Farm Gate (ffinlo Costain )

The Farm Gate news channel is part of 8point9.com

Today we're frontloading the programme with conversations about baselining, banking and funding the transition - we'll hear from Lee Reeves from Lloyds, Adam White from Barclays and Doug Wanstall who wants to bring integrity into carbon markets. Later, Andrew Whiteford will explain a little of the business-case for tree-planting in Scotland - Valentin Pitiot will extol the virtues of giant kelp - and Dan McAlpine will talk to us about why Compassion in World Farming has turned the spotlight onto UK retailers' chicken supply chains.

ffinlo Costain speaks to:

Adam White from Barclays Business Banking - 0'54''

Lee Reeves from Lloyds Banking Group - 12'00

Doug Wanstall from Beyond Zero - 24'40''

Valentin Pitiot from Kelp Blue - 37'25''

Andrew Whiteford of Ulzieside Farm - 51'26''

Dan McAlpine from Compassion in World Farming - 1,00' 58''

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft - he's a good guy, right? Africa's food system has been a major recipient of Gates' $59bn philanthropy. But is Gates helping African food systems - or destroying them? Is he ending hunger - or depleting land resilience and contributing to food insecurity and societal instability?

I'm joined by Tim Schwab, author of the new book, The Bill Gates Problem - and by Million Belay, the co-founder of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa.

This is the first of five programmes in which we showcase farmers who are putting agroecology into practice.  In this episode we're focussing on beef production.  ffinlo Costain talks to Nikki Yoxall from Howe Mill Farm in Aberdeenshire, and Denise Walton from Peelham Farm in Berwickshire.  Nikki and Denise are Agroecology Ambassadors for the Soil Association.
This series is produced by Farmwel, supporting the 10 Years for Agroecology campaign run by the Soil Association and the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission. 
Other episodes will focus on mixed farming, arable, dairy, and horticulture & veg.

#FarmerAmbassador #agroecology #FarmingforChange

This is the first in a series in which we talk to regenerative dairy producers from around the world - as part of the Regen Dairy project, set up by FAI Farms and Farmwel, in collaboration with Unilever, Barry Callebaut, Arla Foods, Woolworth South Africa and Ben & Jerry’s.

In this programme, ffinlo Costain talks to Blake Alexandre, from Alexandre Family Farm, California, USA, and Bryce Cunningham, from Mossgiel Farm in Scotland, about the challenges of scaling regenerative dairy.

Produced by Farmwel and FAI Farms.

Interviews with:

Max Bodmer from RePlanet - 1'05''

Elina Body from Vet Sustain and The George Farm Vets - 14'45''

Dr Kelly Hemmings from RAU - 24'50''

Navaratnam Partheeban from IVC Evidensia Farm Vets - 30'50''

Changing the way we manage hydrology is essential if we're to restore ecological security.  This programme is the recording of a Food & Global Security Network webinar called, Restoring Water Cycles.  It features globally renowned soil microbiologist, Walter Jehne, from Regenerate Earth, and regenerative farming coach, Caroline Grindrod, from Roots of Nature.  The discussion is chaired by ffinlo Costain.

Dr Tara Garnett (FCRN) and Caroline Grindrod (Primal Meats) join ffinlo Costain to discuss whether 'vegan' has become a dirty word? Produced by Farmwel.

We're investigating how farmers and land managers can create income streams from restoring peatland.

Why is peatland important? What's the difference between upland and lowland peatland markets? How can farmers fund projects and sell credits? And what's the role of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme?

I'm joined by Andy Howard, Chief Executive of CSX Carbon - and Sam Welsh, Head of Sales and Marketing at Forest Carbon.

This is the eighth episode in our series: Filling the Funding Gap, in which we discuss how natural capital markets can help farmers transition towards resilient and regenerative food production.

Filling the Funding Gap is sponsored by Barclays, Environment Bank, Forest Carbon, Howdens Insurance, Regenerate and Saffery. Farm Gate is part of 8point9.com - the land use news channel.

Demand for new woodland is growing for everything from timber to carbon sequestration. But forests take up space - and competition for land is increasing. How do we balance the demands of food production, nature, housing and infrastructure, with the need for new woodland and forest products?  

ffinlo Costain is joined by Andrew Heald, a consultant specialising in sustainable forests and plantations, and by Martin Lines, the chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network.

Produced by Farmwel.

Phil Carson (Nature Friendly Farming Network) and ffinlo Costain (8point9.com) discuss the week's news - and are joined by special guest, farm business and succession adviser, Heather Wildman.

News stories Phil and ffinlo discuss:

Scottish Forestry rejects findings of Royal Society of Edinburgh tree report

Non-native Sycamore is third most common British tree

European Parliament votes to criminalise ecosystem destruction

Government policy “inconsistent” and failing to deliver on farm antibiotic use

Food and farming policies “fettered by neoliberal economics” says SDP

And,

NFFN Cymru unveils five-point plan for Welsh Government

Special guest Heather Wildman is from Saviour Associates - visit her website

Signatories to the European Chicken Commitment must move from standard intensive indoor production systems for rearing meat chickens, to more humane, extensive indoor systems by the 1st of January 2026.  The Commitment has attracted widespread attention from broiler producers, and several major brands have already signed up - including KFC. How will the Commitment improve the lives and deaths of chickens reared for meat?  What are the practical implications of delivering the required standards, within the established time-frame? In this programme ffinlo Costain talks to Jenny Packwood, Director of Responsibility & Reputation for KFC UK & Ireland, and to Annie Rayner and Kelly Watson, experts in broiler systems and behaviour, working at FAI Farms. Produced by Farmwel and FAI Farms.

Four conversations today - first, I'll meet David Wright, the Chief Executive of Ecometric, to find out about how exactly soil carbon is measured - then after that I'll talk to Chris D'Agorne from Life to Land about an analysis that shows that the non-native sycamore is now the UK's third most populous tree species. Later I'll discuss the benefits of having more trees on farms with Huw Evans from Three Pools, and we'll round up the programme with a conversation about the Westminster government's proposals for mandatory method of production labelling with Peter Stevenson and Catherine Jadav from Compassion in World Farming.

Phil Carson (Nature Friendly Farming Network) and ffinlo Costain (8point9.com) chew through the week's land news, and talk to special guest, Rachel Jones (Sustain), about local food.

