R2Kast - People in Food and Farming/All In

In the final episode of the series, we explore how the island's farmers have diversified their businesses to adapt to changing markets and build resilience for the future. Along the way, we'll discover how these new enterprises are creating benefits that extend far beyond the farm gate, supporting local jobs, producing essential goods and services, creating educational opportunities, and helping people reconnect with the land and the food they eat. Episode guestsAlisa CurrieAilsa Currie set up and runs the visitor and education programme at Bellevue Farm, a family-run beef, sheep and ar...

Field to Front Door – Episode 11 on regenerative farming, harvest decisions and learning from failureToday we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️David, Martin and Wallace catching up on everything from harvest preparations and regenerative farming to football, Yorkshire Show and what’s happening on their farms right now. Field to Front Door 11.pdfA big part of this episode was a deep dive into regenerative farming. We got into soil biology, Johnson Sue compost, seed treatments, crop rotations and why changing farming systems isn’t about finding one magic answer but lea...

Today I had Sally-Ann on the R2Kast 🎙️ What a conversation this was. Sally-Ann wears more hats than almost anyone I’ve had on the podcast, working across agriculture, entomology, ecology, palaeontology and education, while somehow also becoming part of the winning Hawstone Farmers Choir on Britain’s Got Talent. 🌾We started with the choir journey, from answering a social media advert looking for farmers who could hold a tune, through to filming adverts, building friendships and eventually standing on the Britain’s Got Talent stage. Sally-Ann shared what it felt like to go from an ordinary farmi...

Today on series two of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar supported by NFU Mutual we continue looking ahead to the 2026 Nuffield Farming Scholarships Conference in Leeds 🎙️ Across this series we’re hearing from scholars who will feature within the conference presentation groups, giving a flavour of the conversations, ideas and experiences set to shape the event 🌍This episode focuses on the presentation group “Strengthening the People Who Shape Our Sector” with Andrew Richardson, Lucia Slack, Natasha Edwards, Peter Green and Sharon May 🌱While many of the previous episodes have focused on crops, livestock, land use and natural r...

Do you thrive on challenge? Or perhaps you’re looking for someone who can help bring clarity to the whirlwind of running a business and a busy life? 🌱Today on the TwoCan Mentor podcast I was joined by Becci Berry and Andrew Ferguson 🎙️Becci came into farming from a completely different background in marketing and sponsorship, taking on the family farm following the loss of her husband and learning the industry from the ground up. Andrew’s journey saw him unexpectedly return home to take on the family farm after losing his father, building a diverse rura...

In this episode we meet four inspiring guests who are championing small-scale horticulture, alternative food systems and pollinator conservation on Arran. We learn how market gardens, community growing projects and foraging initiatives are helping to celebrate local produce, reconnect people with the land and strengthen social wellbeing. We also explore the important role that bees and honey production play in supporting biodiversity and food production across the island. Episode guestsSimon Ross-GillSimon is the Director and Project Coordinator of The Arran Pioneer Project CIC, a project working to regenerate Sc...

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️This one was recorded live from Groundswell, with David, Martin and Wallace all together in person for the first time after months of recording remotely.  We covered plenty in this episode, from the atmosphere at Groundswell and why it’s become such an important event for farmers, through to regenerative farming, cover crops, soil biology and how different approaches are changing the way people think about growing food.There was a fascinating discussion around compost, seed treatments and building healthier soils, with Marti...

Today I had Lauren on the R2Kast 🎙️ A food content creator, recipe developer and social media personality who has built a huge audience around cooking, local produce and great ingredients. 🌾We spoke about growing up in Scotland, working in hospitality and then spending more than a decade with Scottish Water before eventually taking the leap into content creation full time. It was a really honest discussion about balancing a career, family life and building something from scratch online while figuring out what actually mattered to her. 🍎  A big part of the conversation focused on f...

Today on series two of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar supported by NFU Mutual we continue looking ahead to the 2026 Nuffield Farming Scholarships Conference in Leeds 🎙️ Across this series we’re hearing from scholars who will feature within the conference presentation groups, giving a flavour of the conversations, ideas and experiences set to shape the event 🌍This episode focuses on the presentation group “Innovation in Modern Horticulture” with Polly Hilton and Lucy George 🌱While the Leeds presentation group will also include Ali Warren-Walker, a change in presentation groups meant Ali had already featured in the opening ep...

Do you feel you have expertise and experience to pass on? Or perhaps you’re looking for someone who can help you learn, grow and navigate the challenges ahead? 🌱Today on the TwoCan Mentor podcast I was joined by Ian Brown and Muhammad Umar 🎙️Ian is a third generation farmer, entrepreneur and business adviser who has spent his career building businesses across food, renewable energy and innovation. Muhammad grew up on a small livestock farm in Pakistan before studying overseas, completing a PhD focused on food systems resilience and food security in the UK. We spo...

