Rock & Roll Farming with Fiona Graham Tonight for the Rock & Roll Farming Christmas special, I’m delighted to be heading up to Ayrshire in Scotland to talk to the one and only Fiona Graham. We discuss the importance of social media and how it can help farmers overcome isolation, before moving on to talk about the horrendous weather that Fiona and the family have had in Ayrshire in 2017, and the problems that’s caused them. We talk about Fiona’s early life growing up near Lochaber in the Scottish Highlands, and her happy memories of that time, before hearing about […]

For this Rock & Roll Farming short, I talk to the author of the delightful children’s book, Catherine Baddeley. We hear how the book came about, how she and illustrator Sophie Baugh-Jones met, and all about the man himself – Father Christmas! Ho Ho Ho folks..

Tonight I’m heading east across the country to Skeyton in Norfolk to talk to turkey producer Rob Morton @mortonsturkeys We talk about how Rob’s Grandfather moved down from Scotland to the farm in 1941 to establish a dairy herd, and how the farm’s changed in the intervening years, and hear about his life growing up with 4 brothers. We hear about how he discovered an affinity for poultry, initially with geese, before pretty soon moving into turkey production, with two traditional breeds – the Norfolk Black, and Norfolk Bronze, and we discuss the various characteristics of the two breeds. We […]

Tonight I’m delighted to be heading up North to Sedburgh in the Howgill Fells to talk to Shepherdess, Farmer, Walker, Guide, Mother, Fashion Designer, and Writer, Alison O’Neill. We talk about the beautiful and slightly less travelled part of the country that she lives in, and her long family history there, and her childhood growing up on the farm. We then discuss the affect that her Grandparents and Parents decision to sell the farm in the difficult times of the late 1970’s had, and Alison’s decision to move away and work all around Europe doing a variety of different jobs, […]

In the very first Rock & Roll Farming short, I talk to my 95 year old Grandad about his memories of being an 18 year old farmer and Firefighter in the Summer of 1940, when the Luftwaffe were dropping bombs in this area. Check it out folks..

Tonight I’m very happy to be heading to Essex in the South East of England to talk to so good they named him twice Will Wilson @WillWilson100 First we hear about Will’s background growing up on a small arable farm in Suffolk, before his move to Essex with his new wife Zoe. We discuss his decision to study food marketing and agricultural studies at Reading University, and what he learned from that course, before hearing about his adventures whilst travelling in Australia, including driving dumper trucks in a lithium mine – THE GREATEST JOB IN THE WORLD. We also talk […]

Tonight I’m heading up to Preston in the North West of England to talk to Agri-Business & Social Media Consultant, Simon Haley. We hear about Simon’s background growing up in rural Lancashire, and how his early passion for horses led to a love for everything outdoors. We discuss his year working on a range of farms and stations in Australia, and the experience he gained there, before returning to the UK and opening up the yellow pages to find a local farm to work on! We talk about his decision to study Agriculture at Harper Adams, and what he learned […]

Tonight I’m delighted to be heading down to Wiltshire in the south West of England to talk to farmer and current Deputy President of the National Farmers Union, Minette Batters. We talk about her early life growing up on a tenanted farm with no succession, and how she was able to secure a long term farm business tenancy by offering to do-up two derelict cottages on the property. We hear about her cattle herd of pedigree Herefords, and 100 Simmental cross sucklers, and how she juggles this with running a wedding and corporate events venue on the farm. We also […]

Tonight I’m heading down to Warwickshire in the heart of England to talk to James Chapman @chairmanjimbob We hear about James’ early life as the oldest of 4 brothers growing up on the family dairy farm, before he started working for a contractor after leaving school. We talk about his decision to set up in business for himself at the age of 22, and the devastating accident that then changed his life in 2005. We hear in detail what happened that day, and talk about the immediate aftermath, and the dark months that followed. Jim tells us how his friends […]

Tonight I’m ridiculously excited to be heading overseas to Munich in Germany to talk to Alyssa Jade McDonald-Bärtl @lyssland to talk about Cacao farming & chocolate! We hear all about Lyss’s family’s incredible history in Papua New Guinea, and her upbringing in Australia. We then talk about her return to her family roots after a decade in corporate strategy, and the idea for BLYSS chocolate came about after she competed in the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii. We talk in depth about growing organic Cacao in Ecuador and the Philippines, and the 2000 families she works with there, as well […]