Richardson and the Futurenauts and a director of Greenpeace UK. Produced by Farmwel and the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission.

FAI Farms and McDonald's UK & Ireland have won Compassion in World Farming's prestigious Sustainable Food and Farming Award for their work on regenerative beef.  This is a four year project, centred on Adaptive Multi-paddock Grazing.  The results have been outstanding - so what are they - how have they been achieved - and what has FAI learned along the way? ffinlo Costain talks to FAI's Director of Regenerative Agriculture, Clare Hill, and their assistant farm manager, Silas Hedley-Lawrence. We also introduce new regen ag training, available online at FAI.Academy - and give you a Farm Gate discount code. Produced by Farmwel and FAI Farms.

This podcast is about the power and importance of communities.  To address the climate emergency, there is an urgent need to cede power to ordinary people so that they can design and deliver the changes necessary in their neighbourhoods.  Poverty remains a significant barrier for all governments in achieving net zero.  Community-led projects, for example centred on food, can all deliver carbon reductions, while also rewarding people with a lower cost of living, and the experience and confidence to work together for even greater change. ffinlo Costain speaks to James Goodman, Director of Partnerships and Learning for the Local Trust, Bryony Boyle from Selby Big Local, and Chris Blake the catalyst behind Project Skyline in the Brecon Beacons. Produced by Farmwel and the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission.

The impact of climate change is already being  felt by communities, through flooding and droughts. Farmers are the  first responders to these impacts, as well as being one of the few  economic sectors that can act as a sink,  rather than a source, of carbon. So what are farmers doing happen  differently on farms, and how can the UK speed this change? ffinlo Costain is joined by Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the UK Environment Agency, and Stuart Roberts, the deputy president of the National Farmers' Union.  Land Unlocked features high-level speakers and explores the challenges of delivering real action at this year’s COP26 conference.  Produced by Farmwel and the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission.

Land Unlocked is a podcast collaboration between Farm Gate and the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. This occasional series will feature a range of high-level speakers exploring the challenges of delivering real action at this year’s COP26 conference and other major global events taking place in 2021. Programmes will be broadcast on the Farm Gate channel.  In this programme, ffinlo Costain discusses land use, economics, optimism and story-telling, with Christiana Figueres and Professor Tim Jackson. Christiana Figueres is an internationally recognised leader on global climate change. She was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 2010 to 2016. Today she is the co-founder of Global Optimism, & co-host of the podcast 'Outrage & Optimism'. Her new book is called, 'The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis', which she co-authored with Tim Rivett-Carnac. Professor Tim Jackson is an ecological economist and writer. Since 2016 he has been Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, at the University of Surrey. Between 2004 and 2011 Tim was Economics Commissioner for the UK Sustainable Development Commission where his work culminated in a ground-breaking book Prosperity without Growth.  Produced by Farmwel and the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission.

In this programme we delve into the origins of regenerative agriculture, and what it means to be 'indigenous with the earth'.  What is this knowledge?  Where does it come from?  Can anyone claim ownership over regenerative principles?  ffinlo Costain talks to Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, President of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance.  Originally from Guatemala, Regi lives in Minnesota, USA, where he trains farmers in the production of regenerative poultry.  Regi's book, In the Shadow of the Green Man, weaves together stories from his upbringing in revolution-torn Guatemala, with his vision for regenerative farming. Produced by Farmwel.