News topics discussed:

Scotland: Yousaf to continue 70 per cent direct funding, dependent on greening

https://8point9.com/scotland-yousaf-to-continue-70-per-cent-direct-funding-dependent-on-greening/

Survey reveals bleak relations between landlords and tenant farmers - FFINLO

https://8point9.com/survey-reveals-bleak-relations-between-landlords-and-tenant-farmers/

“Hidden” record of UK’s historic biodiversity to be digitised - PHIL

https://8point9.com/hidden-record-of-uks-historic-biodiversity-to-be-digitised/

UK-wide exhibition spotlights regenerative food producers - FFINLO

https://8point9.com/uk-wide-exhibition-spotlights-regenerative-food-producers/

Traceability markers to deliver transparency in recycled cotton supply chain - PHIL

https://8point9.com/traceability-markers-to-deliver-transparency-in-recycled-cotton-supply-chain/

Cairngorms awarded £10.7 million to become first net zero UK National Park

https://8point9.com/cairngorms-awarded-10-7-million-to-become-first-net-zero-uk-national-park/

National Parks must work for everyone

https://8point9.com/national-parks-must-work-for-everyone/

This is the third episode in our series: Filling the Funding Gap, in which we discuss how particular natural capital markets work and whether they can help farmers to bridge the gap between public payments and the real costs of transition towards resilient and regenerative food production.

ffinlo Costain is joined by two experts from Regenerate Outcomes: Matt Jordon, Chief Scientific Officer and Tom Dillon, Director.

Farm Gate's Filling the Funding Gap series is sponsored by Barclays, Environment Bank, Forest Carbon, Howdens Insurance, Regenerate and Saffery.

8point9.com⁠ editor, ffinlo Costain, is joined by farmer and columnist, Joe Stanley, for Farm Gate's monthly chat through the big land use topics of the moment.

In this podcast the duo discuss the ongoing battle around inheritance tax - the government's land use framework - and ask whether gene editing is a force for good?

(Views expressed in the podcast by Joe and ffinlo do not necessarily represent the views of their respective companies and organisations.)

What exactly do the Soil Association mean by a Worm Hunt, and why do they want us to dance for these wriggly ecosystem warriors? Can venture capital really help to scale the transition to regenerative agriculture? Why has deer management become such a divisive issue in Scotland? And the latest UK Peatland Code revision is now open for consultation.

Interviews with:

Dr Renée Kerkvliet-Hermans from the IUCN UK Peatland Programme - 0'25''

Alex Burton, Head of Worms at the Soil Association - 7'57''

Simon Evill from Pelican Ag - 12'51''

Tom Turnbull from the Association of Deer Management Groups - 22'13''

One of the greatest challenges for global transformation is mindset shift - and because, in terms of food systems, this transformation needs to happen in so many places at once, it can be very difficult for individuals to feel that they're actually making a difference. The Inner Development Goals framework has been developed to support and foster the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Alongside this, the UN Development Programme has established the Conscious Food Systems Alliance. ffinlo Costain talks to Thomas Legrand, author of Politics of Being, and Lead Technical Advisor to the Conscious Food Systems Alliance - and Klaudia Shevelyuk, a sustainability consultant and communications manager for the UN's Inner Development Goals. Klaudia also talks about her harrowing experience of conflict in Ukraine, and explains how the IDGs helped her to cope.

Carbon tunnel vision is a nasty disease that can create a strongly distorted perspective on agricultural land use and food production.  This programme will help to remedy the condition, by showing that land use decisions are complex.  ffinlo Costain is joined by Adele Jones, the deputy chief executive of the Sustainable Food Trust, and by Ashleigh Bright, a food systems and sustainability scientist, based in New Zealand.

Five interviews today - on topics ranging from the constant struggle for tenant farmers to dangers of slurry pollution.

1'08'' Martin Lines from the Nature Friendly Farming Network discusses the NFFN's general election manifesto, which includes a call for a fit-for-purpose farming budget

12'29'' Peter Powell from the Welsh Dee Trust talks about the terrible impact farm slurry can have on rivers

20'34'' Vicky Vanderstichele from North Star Transition tells me that scale is critical when it comes to financing nature-based solutions

32'09'' George Dunn, the chief executive of the Tenant Farmers Association, tells me about the often poor relationship between tenant farmers and their landlords

42'35'' And finally, Robin Walter from the Soil Association, makes the case for regenerative forestry.

Many farmers have been dismayed by a clause in the UK Planning and Infrastructure Bill that will give Natural England the power to acquire farmland compulsorily to meet nature recovery objectives. The concern has been heightened further because compulsory purchase prices will exclude 'hope value'.

8point9.com's ffinlo Costain is joined by Rob Hindle from Rural Solutions and Gabriel Connor-Streich from Greenshank Environmental.

George Eustice has been the Conservative MP for Camborne and Redruth since 2010. He was a Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2015 to 2020 - and served as the Secretary of State at Defra from 2020 to 2022.

Mr Eustice has been the longest serving minister at Defra in the post-referendum period, providing a relatively rare point of consistency and stability in what was a time of substantial disruption in British politics.

In this podcast Mr Eustice discusses his time in government, with the Chief Editor of https://8point9.com, ffinlo Costain.

ffinlo Costain speaks to Dougald Hine, author of 'At Work in the Ruins: Finding our place in the time of climate crisis and other emergencies'. Hine is a social thinker, writer and speaker, and one of the great minds behind the Dark Mountain Project.

We talk about his new book, and about the role of agriculture and food production in taking humanity through ecological, social and economic collapse.

You can buy Hine's book - At Work in the Ruins - at all good book shops, on the street, or online.

It's widely accepted that climate change can impact on food availability in developing countries, potentially leading to conflict.  But what about developed nations such as the UK or the USA?  Could our own food supplies be threatened by climate change?  Could the complexity of our supply chains make us more vulnerable than we realise?   ffinlo Costain speaks to Caitlin Werrell, the co-founder of the Washington-based Centre for Climate & Security, which works closely with the Pentagon, and to Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, the UK's former Climate, Energy & Security Envoy. Produced by Farmwel.

What does war in Ukraine, and the global response to conflict, tell us about global food production and food systems more broadly?

ffinlo Costain is joined by Chantal Wei-Ying Clément, deputy director of IPES Food, Joona Mikkola from Soil Watch and Sue Pritchard from the UK's Food, Farming and Countryside Commission.

Produced by Farmwel, with support from FAI Farms.

Small abattoirs are essential infrastructure, but they're in serious decline - seen by the UK Government as a 'nice to have' that serves the middle classes, rather than a 'must have' to deliver climate, biodiversity and soil security - and to support rural economies and farming communities.

Another nail was recently hammered into the small abattoir coffin, as Mettrick's abattoir in Glossop closed for business.

ffinlo Costain talks to John Mettrick, Master Butcher and chairman of the Abattoir Sector Group, Simon Doherty, former president of the British Veterinary Association, and Hannah Thorogood, an agroecological livestock farmer based in Lincolnshire.

Farm Gate host, ffinlo Costain, talks to Laura Higham (FAI Farms/Vet Sustain) and Simon Doherty (British Veterinary Association).  We ask how vets contribute to sustainability - and what’s the link between animal welfare, and good environmental management and performance on farms? Produced by Farmwel and FAI Farms.

Phil Carson (Nature Friendly Farming Network) and ffinlo Costain (8point9.com) discuss Labour's landslide general election victory, and what it means for food, farming and nature.

