Farm Gate

Osad

• 
  The Green Revolution has failed Africa 22.09.2026 42min

  20 years ago, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) promised African governments a transformation: subsidise fertiliser, promote commercial seed, mechanise production and open the door to private investment, and yields would rise, farmers would prosper, and hunger would fall. AGRA's promise has now been tested against nearly 20 years of national data — and, according to a new report from the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), it has failed on its own terms.To discuss the report, AGRA's failure, its dangerous grip on African food security, and the alternative offered by agroecology, ffinlo Costain is joined by Dr Million Belay, the Co-ordinator of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, who's based in Ethiopia, and by Michael Farrelly, a consultant to AFSA, who lives in Senegal.Read more on this subject here: https://8point9.com/africas-food-must-be-grown-by-african-farmers/
• 
  Risks and reflections 15.09.2026 1t 2min

  ffinlo Costain (8point9.com) is joined by Tom Pycraft (Ark Events), Jimmy Woodrow (Pasture for Life), and Sue Pritchard (Food, Farming and Countryside Commission). They discuss food system risk and reflection on the discussion and outcomes from the UK's first Conference on Food & National Security.For the key takeaways from the conference - Click the link or scroll down (https://8point9.com/key-takeaways-from-conference-on-food-national-security/) * The UK’s food system is a national security threat -Centralised processing, fossil fuel dependency, ecological degradation and import reliance create exploitable points of failure that weaken the UK’s resilience and increase strategic risk.* Resilience must replace efficiency as the organising principle of the food system - The shift from “just-in-time” supply chains to “just-in-case” value networks was a recurring theme throughout the day, with preparedness needing to sit alongside productivity and efficiency.* We must recognise nature and agroecology as strategic defence assets - Healthy soils, biodiversity and farming systems that work with nature reduce dependence on imported inputs and fossil fuels while strengthening food security, water cycling and long-term national resilience.* The missing middle is as important as the farm - Regional processing, storage, distribution and retail infrastructure are essential to rebuilding resilient place-based food economies and reducing reliance on fragile, centralised supply chains.* Britain needs practical food emergency preparedness - Local authorities, businesses and communities should work in partnership and develop clear plans and the capability to feed people during major disruptions, whether lasting days, weeks or years.* NATO Article 3 provides a powerful framework for action - Civilian resilience is a core NATO commitment, creating a strong policy opportunity to recognise distributed food systems, and natural infrastructure as key defence assets.* The capital exists - the challenge is creating investable opportunities - With UK investment managers overseeing around £10 trillion, the barriers are not a lack of capital but clear policy signals, investable projects and regulatory certainty.* The energy transition offers a blueprint for food and nature - Renewables accelerated when security, policy and investment aligned. The same conditions are now needed to unlock investment in resilient food systems and natural infrastructure.* Stronger food systems strengthen national and global stability - Building resilient food systems can reduce the risk of food insecurity, conflict and migration, while strengthening economy and society both at home and internationally.* The opportunity to act is now - This focus on defence, resilience and national preparedness presents a unique opportunity to place food, farming and nature at the heart of UK security policy, supported by collaboration across government, finance, farming, industry and civil society.Thank you to our hosts and sponsors: Howden, Saffery, and Savills. To our Founding Patron: Marian Boswall. And to our remarkable panellists and speakers.
• 
  "Attack is less likely in a resilient homeland" 07.09.2026 58min

  In central London, on September the 8th, Farm Gate and Ark Events will host the UK's first Conference on Food and National Security. The conference will uniquely deal with the subjects of food, nature and national security - because ecological and defence vulnerabilities, driven by our food system itself, go beyond simply food security and resilience.We will be discussing food security, resilience and emergency preparedness - but the key focus will be food system driven insecurity. We'll be talking about what changes are necessary to improve Britain's defence, and structural deterrence. ffinlo Costain is joined by three of conference panellists to help set the scene: Lt General Richard Nugee (member of the Ministerial Climate and Security Taskforce)Adele Jones (farmer and regenerative food and agriculture leader)Mike Gooding (Farming Systems Director for AHDB)The conference is sponsored by Savills and Saffery - and by Howden, which is kindly providing the conference venue.
• 
  The shocks are bigger; our resilience is better 01.09.2026 50min

