Polly Davies never thought she'd be a farmer.

Listen as we hear about her journey back to the family farm from working in construction in London, her extremely diverse organic farming business, the challenges of direct selling produce, women in farming and wider industry, and much, much more.

www.sladefarmorganics.com

willpenrievans@gmail.com

Welcome to “We Need to Talk About Farming” – a new spin-off series from myself Will Evans and the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission.

There's a lot of noise in farming right now. For many, the future feels uncertain. This series is about having better conversations about the biggest issues facing agriculture. In each episode, we'll take on a topic that's making headlines and dividing social media and WhatsApp groups. We'll go beyond the buzzwords, cut through the cliches, and work out what really matters.

Look out for fortnightly episodes coming very soon!

By his own admittance, Tom Edmondson has been on quite the journey.

Listen as we talk about how changing to regenerative farming has transformed his business, his soils, the biodiversity on his farm, and his mental health. All this, and much more.

*Warning: Also includes sourdough bread chat

https://cranleybarnfarms.co.uk

willpenrievans@gmail.com

Adam Bedford's reputuation as the nicest bloke in agriculture is well deserved.

Listen as we talk about how he got into farming via an Uncle and a milk round, writing for Farmer's Weekly, his time working at the National Farmer's Union, including a stint in Brussels, his present role as Collaborative Projects Director at Fera Science (and what that means!), going viral with Jean Next Door™️, and the awesome Fieldwork Book Club.

All this and much, much more.

willpenrievans@gmail.com

Dan Smith's one of my favourite people in farming.

Listen as we talk about his early life moving all around the country with his farm manager father, we compare notes on how formal education wasn't for us, his time working on a chrity farm with children and young people from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds, the importance of putting yourself out of your comfort zone, our mutual dislike of 'isms', his future farming and family plans, and his Nuffield travels.

All this, and much, much more!

willpenrievans@gmail.com

Nikki Yoxall challenges conventional thinking.

Listen as we talk about how her and her husband James became first generation farmers, her strong environmental values, the pros and cons of farming social media, how they've grown their Grampian Graziers business by collaborating with landowners, the value of peer to peer learning and networks, Pasture for Life, and how the agricultural industry can be better at communicating with our customers.

We covered a lot of ground in this one!

willpenrievans@gmail.com

Andy Venables is one of the good guys.

Listen as we talk dairy farming, starting an award-winning digital marketing agency, dealing with testicular cancer, and much, much more.

www.hillsgreen.co.uk

Get in touch: willpenrievans@gmail.com

If ever there was a superhero origin story, it's right here.

Ben Taylor Davies talks about the terrible accident his young son had, and how it turned his life, mindset, and farm around completely. We cried, we laughed - it's all here - just listen.

willpenrievans@gmail.com