This is Phil's last WFTC, as he moves on to a new role in Northern Ireland. A BIG thank you for all his knowledge and expert conversation.

In this programme, we discuss a feature film, Six Inches of Soil, which is currently in production in the UK.  The film is being crowd-funded by organisations and individuals, and its producers want to ensure that - even as we are driven towards an ecological precipice fuelled in part by an industrialised food system - we recognise that the dirt beneath our feet is what feeds us and makes our societies strong.

ffinlo Costain is joined by Colin Ramsay, the director of Six Inches of Soil, and by Claire Mackensie, the film's producer.

Produced by Farmwel.

In Wheat from the Chaff (WFTC) ffinlo Costain (Editor-in-Chief of 8point9.com) and Phil Carson (UK Policy Lead for the Nature Friendly Farming Network) talk through the week's news on 8.9ha.

SHOW LINKS - PHIL'S PICKS:

Strength in diversity – mapping healthy microbiome relationships

M&S Food donates one million meals in new partnership with FareShare

Transformational impact of Farms for City Children highlighted by Harper Adams research

FFINLO'S PICKS:

Nuffield report calls for increased support for Black and People of Colour in agricultur

Red Tractor says “sorry” and puts Greener Farms Commitment on hold

Green walls flourish at Dutch Design Week

MAIN CONVERSATIONS:

Petition calls for the proposed EU Soil Health Law to be supported, but tightened

The Guardian questions motives of Dublin Declaration authors

Demand for sustainable fabrics could exceed supply by 130m tonnes by 2030

FURTHER LISTENING:

Farm Gate: Diversity in agriculture & animal sciences

Farm Gate: What does less and better mean?

We'll hear from Jerry Alford from the Soil Association, Beth Metson from the Soil Association Exchange - and Lauren Baker from the Global Alliance for the Future of Food will tell us that we need to respect farmer experience and indigenous knowledge as much as we do peer-reviewed science.

I'll talk to Neil Nicholas from Coleg Sir Gar about slurry spreading, and Charlie Taverner from the FFCC will tell us what the UK government's got wrong about food security.

First up, I discuss the 'Land squeeze’ report with Nettie Wiebe from IPES-Food.

Nettie Wiebe, IPES-Food - 0' 42''

Lauren Baker, Global Alliance for the Future of Food - 11' 40''

Jerry Alford, Soil Association - 25' 40''

Beth Metson, Soil Association Exchange - 34' 42''

Neil Nicholas, Coleg Sir Gar - 44' 35''

Dr Charlie Taverner, Food, Farming and Countryside Commission - 52' 01''

Farm Gate host ffinlo Costain discusses Covid 19 and the crisis in our food systems with Dr David Nabarro, Special Envoy of the World Health Organization Director-General on Covid-19, and Prof Melissa Leach CBE, a member of the Brussels-based International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, otherwise known as IPES-Food.  The discussion includes zoonotic spillover, One Health, and the strengths and weaknesses in the global food system. Produced by Farmwel.

Breed is critical to any livestock operation and an active breeding programme helps farmers to develop their herd around particular beneficial traits.

In the run up to the British Cattle Breeders Club conference this January, we've been taking an in-depth look at how the traits and characteristics needed for regenerative farming differ from mainstream cattle production.

We'll hear from three farmers with active on-farm breeding programmes - Sophie Wilson from Starveall Dairy - Silas Hedley Lawrence from FAI Farms - and Phyllis van Amburgh from Dharma Lea in the USA. We also hear from Rob Havard, who runs the breeding farm, Phepson Angus.

From 8point9.com

ffinlo Costain (8.9) and Phil Carson (Nature Friendly Farming Network) discuss the week's land use news.

Clash of world views:

Parliamentary push back against regen farming based on “outdated world view”

Green Alliance: Failure to support farmers to cut carbon could cost £100 billion by 2050

Cost of poor food policy:

Annual cost of UK obesity soars to £98 billion

Cost of living crisis results in lowest vegetable purchases for 50 years

COP28:

The Elders’ calls to action for COP28

Exploring the benefits of shade and shelter

Andrew Mahon, Bromborough Estate Company, Agroforestry

UK food basket at risk from extreme weather

Policy:

Welsh farming and environment groups call for rural budget to be maintained

This is the final programme in our Regen Dairy mini-series. Today we're visiting Germany, and ffinlo Costain talks to two regenerative dairy farmers - Anja Hradetzky, who farms at Hof Stolze Kuh in northeast Brandenburg, and Annabelle Gerard who farms at Hof Tangsehl in Lower Saxony.

Regen Dairy is a partnership project of Farmwel and FAI Farms, in collaboration with Arla Foods, Barry Callebaut, Ben & Jerry’s, Unilever, and Woolworth South Africa - you can find out more about the project at regendairy.org 

In this programme, ffinlo Costain talks to two storytelling giants from the world of farming - Graham Harvey, former scriptwriter and farming story editor for the long-running BBC Radio drama, The Archers - And Ben Eagle who runs the podcast agency RuralPod Media and is the host of two farming podcasts: Rural Business Focus and Meet The Farmers.

They talk about the public perception of farming, the stories the industry chooses to tell, and how storytelling helps to shape the political, scientific and practical choices of farmers and policymakers.

They also talk about The Archers and the role that it's played in shaping the public and political perception of farming issues.

Graham's book, Underneath the Archers can be found at Waterstones and on Amazon. RuralPod Media can be found here.

⁠8point9.com⁠⁠⁠ editor, ffinlo Costain, is joined by farmer and columnist, Joe Stanley - they discuss the abrupt closure of SFI24, the Sustainable Farming Scheme, and what that means for farmers and the countryside - they look at Paying The Price, a report by the Food Farming & Countryside Commission into UK diets - and they talk about the opportunity to stack natural capital services with food production.

(Views expressed in the podcast by Joe and ffinlo do not necessarily represent the views of their respective companies and organisations.)

Many governments see farm expansion as the future of agriculture, but there's a grave risk that this will simply embed the challenges inherent in today's food system.  Instead we need diversity - and small farms play a critical a role.

ffinlo Costain talks to Chris Smaje, author of A Small Farm Future, published by Chelsea Green.  

Produced by Farmwel.

In this programme we'll ask - what do UK farmers need to do first to access nature payments?

ffinlo Costain is joined by:

Holly Story, Head of Nature-based Solutions at National Parks Partnerships

Guy Thallon, Head of Natural Environment at Castle Howard

And David Wright, founder and CEO of Ecometric

We're talk about what can be measured and how - options for payments - actions that can be stacked with food and fibre production - and baselining and outcome measures.

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.

