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Agri Culture

Agri Culture

Farming is a way of life, and is as much about the people as it is the land, crops and livestock. In this Agri Culture podcast series, Mary-Jane Lawrie will speak to a range of inspirational people from the farming community, with a whole host of interesting tales to tell. Join us in conversation to find out what drives them and their businesses, where they get their inspiration from, and what they love about agriculture.

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Latest Episode:

Farm Health and Safety 2-Part Special

In this episode, Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined by Jim Chapman, farmer and farm safety ambassador.  Jim talks openly about the farm accident that changed his life when he lost his arm in a PTO shaft.  He talks about the impact that had on him, and how he got through the dark times. He tells us how important the support he received from friends, family and young farmers was to him. He went on to do a Nuffield scholarship on farm safety and is now an ambassador for the Farm Safety Foundation. Read more >>

Stephanie Berkeley is Manager of the Farm Safety Foundation, which you might know also as Yellow Wellies. The Farm Safety Foundation was established in 2014 with the aim of improving farm safety in the UK.  The Foundation runs successful campaigns such as Farm Safety week and educates young farmers across the UK in colleges and young farmer clubs.  Stephanie talks to us about the importance of the charity, and resources available to all farmers. Read more >>

Previous Episodes:

Season 3

In this episode, Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined by Cathy Magee from Dyslexia Scotland.  We talked about what dyslexia is, how it can affect you, and how to go about getting an assessment.  Dyslexia Scotland have a range of resources available to support people with dyslexia. We also talked about the ways that dyslexia might make some aspects of farming challenging but also has some benefits in the way that people think and work in different ways. Read more >>

Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined by Pete Black of Collessie Feeds and Newton of Colessie Farm.Pete Black farms at Newton of Collessie with his parents and brother where they run a successful diversified farming business with arable, commercial cattle, pedigree sheep and Clydesdales, alongside Collessie Feeds. Read more >>

Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined by Fred Swift from South Clunes Farm and Highland Clip, and Stella Stewart from Anta. Fred Swift farms South Clunes Farm near Inverness in the Highlands with his wife Sofi and his father.  Read more >>

Mary-Jane Lawrie visits Whitriggs Farm in the Scottish Borders to speak to Lesley Mitchell.  They chat about the family farm and how it has evolved over the years, their openness to challenges and change, and how that has allowed Lesley and her family to build a business that supports the family whilst also allowing a good work life balance.  Once key change has been converting the business to organic and following a more regenerative agriculture approach, which has required a change in mindset.  Read more >>

I'm Mary-Jane Lawrie, and in this episode I’m joined Claire Taylor.  Claire is a journalist and describes herself as an agricultural communicator.  She has recently finished her travels as part of her Nuffield Farming Scholarship and is now in the process of compiling all the information from her travels.  We talk about her career and how that led her to applying for the scholarship, what she learned from it, and how we, as farmers, can work together to engage with the public to tell positive farming stories. She shares with us some of her amazing experiences from her travels and gives us a real insight into what farming is like in other countries. Read more >>

Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined by Jenn Stewart.  Jenn Stewart, partner & Head of Rural and Landed Estates at Johnston Carmichael, joined the company in 2019. Jenn has extensive experience in advising owner managed businesses and provides counsel to a wide-ranging portfolio of clients across multiple sectors. Jenn was brought up in her own family farming business and is now involved in her husband’s farming business. Jenn talks to us about the topic and theme of succession. Read more >>

Season 2

Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined by Kirsten Williams.  Kirsten is a livestock specialist with SAC Consulting and she also runs a farm business on Ranna Farm in Aberdeenshire with her husband Ross.  They have sheep, cattle, and a turkey enterprise on their rented farm.  They were new entrants, working hard to secure a tenancy and build up their business to support them and their family.  Kirsten has a really positive outlook on life and she tells us how determination and hard work have helped them succeed. Read more >>

You can listen to all of our previous episodes on Spotify, iTunes, or your preferred podcast app

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