Meet the Farmers

Ben is joined by insect farmer and Nuffield scholar David Tavenor to discuss insect farming as a livestock protein source.

Ben speaks to the CEO of the Sustainable Food Trust and Ceredigion dairy farmer Patrick Holden.

Ben delves into the archive to speak to Helen Browning and Edward Vipond.

Ben delves into the Meet the Farmers archive and digs up 2 previous episodes.

Ben delves into the MTF archive again and this week Wilfred Emmanuel Jones and Anna Jones are featured.

Ben delves into the archive featuring 3 farmers from previous episodes.

Ben meets former vegan and current dairy farmer Alistair Macbeth.

Ben visits Groundswell and speaks to farmers about scaling regenerative agriculture.

Ben meets Jake Freestone, the farm manager at Overbury Farms in Worcestershire.

Ben is joined by dairy farmer Rory Christie who farms 100 cows in south west Scotland.

Ben meets Will Oliver, the 2022 Farmers Weekly Arable Farmer of the Year who also raises poultry indoors in Leicestershire.

Ben meets Kirsty and Aimee Budge who run the only monitor farm on the Shetland Islands.

Ben meets Devon farmer Rupert Shinner who recently travelled to Japan to find out more about its agriculture.

Ben meets Francesca Cooper, a rural surveyor turned farmer who now farms with her business partner on the Isle of Wight.

Today we head to Colorado in the US to meet Lauren Johnson. Lauren's family ranch at Flying Diamond Cattle Ranch.

Ben visits the Cultivate rural business summit near Macclesfield.

Ben heads to Georgia in the US to meet Avery Wrigglesworth who runs Lily Hill farm.

April 21st was World Curlew Day and today's episode is partly about celebrating the curlew, as well as profiling Leigh Weston who farms with her partner Neil Heseltine in the Yorkshire Dales.

Ben heads to Cornwall to speak to Cornish beef farmer Ben Thomas, who recently featured in the film 6 Inches of Soil.

We look back at some previous episodes with Fred Price, Abi Reader and Nikki Yoxall.

Ben speaks to Bal Padda who grows soft fruit in Worcestershire. Bal's parents moved from Punjab to the UK and started growing in 1997 on just 7 acres. Today the business has grown to 136 acres.

Ben speaks to soft fruit grower Anna Barton who used to work in interior design before meeting her husband and moving to the farm.

Ben meets beef and hazelnut farmer Ian Farrant. Ian was Farmers Weekly's Beef Farmer of the Year in 2023.

Ben travels to Somerset to interview former MP and MEP Neil Parish who resigned his Parliamentary seat in 2022 after watching porn in the House of Commons. He has now returned to his family's farm in Somerset where he farms beef cattle.

Ben speaks to the producer, director and two stars of new film Six Inches of Soil.

Ben meets apple grower Kait Thornton who is from Washington State in the US. Alongside the family fruit business Kait launched her own business Kait's Crates using Facebook Marketplace.

Mike Duxbury has been blind since he was 6 years old but always had an ambition to be a farmer. After a varied career he co-founded the Inclusive Farm two years ago to inspire disabled people in achieving their dreams.

Ben speaks to Ohio farmer Zoe Kent who grows corn and soybeans and has recently taken over managing the farm from her father.

Ben meets Welsh farmer Huw Foulkes who has brought beef and dairy back to his family farm.

Ben is joined this week by Wiltshire arable and beef farmer Ben Cooper.

The Oteley Estate in Shropshire has been in the Mainwaring family for 500 years. Ben speaks to Clare Mainwaring to find out more.

Ben speaks to agricultural consultant Niels Corfield about soils, regenerative agriculture and the future of farming.

Ben speaks to Aussie dairy farmer Rachael McGrath.

Ben heads to New Zealand to meet Norwegian dairy and beef farmer Ola Utgaard.

Ben is joined by Sue Pritchard, Stuart Roberts, Jez Fredenburgh and Ranald Angus to round up the year...you won't want to miss the end!

Ben meets Staffordshire arable and beef farmer Andrew Court.

Ben speaks to Shropshire farm manager Michael Kavanagh who is also a founding director of the Green Farm Collective.

Ben last visited turkey farmer Paul Kelly in June 2017 (episode 8). How have things changed on the farm since then?

Ben meets Surrey farmer and co-host of the Farmers Weekly Podcast Hugh Broom.

Ben meets Lancashire beef and arable farmer Amy Wilkinson who is also a columnist with Farmers Guardian.

Ben talks sheep this week with sheep consultant, farmer and Nuffield Scholar Matt Blyth.