At the UK prime minister’s summit this week a package of measures to support British farming was unveiled. But the summit failed to address the enormous existing and future fragility in Britain’s food system – or its impact on the natural world, public health, global supply chains or indeed the wellbeing of those actually living and working in the countryside. What should have been on the table at the prime minister’s Downing Street Food Summit? Our panel: Martin Lines, Chair, Nature Friendly Farming Network Phil Stocker, Chief Executive, National Sheep Association Natalie Bennett, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, Green Party Sue Pritchard, Chief Executive, Food, Farming & Countryside Commission Rebecca Mayhew, Old Hall Farm, Pasture for Life Ben Reynolds, Deputy Director, Sustain Dan Parker, Chief Executive, Veg Power Chaired by ffinlo Costain, Chief Editor, 8.9ha

It's World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, so we're doing our bit.  What is antimicrobial resistance - why is it a problem - what are the drivers  - and what can we do about it?   ffinlo Costain is joined by Laura  Higham from Vet Sustain and by Øistein Thorsen the chief executive of FAI Farms. Produced by Farmwel and FAI Farms.

Despite the absence of food systems, soil and agriculture from the top negotiating table at COP26, these subjects did, at last, emerge as key themes at side events inside the COP conference village. The Glasgow Food & Climate Declaration - initiated by Nourish Scotland and IPES Food - was a key factor in pushing this focus on food systems up the policy agenda.

ffinlo Costain discusses the purpose, legacy and future of the Declaration with Pete Ritchie, Executive Director of Nourish Scotland, and Chantal Clément, Deputy Director, of IPES Food.

Produced by Farmwel.

What's the difference between agroecology and regenerative agriculture?  And what about holistic grazing, organic, no-till farming, or adaptive multi-paddock grazing?  In this programme we get to the bottom of the terminology.

We also discuss how to get started in regenerative agriculture.

ffinlo Costain is joined by Caroline Grindrod from Roots of Nature, and Kelly Watson from FAI Farms.

Produced by Farmwel.

8point9 editor, ffinlo Costain, is joined by Tim Coates, a co-founder of Oxbury Bank, which launched in 2021 as the only UK bank dedicated exclusively to the rural economy.

In Farm Gate Leaders, ffinlo talks to someone who's played a defining role in our food and farming system - someone who's helping to deliver lasting and progressive change.

ffinlo Costain, the Editor-in-Chief of 8point9.com, is joined by Jamie Evans-Freke from Knight Frank and Gabriel Connor-Streich from Greenshank Environmental.

The discussion is on nutrient neutrality - and what on earth happened in the UK Parliament this week when the government tried to scrap existing rules and force through a new, under-considered system, using an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

Well - spoiler alert - they failed - but why, what next and how did the markets react?

Carbon farming is on the rise - but how does the carbon market work, and how does carbon sequestration and storage help to finance the delivery of other ecosystem services.

ffinlo Costain is joined from Scotland by Charlie Davis, a Natural Capital Advisor specialising in the management of natural assets for Savills, the farms, estates and agricultural land agents. 

Produced by Farmwel.

A regenerative agricultural and environmental transformation depends upon a resurgence of localism - but localism is also championed by far right politicians who pronounce their own vision centred on a tough approach to immigration.  How we can safeguard food systems in a more ecologically chaotic world with accelerating human migration?  Can we find a popular but inclusive vision of national localism?

ffinlo Costain is joined by Natalie Bennett of the Green Party of England and Wales, and by Sue Pritchard, the chief Executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission.

Produced by Farmwel.

White Oak Pastures is a 152-year-old family farm in Bluffton, Georgia, USA.  In 1995, Will Harris began the transition away from industrial agricultural techniques and started redesigning his farm as a living ecosystem. 

Will Harris talks to ffinlo Costain about his life as a commodity cattleman and what made him change the way he farms.  He describes the dark early days and reflects on how his success brought his family back home, and breathed new life into his community.  He explains why he gets fed up with scientists, who 'bicker and fight all the time' over how to measure carbon, when the benefits are there in the ground for all to see.  Will also offers up words of wisdom for President Biden's new Agriculture Secretary.

Produced by Farmwel.

Farmers from across the world have issued a Joint Statement calling for governments to recognise the importance of the metric GWP*.  Signatories include the National Farmers' Union, CLA, National Sheep Association, and Beef & Lamb New Zealand.  While recognising that climate change is one of the most urgent challenges we face, farmers leaders are calling for the role of agricultural methane to be accurately recognised in policy and accurately accounted for in the foot-printing of agricultural emissions. ffinlo Costain speaks to Andrew Morrison the chairman of Beef & Lamb New Zealand, and to Phil Stocker, the chief executive of the UK's National Sheep Association. Produced by Farmwel.

Regular hosts Phil Carson and ffinlo Costain are joined by Stephen Alexander from the Nature Friendly Farming Network in Norther Ireland.

News we discuss:

NFU and AHDB to commission independent review of farm assurance

Scottish Government publishes long-awaited Good Food Nation plans

Supermarkets accused of “acting like a cartel”

Farmers aim to save Long Compton Abattoir from closure

Northern Ireland: Four-point plan to back nature-friendly farming

NI faces a “public health emergency” unless permanent access to vet medicines is secured

Future Amoc collapse linked to Greenland ice loss could have “profound impacts”

Research says human behavioural crisis at root of ecological breakdown

This programme is for every farmer who's ever thought about transitioning to regenerative agriculture.  It's our first Regen Question Time and in it our experts set out to answer questions submitted by farmers by Twitter, email, and through the Primal Web forum.   Regenerative agriculture requires a complete mindset shift.  Instead of rules there are principles, which can make transitioning process seem daunting.  To help with this, every six or eight weeks, we'll put your questions to regen experts.  Our intention is to help you make decisions about the future of your farm business.  (The insights will also be interesting for everyone who wants to know more about regenerative agriculture.) In this first Regen Question Time, ffinlo Costain talks to Caroline Grindrod and Alex Tomlinson. Produced by Farmwel.

ffinlo Costain is joined by Charlie Bennett, author of Down the Rabbit Hole - The misadventures of an unlikely naturalist.

They discuss the nature, language, heritage and history that Charlie showcases in his book - which is a perfect stocking filler.

Down the Rabbit Hole is now available in Northumberland bookshops - across the UK in Waterstones - and for international listeners, direct from CharlieBennettauthor.co.uk.

ffinlo Costain investigates how farmers can earn money by stacking renewable electricity generation with other farming activity.

Featuring:

• Louise Daniels, Head of External Affairs for Thrive Renewables
• Roger Stones, Senior Energy Consultant for NFU Energy
• Harvie Agnew, Policy Analyst at Solar Energy UK
• Nick Spicer, Chief Executive at YourEco
• Nature Friendly Farming Network's Farming Champion, Jon Fish

Farm Gate's Filling the Funding Gap series is sponsored by Barclays, Environment Bank, Forest Carbon, Howdens Insurance, Regenerate and Saffery. Farm Gate is part of 8point9.com - the land use news channel.

