In this episode, James and Ben are joined by Will Shotton from Tibico Fermentary to talk about all things gut health, ultra-processed food and the impact of modern day farming on our microbiomes. Â
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58:23
A Long Awaited Update!
Join Ben and I as we reunite after a significant hiatus to catch up on the latest happenings at Townsend Farm. We discuss the rapid changes in the farming landscape that have occurred since our last episode, touching on the evolving state of agriculture, the complexities surrounding the Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) and inheritance tax, as well as the broader political climate affecting farmers today.Â
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1:01:09
The One Where We Get Political...
Ben and James are joined by Antony Yousefian, partner at The First Thirty, a company that's aim is to regenerate 30m hectares by 2030. We cover a lot of ground in this one - vertical farming, quantifying the ecological footprint, biodiversity net gain and the role of AI in agriculture. Links mentioned:https://www.tft.vc/ - The First Thirty websitehttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60f02799e90e0764d2837899/Dasgupta_Response__web_July.pdf - The Economics of Biodiversity: TheDasgupta Review
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1:00:59
Intern Goals...
In this episode, Ben and James chat with Townsend Farm's summer intern about biodiversity, French agroecology, composting and how to dig a circle. Make sure to check Loddington Farm's Instagram page to see the stunning silo in all its glory...
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45:01
Strawberry Fields (or tables) Forever...
In this episode, Ben and James chat to Marion Regan, fourth generation 'guvnor' of Hugh Lowe Farms in Kent, about robots, Wimbledon, lacewings and how they continue to grow soft fruit sustainably in an increasingly unpredictable social, economic and environmental climate.Â
A quarterly podcast where two Nuffield Scholars - James Smith, a fifth-generation farmer, and Ben Taylor-Davies, an agroecologist, chat about all things regenerative farming, rewilding, biodiversity, soil health and more, occasionally joined by special guests from the field (no pun intended). Music: "He Tried To Be A Poet" by One Man Book, licensed with permission from the Independent Music Licensing Collective - imlcollective.uk.
New Zealand