Meet fifth generation Leicestershire dairy farmer Amy Eggleston who runs a successful social media account.

Produced in association with the Forestry Commission in this series we look at farm woodlands and agroforestry. In the third and final episode we look at making a woodland management plan.

Produced in association with the Forestry Commission in this series we look at farm woodlands and agroforestry. In the second episode farmers put their questions to a panel of foresters.

Produced in association with the Forestry Commission in this series we look at farm woodlands and agroforestry. In the first episode we ask 'why' should we improve our management of trees on farms?

Ben is joined by Just Farmers founder Anna Jones alongside rural affairs journalist and broadcaster Tom Heap and farmers Ceri Squire and Charles Goadby to celebrate 5 years of Just Farmers. However, what does its future look like?

Ben speaks to Hertfordshire arable farmer and member of the NFU's Next Gen group, Eveey Hunter.

Ben visits the Agroforestry Show and speaks to people attending and proponents of agroforestry about the future for agroforestry in farming.

Ben speaks to sheep and beef farmer Tom Carlisle who farms in the Yorkshire Dales. Tom and his wife Aimee have had a rollercoaster year with some extreme highs and lows. Tom explains why.

Ben talks pigs with Mark Jagger who is Assistant Grower Farms Manager for BQP and is based in Suffolk.

We hear from 6 farmers across the UK with their harvest reports for 2023.

Ben speaks to the Editor and Founder of Practical Farm Ideas Magazine Mike Donovan who has also been a dairy farmer in Wales for much of his life.

Ben speaks to Liz Bowles who is a sheep farmer based in Devon and the Chief Executive of the Farm Carbon Toolkit.

Ben speaks to Gwyndaf Thomas who runs a 430-acre dairy farm in the rolling hills of Carmarthenshire in West Wales.

Ben speaks to Irish beef and sheep farmer and host of the Out the Gap Podcast - Noel Clancy.

Ben speaks to Anna Bowen who is involved in the agricultural industry in many ways including as a dairy farmer, consultant and writer. She is also a Nuffield Scholar. We discuss her Nuffield study on the ethics of dairy calf management.

Ben is joined by health and safety expert Richard Wade to discuss safety on farms, marking this year's Farm Safety Week.

Ben meets farmer and entrepreneur Chris Dickinson from Cumbria. Chris has wide interests and wears many hats in ag.

Ben visits the Groundswell Agriculture Festival and speaks to organiser Alex Cherry as well as lots of people around the show to understand what regenag means for people today.

Is it possible to work out the maximum profit potential of your farm? Can producing less actually result in a bigger profit and a more optimised situation for nature? Ben speaks to Chris Clark and Brian Scanlon from Nethergill Associates to learn more about 'Maximum Sustainable Output'.

Ben speaks to Huw Evans who runs Three Pools Farm near Abergavenny, which is based on permaculture principles.

Ben speaks to Rachel Stratton aka 'The Global Farmher' who is currently in Canada and has worked in many countries around the world as a freelance contractor and shepherd.

Dan Smith is the Farm Manager at the Monmouthshire farm for Jamie's Farm, a charity which takes disadvantaged young people and others on to farms for a residential stay, focusing on farming, family, therapy and legacy.

Ben looks back on episodes 100-199 in this episode and is joined by Will Evans who is a farmer from north Wales, Chair of the Oxford Farming Conference, Farmers Weekly back page columnist and podcaster.

Ben speaks to Irish dairy farmer Bruce Thompson about his farming journey, Nuffield, dung beetles, farm labour in Ireland and encouraging new entrants into farming.

Ben is joined by new entrant Adam Short who farms in Devon alongside running his agri-software business.

Ben speaks to Cambridgeshire grower Calixta Killander who founded Flourish in 2017.

Ben is joined by LEAF’s Open Farm Sunday Manager Annabel Shackleton and poultry and arable farmer Jenny Olds from Cornwall to discuss this year's Open Farm Sunday event.

Jessica Langton is a Derbyshire dairy farmer with a real passion for the industry. She has an industry based job away from the farm and a keen interest in sustainability.

Ben meets Lincolnshire arable farmer Charles Anyan who is a keep ambassador for mental health as well as a marathon runner.

Ben heads to the Isle of Man to meet father and son Ean and Harry Parsons.

Ben heads up to the northmost part of Scotland, Caithness, this week to meet arable, beef and sheep farmer Ranald Angus. Ranald is also doing a Nuffield Scholarship on the topic of carbon markets.

Ben meets Cumbria based cheesemaker, sheep and goat farmer Martin Gott.