Further reading from Solar Energy UK

• Farming Sustainably Report - https://solarenergyuk.org/resource/farming-sustainably-report/
• Solar Habitat 2024: Ecological Trends on Solar Farms in the UK - https://solarenergyuk.org/resource/solar-habitat-2024-ecological-trends-on-solar-farms-in-the-uk/

Sheep lameness is a painful symptom that severely reduces mobility.  It's regarded by many as endemic - ever present, regardless of the efforts made to curb new infections.  But is lameness endemic?  Can better monitoring and treatment effectively eradicate it from flocks?

In this episode we discuss how to implement the nationally-adopted FAI Five Point Plan - with Ruth Clements, head of veterinary programmes from Benchmark Animal Health, and by Clare Hill, the farm manager at FAI Farms.

Produced by Farmwel and FAI Farms.

COP27 is over. Temperatures continue to rise. There's still no consensus about the role of land use and agriculture. Did anything good emerge from Sharm El-Sheikh in terms of food systems & climate change?

ffinlo Costain is joined by three experts: 

Patty Fong, Program Director, Climate and Health and Well-being, Global Alliance for the Future of Food,

Adele Jones, executive director, Sustainable Food Trust,

Chantal Wei-Ying Clement, deputy director, IPES Food.

In this programme, ffinlo Costain talks to Josiah Meldrum, co-founder of the successful on-line retailer, Hodmedods. Josiah works with British farms to source top quality beans, pulses and grains - particularly less well-known foods, like the fava bean, grown in Britain since the Iron Age, but now largely forgotten.  

We talk about why Josiah thinks of Hodmedods as an agroecological retail business and about the need for strong supplier relationships. We discuss the benefits of scaling out rather than up, and the failure of fellow online food retailer, Farmdrop.

Produced by Farmwel.

Four interviews today:

• Rowan Phillimore from The Gaia Foundation about the We Feed The UK arts project
• Pete Ritchie from Nourish Scotland about the country's progress towards being a Good Food Nation
• Jon Parker from the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission in Wales talking about Welsh farm policy
• And Ignas van Schaick, the co-producer of a new movie, Planet Soil, which delves deep into the earth, turning invertebrates into stars.

In this programme, Farm Gate addresses the challenge of growing regenerative cereals in Britain. Is it possible? How can farmers deliver regeneration while producing the yields and profits necessary for viable farm businesses and a healthy food system?

ffinlo Costain talks to Tim Parton from Brewood Park Farm, who's passionately championed regenerative agriculture for 15 years - and to Joe Stanley, the Head of Sustainable Farming at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust's Allerton Project and a Farmers' Weekly columnist.

The trio discuss soil-building rotations, livestock integration, the impact of climate change, glyphosate and the cost of Wildfarmed bread.

This is an edited recording of the Regen Dairy round-the-world tour, which took place on 5th October 2022.  We were thrilled to host this opportunity to circumnavigate the globe with four very different regen dairy farmers, all of whom are quite exceptional in their own way. 

Our panellists were Blake Alexandre is a fourth generation dairy farmer from Alexandre Family Farm near Crescent City, California, USA.  Richard Park is from Sizergh Farm, near Kendal in the UK, which has probably been farmed since the Vikings colonised Britain.  Mark Anderson is a fifth generation farmer from South Otago, New Zealand.  And Annabelle Gérard is a first generation dairy farmer from Lower Saxony in Germany.  The webinar was hosted by ffinlo Costain.

Six Inches of Soil is the hit UK film that traces the trials and tribulations of three young farmers who are each trying to work regeneratively with their land.

Anna Jackson, farms an 800 acre mixed farm in Lincolnshire with her dad, Andrew - (0'50")

Beef farmer Ben Thomas has 75 acres of field and agroforestry in Cornwall - (16'24")

And Adrienne Gordon produces veges, salad and edible flowers in around four acres of market garden in Cambridgeshire - (29'36")

Today we have two interviews, followed by a fantastic discussion about regenerative agriculture and the use of glyphosate.

INTERVIEW 1: The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission has unveiled research, which shows that the British public reject “nanny state” excuses and instead overwhelmingly back state intervention to tackle our health, climate and nature crises.

Dr Courtney Scott is the Director of Policy and Research at the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission – ffinlo Costain asks her whether politicians are more interested in the so-called “nanny state” than citizens?

INTERVIEW 2: The Global Terrorism Index 2023 shows that the ten countries most impacted by terrorism are also experiencing poverty, weak governance and conflict. Food and water scarcity - in part linked to climate change - act as a threat multiplier, accelerating instability.

David Wells is an independent global security consultant and former head of research and analysis for the Counter-Terrorism Directorate of the United Nations. ffinlo asks him how climate change is affecting terrorist recruitment globally?

DISCUSSION: This week's debate on 8point9.com has been centred on whether glyphosate is critical to regenerative farming. There are plenty of passionate farmers on both sides of this argument - but we invited Attila Kökény, a regenerative agriculture consultant from Hungary, and Marcus Link from New Foundation Farms to address this question in a series of articles. In this programme the debate becomes a conversation.

* Pat Thomas from A Bigger Conversation - 1'00''

* Emily Bull from FAI Farms - 14'18''

* Professor Sebastian Dötterl from ECH Zurich - 31'08''

* Million Belay from IPES Food and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa - 42'11''

* Vicki Hird from The Wildlife Trusts - 55'32''

* Alun Thomas from the Beacons Water Group - 1,05'23''

The Scottish Government has unveiled its long-awaited Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill. This will replace the Common Agricultural Policy and aims to deliver the adoption and use of sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices. To discuss the bill, I’ll be joined later in the programme, by Nikki Yoxall, a member of Scotland's Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board - by Andrew Connon, the vice president of the National Farmers Union, Scotland - and by Denise Walton, the chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network Scotland.

Before that we’ll hear from Elsie Blackshaw from the Rewildling Law Hub, and from Anna Woodley from Trinity Natural Capital Pro Council.

Environmental breakdown and global population rise have led to a strong focus on food supply chains, but the way that we produce fibre is equally important.  At least 60% of our clothes are now made using synthetic, petrochemical-based fabrics - all of which need to be replaced.  Natural animal or plant-based fibres will become resurgent on the cat walks and on the high street - so the need to reform and integrate food and fashion supply chains is urgent.

ffinlo Costain talks to Cate Havstad-Casad, farmer and founder of Range Revolution, an Oregon-based company which produces luxury leather products from certified regenerative ranches.

Jyoti Fernandes is from the UK Landworkers' Alliance and well-known as a campaigner working for the rights of small farmers and peasant farmers. Jyoti recently wrote an open letter to the Guardian writer, George Monbiot, whose book, #Regenesis, and the articles he's written to promote it, distort public awareness of regenerative solutions to the ecological crisis.  

In this programme, ffinlo Costain asks Jyoti why she felt 'duty bound to intervene', and why she thinks Monbiot is undermining the agroecology movement, which provides the most compelling future narrative she has found in 30 years of campaigning.