In this episode, we explore arable farming on Arran, tracing the journey of locally grown grain from field to fork and glass.We begin at Bellevue Farm, where farmer Donald Currie grows malting barley on Arran’s fertile soils. From there, we follow the grain north to Lochranza Distillery, where Brand Ambassador Fred Baumgärtner explains how locally grown barley is transformed into the island’s world-renowned whisky. We finish our journey at Blackwater Bakehouse, where baker George Grassie shares his passion for artisan breadmaking, heritage grains, sustainability, health and nutrient-dense food.The phrase “follow the gra...

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️David, Martin and Wallace catching up after a busy few weeks of events, farm work and plenty of challenges along the way.  A big focus of this episode was peony season and the reality of trying to get thousands of stems picked, packed and delivered at exactly the right stage. We got into subscription boxes, customer expectations, delivery headaches and the challenge of managing fresh produce when timing is everything.We also spoke about Cereals, what stood out from the event, regenera...

Today I had Kate on the R2Kast 🎙️ Kate is Marketing Director at Cultura Connect and works at the heart of agricultural recruitment, helping connect businesses with the people they need while championing careers across the sector. 🌾We spoke about growing up on a dairy farm, studying Agricultural Economics at Reading and how her career took her through PR, events, retail and marketing before eventually leading into recruitment. It was a really interesting conversation about how varied agricultural careers can be and how often the path you end up on isn’t the one you originally planned. 🍎...

Today on series two of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar supported by NFU Mutual we continue looking ahead to the 2026 Nuffield Farming Scholarships Conference in Leeds 🎙️ Across this series we’re hearing from scholars who will feature within the conference presentation groups, giving a flavour of the conversations, ideas and experiences set to shape the event 🌍This episode focuses on the presentation group “Growing New Possibilities: Seaweed to Sustainable Timber” with Molly Gupta, Peter Rowe and Tom McVeigh 🌱We spoke about three very different journeys into land use and natural resource management, from seaweed farming a...

Do you feel you have expertise and experience to pass on? Or perhaps you’re looking for someone who can help you learn, grow and navigate the challenges ahead? 🌱Today on the TwoCan Mentor podcast I was joined by Nicky Gumery and Chris Bielby 🎙️Nicky has spent her career working in leadership and people development, while Chris comes from a background in ecology and nature conservation. Through the TwoCan Mentor programme they were paired together despite having very different experiences, and quickly discovered just how valuable those differences could be.  We spoke ab...

The episode features farmers, artisan food producers, and the distributers working to connect the two and create a thriving hyper-local milk market. We learn how collaboration and adding value is key to keeping dairy at the heart of the community.Milk production on Arran has a somewhat turbulent history, with external pressures such as pasteurisation legislation pushing the industry to the brink of collapse at the end of the twentieth century.  However, thanks to the determination and creativity of a small number of islanders, the last remaining dairy herd on Arran survives to this day, and the ind...

Today we’re back with Field to Front Door 🎙️David, Martin and Wallace catching up right in the middle of what can only be described as peak peony madness.  A big part of this episode focused on the realities of direct selling during the busiest part of the season. We got into subscription boxes, picking peonies at exactly the right stage, managing labour, and the challenge of trying to get a product from field to customer as fresh as possible.There was also a fascinating discussion around logistics and delivery. David sh...

From the early days of crofting and subsistence farming to the present day, animal protein has provided an essential and highly valuable source of nutrients for Arran’s population. While sheep and beef production have always been central to Arran’s farming economy, venison is now also being embraced as a sustainable protein source that can help to combat the growing threat that the wild deer population poses to island ecosystems.In this first episode of our new series Agroecology Around Arran, we explore how the production of meat on Arran embraces the ethos of agroecology, how farmers are...

Today on series two of Tales of a Nuffield Scholar supported by NFU Mutual we continue looking ahead to the 2026 Nuffield Farming Scholarships Conference in Leeds 🎙️ Across this series we’re hearing from scholars who will feature within the conference presentation groups, giving a flavour of the conversations, ideas and experiences set to shape the event 🌍This episode focuses on the presentation group “Livestock Systems Built for the Future” with Awal Fuseini, Alex Crawley and Laura Eden 🌱We spoke about three very different journeys into agriculture and Nuffield, from veterinary science and halal meat systems thro...

Today I had Cora on the R2Kast 🎙️ A first generation farmer who, alongside her husband David, now runs a large hill sheep enterprise in East Ayrshire while also becoming a leading voice around sustainability, biodiversity and women in agriculture. 🌾We spoke about her route into farming from a background in law, PR and events with absolutely no agricultural connection before meeting David and gradually becoming part of the business. It was a really honest discussion about learning on the job, questioning everything and finding her own place within the farm rather than simply fitting into what was...