Ever wondered what goes on at all the food & farming events that take place throughout the year, but no time to actually go to them? Look no further – this special edition of the SFT Podcast lifts the lid on the most thought-provoking conversations and engaging debates that took place at our recent Harmony in Food & Farming event.

From conversations on how to finance the transition to sustainable farming, to how to stop paying so much for your farm's energy to what nutrient density is and how to get it – this episode provides a 30-minute rundown of the most interesting conversations being had in food and farming right now.

Watch this space for a future programme of events designed to find real solutions to the real challenges facing food and farming right now.

Find more SFT podcasts, featuring some of the most exciting names in food and farming, at our main podcast page. Keep up to date with news, policy updates and more by subscribing to our monthly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

These conversations were recorded at the SFT's Harmony in Food & Farming event at Bwlchwernen Fawr in West Wales in July 2026.

Timestamps:

0:00: Harmony in Food & Farming 2026

1:06: Measuring sustainability on farms

7:46: Farm-based education and outfoor learning

13:20: Renewable energy and fossil-free farming

19:15: Financing the sustainable agricultural transition

27:28: The link between environmental health and public health

34:15: Goodbye + share you feedback!

Our final episode recorded in our Podcast Tent at Groundswell this year, focused on a contentious yet hugely important topic: land use. Simply, do we have enough land in this country to do everything? To produce food, to support nature, to generate energy, to store carbon, to build housing, to maintain community spaces – the list goes on.

The SFT's Stuart Oates is joined by our CEO and organic dairy farmer, Patrick Holden, journalist and presenter of Countryfile and BBC Radio 4's Rare Earth, Tom Heap, and organic mixed farmer and Nuffield scholar, Dave Oates – they discuss whether or not crop rotations and rotational grazing offers the solution to doing it all, how 'agrihood' initiatives across the world are successfully integrating food growth and productive green spaces into residential areas, and ask how can regulation and government policies better support multifunctional land use?

Find more SFT podcasts, featuring some of the most exciting names in food and farming, at our main podcast page. Keep up to date with news, policy updates and more by subscribing to our monthly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

This conversation was recorded in the SFT Podcast Tent at Groundswell in July 2026, sponsored by The Rothschild Foundation. To listen to more podcasts recorded live at this year's festival, click here.

Timestamps

0:00: Welcome + who's on the podcast + initial thoughts

02:26: The challenges of land use and food production

05:21: Balancing nature and demand for food

08:27: The role of diets and consumer behaviour

11:48: Is animal agriculture a good use of land?

14:39: Innovative approaches to land use

17:45: Integrating agriculture with community development

21:39: Organic vs regenerative

24:07: Balancing productivity and environmental targets

28:43: Regulation and measurement in agriculture

29:43: Integrating solar and agrivoltaics

32:03: Community ownership

36:05: The future of biofuels and land use policy

39:33: What's one change you'd make to land use in the UK?

On this week's episode, Stuart Oates sits down with Summer Wyatt-Buchan, Craig Alexander Byrne and Jessica Walker – three members of Nuffield's Next-Gen class of 2026 to find out what really matters to the UK's next generation of farmers, what they think about the big regen debate and why they decided to visit no less than 45 farms around the UK – plus what they discovered along the way.

Find more SFT podcasts, featuring some of the most exciting names in food and farming, at our main podcast page. Keep up to date with news, policy updates and more by subscribing to our monthly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

This conversation was recorded in the SFT Podcast Tent at Groundswell in July 2026, sponsored by The Rothschild Foundation. To listen to more podcasts recorded live at this year's festival, read this month's newsletter or visit our podcasts page.

Learn more about the Nuffield Farming Next-Gen Scholarship and find out how to apply at https://www.nuffieldscholar.org/scholarships/nuffield-farming-next-gen-scholarships

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Timestamps

0:00: Introduction – what is the Nuffield Farming Next-Gen Scholarship?

01:50: Personal journeys into regenerative agriculture

04:45: Insights from farm visits

08:44: Reflections on the Nuffield Farming experience

12:27: Community engagement and social metrics in farming

15:34: The debate on regenerative certification

20:08: Bridging the gap between conventional and regenerative farming

25:04: Advice for future scholars