In this week's programme we'll hear interviews with candidates from three of the parties standing across Britain in next week's UK general election - the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives and the Green Party. The Labour party were unable to make anyone available for a conversation.

Julia Aglionby, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Penrith and Solway - 01'0''

Simon Hoare, the Conservative candidate for North Dorset - 45'25''

Toby Hammond, the Green Party candidate for Beccles and Lowestoft -1,16'05''

A list of all candidates in the Penrith and Solway constituency:

Julia Aglionby, Liberal Democrats

Markus Campbell-Saviours, Labour Party

Susan Denham-Smith, The Green Party

Roy Ivinson, Independent

Mark Jenkinson, The Conservative Party

Chris Johnston, Independent

Shaun Long, Social Democratic Party

Matthew Moody, Reform UK

A list of all candidates in the North Dorset constituency:

Si Adams, Independent

James Coldwell, Labour Party

Simon Hoare, Conservative and Unionist Party

Ken Huggins, Green Party

Gary Jackson, Liberal Democrats

Ash Leaning, Reform UK

Lester Taylor, UK Independence Party

Daniel Woodruffe, Social Democratic Party

A list of all candidates for Beccles and Lowestoft:

Peter Aldous, Conservative

Jessica Asato, Labour

Toby Hammond, Green

June Mummery, Reform

Adam Robertson, Lib Dem

The world of glamping may seem remote from the every day toil of working with crops and livestock, but for six months of the year it can provide a hugely important source of income that can be used to underpin other aspects of farming life.

ffinlo Costain is joined by Hannah Jefferson from Woodfrys Farm in Dorset and Jessica Allen-Back from Home Farm Glamping in Elstree.

Regen agriculture for kids Farm Gate has gone all #homeschool.  In this short programme we explain the basics of regenerative agriculture for primary school age kids.  We answer questions about the sun, the rain, dandelions and cow poo - and we ask what's the most important animal in the world?  There are even a couple of experiments you can try at home. The programme features Alex Tomlinson - an amazing mine of information who's working on regenerative farming projects right across Britain. Produced by Farmwel.

Interviews with:

Ruth Chambers from the Green Alliance.

Patrick Holden from the Sustainable Food Trust.

And Leonardo Gava from the Climate Bonds Initiative

In this week's programme we hear:

INTERVIEW: With Dr Antje Ahrends from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh about ground-breaking research that shows that rubber is driving deforestation three times faster than previously thought.

DISCUSSION: A new report has warned that demand for sustainable fabrics could exceed supply by 130m tonnes by 2030. To discuss how we meet the rising demand for sustainable fashion, ffinlo Costain is joined by Dr Alana James from Northumbria University - Zoe Gilbertson from the UK Bast Fibre Network - and by Alice Robinson, author of Field, Fork, Fashion, and co-founder of the company, British Pasture Leather.

ffinlo Costain speaks to Jayne Buxton, author of The Great Plant-Based Con.  Jayne has written novels and non-fiction, published articles in The Independent and The Guardian, and has been an ambassador for the Real Food Campaign and the Public Health Collaboration.  

The Great Plant-Based Con, explains why eating a plants-only diet won't improve our health or save the planet - and it's available from all good book stores on-line or on-the-street.

ffinlo Costain (8point9.com) and Phil Carson catch up on the week's land use news - and meet forestry expert, Andrew Heald.

News items they discuss:

Highland estate to generate biodiversity credits with SLR and RePlanet

https://8point9.com/highland-estate-to-generate-biodiversity-credits-with-slr-and-replanet/

How will BNG affect the UK biodiversity credit market? Max Bodmer, RePlanet

https://8point9.com/how-will-bng-affect-the-uk-biodiversity-credit-market-max-bodmer-replanet/

Call for “radical rethink” to reap benefits of UK organic market for farmers

https://8point9.com/call-for-radical-rethink-to-reap-benefits-of-uk-organic-market-for-farmers/

40 projects to benefit from £25 million funding for natural flood management

https://8point9.com/40-projects-to-benefit-from-25-million-funding-for-natural-flood-management/

African Development Bank policies “undermining biodiversity”

https://8point9.com/african-development-bank-policies-undermining-biodiversity/

“China and Brazil can lead harmonised criteria” for green agriculture

https://8point9.com/china-and-brazil-can-lead-harmonised-criteria-for-green-agriculture/

SPECIAL GUEST

Is the UK facing a timber crisis?

https://8point9.com/is-the-uk-facing-a-timber-crisis/

Wood-based construction can reduce emissions and store carbon long-term

https://8point9.com/wood-based-construction-can-reduce-emissions-and-store-carbon-long-term/

LONGER CONVO -

Liberal Democrats promise £1bn extra for English farmers

https://8point9.com/liberal-democrats-promise-1bn-extra-for-english-farmers/

Prime Minister “needs to map a realistic future for farmers”

https://8point9.com/prime-minister-needs-to-map-a-realistic-future-for-farmers/

Welsh Government says “We are listening”

https://8point9.com/welsh-government-says-we-are-listening/

AND Embrace the canopy – Wales’ Sustainable Farm Scheme

https://8point9.com/embrace-the-canopy-wales-sustainable-farm-scheme/

Dominic Cummings, the UK Prime Minister's strategist-in-chief, has said that he wants to shake up Government.  He's asked for ideas - and it would be churlish if we didn’t offer to help. ffinlo Costain has spoken to five big beasts of the UK food & farming community: Patrick Holden (Sustainable Food Trust), Mark Bridgeman (CLA), Sue Pritchard (RSA Food, Farming & Countryside Commission), Guy Smith (NFU), & Vicki Hird (Sustain).  Each has two minutes to pitch their reforms, followed by a conversation about their ideas.   The podcast is bursting with grand plans - and it's the perfect length for Dominic Cummings to listen to on his commute. Produced by Farmwel.

When we think of regenerative food and farming, we tend to think of small to medium-scale farmers, supplying into small or perhaps independent supply chains.

But what about big companies – what about massive corporations – can their supply chains be regenerative too?

Nestlé has become the great big regen corporation – but who’s responsible for that decision, what does regen mean for a global food brand, and how do you deliver transition through such an enormous network of suppliers?

I spoke to Emma Keller, Head of Sustainability, and Matt Ryan, the Regeneration Lead for Nestlé UK and Ireland.

This week ffinlo is joined by four of the new 2024 Nuffield Scholars - by Saba Amir, an academic at Aberystwyth University - Lucy George from Peterston Tea, based in the Vale of Glamorgan - Sophie Gregory, an Arla organic dairy farmer from Dorset - and Dan Jones, a sheep farmer from Great Orme in North Wales.

We also hear interviews with David Webster, the new Chief Executive of LEAF Marque - and with Tim May, from the Kingsclere Estate and the Pitch Up! initiative.