Ben meets Helen Griffiths who runs multiple enterprises on her small farm in Gloucestershire.

Ben speaks to Hampshire based pig farmer Flavian Obiero who is a keen proponent for talking about diversity within farming and the rural space.

Ben travels to Suffolk to visit the author of 'Rooted: Stories of Life, Land and a Farming Revolution ', Sarah Langford.

Ben speaks to Josh Heyneke who farms ducks for eggs with his wife Abi in Pembrokeshire. Josh and Abi left their city lives to go farming, and have experienced many trials since then. Last year Josh made a video called How to Fail at Farming and launched a crowd funding campaign to save the farm. This is his story.

Ben speaks to Cambridgeshire arable farmer, and current President of Cambridgeshire Young Farmers, Luke Abblitt, who has done more than 30 schools talks since September.

Ben speaks to farmer and consultant Ben Taylor Davies aka Regen Ben about his personal journey towards regenerative agriculture.

Jen Braithwaite is one half of JB Farming Life. They are arable farmers from Lincolnshire and we discuss the various challenges of the arable sector, as well as Jen's previous career off the farm.

Ben speaks to Russ Carrington, most recently Manager at Knepp Regenerative Farms and also formerly General Manager at the Pasture Fed Livestock Association.

Ben speaks to Cornish dairy farmer Heydon Dark who was awarded Young Dairy Farmer of the Year at the 2022 Cream Awards.

Ben speaks to delegates and speakers from this year's Oxford Farming Conference and Oxford Real Farming Conference about how agriculture can be a force for good, and supply chain reform.

Ben is joined by Emily Norton, Guy Smith, Gareth Wyn-Jones and Sophie Gregory to look back on the year in farming and have a bit of fun along the way with the annual quiz!

Ben meets Karl Franklin aka 'The Pretend Farmer' on Instagram, who left his career as a chef to take up sheep farming.

Jon Burgess and Ben Eagle are joined by David Brass from The Lakes Free Range Egg Company in Cumbria and Devon farmer Andy Gray to discuss the concept of agroforestry and how integrating trees into agricultural systems can benefit an entire farm business as well as animal welfare and environmental resilience.

For episode 2 of this mini-series Jon and Ben are joined by Devon forester Sam Whatmore and Jemima Letts from the Chatsworth Estate to discuss their enterprises and highlight opportunities for making money from trees on farms. From grants to woodfuel and carbon credits to timber, the opportunities are diverse.

In this new mini-series produced in partnership with the Forestry Commission Jon Burgess and Ben Eagle are joined by Clive Thomas (Senior Advisor in Regenerative Forestry at the Soil Association) to discuss how to boost biodiversity on farms and in farm woodland, continuous cover forestry and ask how farmers can make the most of trees on their land.

Ben speaks to Alec Laing from the Logie Estate in Moray, who are preparing for their Christmas season. Ben is joined by James Dawson from A-Plan Rural who are supporting this episode.

For International Leadership week Ben speaks to Cambridgeshire farmer and Nuffield Scholar Toby Simpson who also served with the Grenadier Guards following Sandhurst.

Ben speaks to sheep farmer, contractor and consultant James Edwards from JJ Livestock Solutions. James recently won the Gold Award for the New Entrant Category at the British Farming Awards. He is currently based in Hampshire but with sheep in Shropshire, Wales, West Berkshire and Lincolnshire. He has an inspiring attitude to life.

Ben travels to just outside of Bath to meet Somerset arable (and wine) farmer Emily Addicott-Sauvao.

Ben meets Jim Beary who farms beef, sheep, pigs and chickens in the Westmorland Dales which is in Cumbria but part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Ben speaks to Amanda Owen, who is probably one of, if not the most recognised farmers in the UK, having appeared on most of the main tv channels in series like The Dales and Our Yorkshire Farm, which has become one of Channel 5s most popular programmes, attracting over 3 million viewers.

Ben speaks to Ali Capper who farms apples and hops in Worcestershire and is on numerous boards including the NFU's Horticulture and Potatoes Board.

Ben talks pigs with Yorkshire farmer Kate Moore (nee Morgan) who farms 1700 breeding sows. It has been a tough year for the pig sector, and we hear about how it's been for Kate's farm.

Ben speaks to Emma O'Donnell, founder of the DPJ Foundation. In July 2016 Emma's husband Dan died by suicide and Emma established the DPJ Foundation following Dan's death, helping thousands of farmers since then.

Ben speaks to Bizza Walters (better known to those of you on instagram as @adventuresofashephherdess) about sheep, succession, young farmers, running the London Marathon and much more.