Was COP26 in Glasgow a success? In this programme we do a stock take. What was achieved at COP26 – in terms of global warming and agricultural land use? What was missing? What was fundamentally misunderstood at the top table? And what do we need to do next, to ensure that an agroecological transition is lifted firmly onto the negotiating table at COP27 and beyond?

ffinlo Costain, the founder of the Food & Global Security Network, is joined by Sue Pritchard, the chief executive of the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission, and Patrick Holden, the founder of the Sustainable Food Trust.

Produced by Farmwel.

An interview with plant ecologist Dr Ruth Mitchell from The James Hutton Institute about visible and invisible forest diversity.

And this week's 8.9ha Discussion is on Labour party policy on land use, trade and agriculture.

ffinlo Costain is joined by Phil Carson, the UK Policy Lead for the Nature Friendly Farming Network, and by Vicki Hird, author of Rebugging the Planet, and Strategic Lead on Agriculture with The Wildlife Trusts.

Phil Carson (Nature Friendly Farming Network) and ffinlo Costain (8point9.com) discuss the week’s land use news - including: Government must deliver promised flood support, says CLA

“Slurry pollution as damaging as sewage”

NFFN unveils UK general election manifesto

Farmers demand Universal Basic Income

Research finds ten times more pests in insecticide-treated corn fields

In-field crop diversity could deliver ecological resilience

Urgent need for new approach to combat global grassland degradation

This is the first of two programmes investigating the rise of meat alternatives.  ffinlo Costain talks to Raychel E Santo, a senior research programme coordinator at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future.  Raychel is the lead author on the research paper, Considering Plant-Based Meat Substitutes and Cell-Based Meats: A Public Health and Food Systems Perspective.  Produced by Farmwel.  

Phil Carson (Nature Friendly Farming Network) and ffinlo Costain (8point9.com) chew over the week’s news.

SHORT PICKS

Adapting to climate change needs our "urgent, unswerving attention" says National Trust

Cities and regions lead the way on real food and climate action

Forestry leaders must improve public perception of Sitka

LONGER CONVERSATIONS

Buried Environment Agency report shows toxic sludge is being spread on UK farmland

Landmark ruling has far-reaching implications for UK’s polluted rivers

Conflict over land will increase unless global demand is reduced

Scientific censorship is often self-inflicted and it’s on the rise

POLICY

Efra Committee criticises incoherent approach to food policy across government

ffinlo Costain talks to Sir Dieter Helm CBE.  Dieter is Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Economics at New College, Oxford. He was the Independent Chair of the UK's Natural Capital Committee, and was awarded a knighthood for services to the environment, energy and utilities policy.

This discussion is a masterclass for people aiming to influence UK Government policy on agriculture and the environment. Helm is hugely engaging as he sets out his influential thinking and establishes sound criteria for support and opposition.

In this programme, ffinlo Costain talks to Robyn O'Brien, the best-selling author of The Unhealthy Truth, who in September 2020 was named in the Forbes Impact 50, a list of the top impact investors in the USA.  Robyn's TED talks have received over a million views.

The discussion centres on Robyn's new investment fund, RePlant Capital, which is based in the USA and worth $250m.  RePlant’s flagship fund, its Soil Fund, is focussed on the transition of US farmland to regenerative agriculture. 

Produced by Farmwel.

Since 2013 more seafood has been produced globally in aquaculture systems than from wild caught fisheries.  The farming of fish at scale has come with costs as well as benefits, and as a relatively young industry, aquaculture has followed a steep learning curve.

ffinlo Costain speaks to Tony Wall, the founder of the Fish Vet Group (now PHARMAQ), who helped to put fish sentience on the map.  ffinlo asks where aquaculture came from, how it developed, and how the industry can overcome its current challenges?

Inspired by Seaspiracy, this programme is part of a mini-series in which we're talking about the future of ocean food.

Produced by Farmwel.

In Wheat from the Chaff (WFTC) ffinlo Costain (Editor-in-Chief of 8point9.com) and Phil Carson (UK Policy Lead for the Nature Friendly Farming Network) talk through the week's news on 8.9ha.

This is a new format - please bear with us - any feedback welcome!

SHOW NOTES:

Red Tractor’s voluntary environment module available from next April

https://8point9.com/red-tractors-voluntary-environment-module-available-from-next-april/

Budget cut adds to “unprecedented challenges” for Welsh farming

https://8point9.com/budget-cut-adds-to-unprecedented-challenges-for-welsh-farming/

Nature charities publish Nature Markets Principles to help combat greenwashing

https://8point9.com/nature-charities-publish-nature-markets-principles-to-help-combat-greenwashing/

Experts warn of risk of civil unrest in UK due to food shortages

https://8point9.com/experts-warn-of-risk-of-civil-unrest-in-uk-due-to-food-shortages/

World entering uncharted climate territory – Earth’s conditions may be unliveable for half the world’s population by 2100

https://8point9.com/world-entering-uncharted-climate-territory-earths-conditions-may-be-unliveable-for-half-the-worlds-population-by-2100/

Rubber drives deforestation three times faster than previously thought

https://8point9.com/rubber-drives-deforestation-three-times-faster-than-previously-thought/

8.9 TV:

David Webster, Chief Executive, LEAF Marque

https://8point9.com/david-webster-leaf-marque/

Antje Ahrends, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Rubber deforestation

https://8point9.com/antje-ahrends-royal-botanic-garden-edinburgh-rubber-deforestation/

Phil's choices

UK must double fruit and veg production to divert from “bleak” future

https://8point9.com/uk-must-double-fruit-and-veg-production-to-divert-from-bleak-future/

Genetic discovery promises high-iron vegetables and cereals

https://8point9.com/genetic-discovery-promises-high-iron-vegetables-and-cereals/

Milestone reached in evidencing sustainability credentials of Welsh upland farms

https://8point9.com/milestone-reached-in-evidencing-sustainability-credentials-of-welsh-upland-farms/

ffinlo's choices

Government communication hampering avian flu control measures

https://8point9.com/government-communication-hampering-avian-flu-control-measures/

Free comic book features flood management

https://8point9.com/free-comic-book-to-engage-young-people-around-flood-management/

Government complacent over rural mental health

https://8point9.com/government-complacent-over-rural-mental-health/

Main conversations

Landmark report shifts focus from food system emissions to fossil-fuel reliance

https://8point9.com/landmark-report-shifts-focus-from-food-system-emissions-to-fossil-fuel-reliance/

Historic herbivore densities could be substantially higher than thought

https://8point9.com/historic-herbivore-densities-could-be-substantially-higher-than-thought/

Experts predict “catastrophic ecosystem collapse” of UK forests within 50 years

https://8point9.com/experts-predict-catastrophic-ecosystem-collapse-of-uk-forests-within-50-years/

ffinlo Costain (8point9.com) and Phil Carson (Nature Friendly Farming Network) discuss the week's land use news - and meet special guest, Chris Smaje, author of "Saying NO to a farm-free future"

This is a re-edit of the original podcast, which contained inaccuracies in the first section (soil carbon intro). NEWS ARTICLES DISCUSSED: New paradigm in soil science shows vast potential for carbon storage Good soil management reduces the “high risk of conventional grazing” White paper connects regenerative agriculture with nutrient density "They belong to this land" - The Reindeer Chronicles INTERVIEW: CHRIS SMAJE “Cities, like feedlots, need to import food and water from afar" THIRD SECTION No single stretch of river in England in “good ecological health” Hedgerow regulations will be brought into English law Farmers look to help rivers by cutting plough use in maize trials River restoration key to saving Scotland’s disappearing salmon

'Food security' is suddenly on the agenda - but what is it?  Was it ever about calories & cheap food for the masses?  And if it was, isn't it time that we redefined food security for the modern world - recognising the essential role that land use, food system resilience, and nutrition play in ensuring that all citizens can eat, and eat well.

This programme features Vicki Hird from Sustain, Professor Tim Benton from Chatham House, and Patrick Holden from the Sustainable Food Trust.

Produced by Farmwel.

Discussion - Is low carbon beef an out-of-date answer to the wrong question? Interviews with Jo Raven from FAIRR, Professor Imke de Boer from Wageningen University & Research, and Dr Michelle Cain from Cranfield University.

In this panel session we discuss a new report, Natural Capital: what farmers and policy makers need to know, which seeks to understand how new and emerging markets in natural capital fit into a changing landscape for farmers. The report was commissioned by the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission – it was written by Professor Fergus Lyon and Dr Amy Burnett from Middlesex University – and it was supported by the Prince’s Countryside Fund.

ffinlo Costain, Chief Editor of 8point9.com, is joined by:

Professor Fergus Lyon – author of the report – and director of the Centre for Enterprise, Environment and Development Research at Middlesex University.

Lucy Bates -co-lead for the Farming Transition Programme at the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission.

And Charlie Davis, a partner at Sylvestris Land Management, a land and rural business consultancy specialising in environmental land management.

Interviews with:

Lesley Lambert from the Sustainable Food Trust - in advance of COP28 - talking about the opportunities

Andrew Mahon from the Bromborough Estate Company on agroforestry

Amy Bateman, the photographer behind Forty Farms - and coffee table book and now a farm trail photography exhibition

Patrick Holden on COP28 - his reflections from the inside.

ffinlo Costain talks to Chris Smaje about his new book, Saying NO to a farm-free future.

Smaje's response to George Monbiot's Regenesis is a well-mannered treatise that outlines coolly and specifically why the Guardian columnist's prescription for the food system is just completely wrong.

Smaje, an academic, farmer and author of A Small Farm Future, is one of the few voices to publicly challenge Monbiot on the future of food and farming (and the restoration of nature).

Responding to Monbiot’s portrayal of an urban, high-energy, industrially manufactured food future as the answer to our current crises, and its unchallenged acceptance within the environmental discourse, Smaje was compelled to challenge Monbiot’s evidence and conclusions. At the same time, Smaje presents his powerful counterargument – a low-carbon agrarian localism that puts power in the hands of local communities, not high-tech corporates.

Saying NO to a farm-free future is a defence of agroecological, small-scale farming and a robust critique of an industrialized future, and is released in the UK on the 28th of June.

Farm Gate is now part of the 8point9.com news channel.

Seven conversations today, focussed on Land Alive, a new British regen farming event at the end of November; the findings of three Nuffield Farming Scholars; the potential to integrate bast fibre production within organic farm systems; and the perils faced by earthworms when the land floods.

ffinlo Costain speaks to:

Professor Mark Hodson, from the University of York - 0'34''

Graham Harvey, from Land Alive - 10'40''

Carol Paris, from the Royal Bath & West Society, and Tamara Giltsoff, from Land Alive - 16'25''

Zoe Gilbertson, a fashion ecologist - 27'14''

Kendra Hall, Nuffield Farming Scholar - 36'02''

Chris Taylor, Nuffield Farming Scholar - 46'08''

Ruth Grice, Nuffield Farming Scholar - 56'20''

An investigation by Lighthouse Reports has targeted the powerful European farming lobby group, Copa-Cogeca, which they say “is losing legitimacy even as it stymies the EU’s green agenda and hoovers up public funds.”

In this programme we'll explore issues raised by the Lighthouse Reports investigation - and think about the legitimacy and the policy role of the National Farmers' Union, the largest farmers' organisation in the United Kingdom.

ffinlo Costain is by Thin Lei Win, a co-author of the report - and by Jimmy Woodrow, the executive director of Pasture for Life in the UK.

A farming life is generally a good life but it can be demanding & stressful.  It's hardly surprising that farmers can feel isolated, depressed, or unable to cope.   ffinlo Costain talks to Graham Morgan MBE, about farming, mental health, & mental illness.  Graham works for the Mental Health Commission for Scotland & volunteers with HUG action for mental health.  Graham's book, Start, describes his life, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.  It is fresh, unguarded, rather joyful, and surprisingly funny.   Graham recently spoke about mental illness to a conference organised by the National Farmers' Union of Scotland.   Produced by Farmwel.

In this panel discussion, ffinlo Costain is joined by Gudrun Ravetz (former president, British Veterinary Association), and Laura Higham (Vet Sustain).  We discuss the link between animal welfare, and good environmental management and farm performance. Produced by Farmwel and FAI Farms.

Forests are super important - they have enormous environmental, economic, cultural and amenity value as well as being sources of food and nutrition, medicines, habitats, fuel and, of course, building materials.

In this programme, we discuss what timber can do - why forests are so important - how public support for commercial forestry could be improved - and where forestry fits within broader land use conversations.

ffinlo Costain is joined by Paul Brannen, the author of Timber! How wood can help save the world from climate breakdown - and by sustainable forestry consultant, Andrew Heald.

Farm Gate host, ffinlo Costain, interviews Leontino Balbo Junior (Balbo Group), who produces 35% of the world's organic sugar.  Speaking direct from Brazil, Leontino explains how he transformed his farm (http://www.canaverde.com.br/) from standard agriculture to a high yield regenerative success story.  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.

Phil Carson and ffinlo Costain discuss what's on offer in the Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green and Labour manifestos, in terms of food, farming and nature.

Coronavirus has led to lock down, the loss of work, jobs and income - it has forced people with little or no savings to turn to charities and institutions - just to be able to eat.  Food aid providers, already working to capacity, have had to swiftly adapt their service models to cope with the influx of new, fearful, hungry, and potentially infected, people.  

In this programme, Farm Gate speaks to three people working to provide food at the front line of the social crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic: Dee Woods from Granville Community Kitchen (Kilburn, London), Greg Silverman, Executive Director of the West Side Campaign Against Hunger (New York City), and Mark Game, Chief Executive of The Bread and Butter Thing (Greater Manchester, UK).

Produced by Farmwel.