  Martin Lines (Chief Executive, Nature Friendly Farming Network) and ffinlo Costain (Editor, 8point9) discuss how Britain's farms have coped under the duress of this summer's fifth heatwave, and what needs to change to make food production more heat and water resilient. They also talk about the UK's new Prime Minister and his announcement of a £65m boost to support farmers during the drought.Martin and ffinlo are joined by Owen Thomas, a 17 year old shepherd rearing sheep on Martin's farm.
• 
  What's next for Wakelyns? 25.08.2026 35min

  Wakelyns is an inspirational organic farm in Suffolk; an oasis within a desert of conventional arable farming - it pioneered UK agroforestry and population grain - it runs courses, events and retreats. But Wakelyns is facing an uncertain future, for which community buyout offers a solution.ffinlo Costain is joined by, David Wolfe, Wakelyns' founder and co-owner. To find out more and to buy community shares in Wakelyns - follow this link: ⁠https://wakelyns.co.uk/⁠
• 
  What next after no-till? 19.08.2026 15min

  In the final week of our 10 More Days of Groundswell series, I talk to Ben Adams (Farmer, Adams Agriculture) and Mark Palmer (Director and farm advisor, Systems4Food Ltd).Cover crops and no-till have transformed regenerative arable in England. But the easy wins are largely banked, and a more honest conversation is starting: what does soil health really look like once you've ticked the obvious boxes? Farmers funded through Defra's ADOPT programme are running on-farm trials testing cover crops with sensing, multispecies cropping, living mulches in maize, and relay cropping at field scale. The original panel was hosted in The Snug by the ADOPT Support Hub.
• 
  Turning waste into fertility 18.08.2026 12min

  In the final week of our 10 More Days of Groundswell series - I talk to Doug Wanstall (Director, Beyond Zero), Joshua Wade (Director SG Wade Ltd), and Lottie Hawkins (Founder, Earthly Biochar).This an impromptu in-the-field conversation.Circular farming is the regenerative idea that everything leaving the farm should come back as something useful. Farmers funded through Defra's ADOPT programme are testing what that actually looks like: Black Soldier Fly larvae replacing soya in poultry feed, biochar produced from forestry and crop waste, and mushroom-and-biochar systems converting agricultural by-products. The original panel was hosted in The Snug by the ADOPT Support Hub.
• 
  The importance of seed sovereignty 12.08.2026 14min

  10 More Days of Groundswell wasn't enough! This is the second of four summer bonus in-the-field episodes. With Holly Silvester, Future Resilience Seed Coordinator for the Seed Sovereignty Programme, and Katie Hastings, Wales Co-ordinator for the Seed Sovereignty Programme  at the Gaia Foundation.
• 
  Comfort, shade & shelter 11.08.2026 18min

  10 More Days of Groundswell wasn't enough! This is the first of four summer bonus in-the-field episodes. With James Robinson, Strickley Farm, Cumbria, and Dr. Lindsay K Whistance, Principal Researcher - Animal Husbandry, at the Organic Research Centre.
• 
  Six Inches of Farm Gate 04.08.2026 1t 9min

  ffinlo joins other regen farming and rural business podcasters for a chat about storytelling - the power of podcasts and communication - and some of the stories that are influencing farming today.I joined the host of the Six Inches of Soil podcast, Richard Tufton, alongside co-host Claire Mackenzie, for a conversation with Abby Rose from Farmerama, Clay Conry from Working Cows, and Ben Eagle from Meet the Farmers.
• 
  Why outcomes matter for regen dairy 28.07.2026 44min

  First Milk has released a 'white paper' for regenerative dairy. The report celebrates what the co-operative dairy has achieved so far, while making a strong case for Phase 2 of their regen dairy programme - moving from measuring inputs to assessing outcomes: actual soil carbon, actual numbers of birds and insects, actual river quality... To find out more, ffinlo Costain is joined by Lee Truelove, Director of Regenerative Farming & Agriculture at First Milk, and Leona McDonald, their Director of Regenerative Partnerships.
• 
  Regen summer reading - 2026 21.07.2026 57min

  Today we're lying down on our beach towels to tuck into a good summer read. ffinlo Costain is joined by three brilliant authors from the 5m and Unbreaking stables, to find out why their books should be stacked among the sea shells and read between the rock pools.Benedikt Bösel has written Food and Farm Revolution - he's is an agricultural economist and the founder of Gut&Bösel, a regenerative farm located near Berlin. Dr Lucy Williamson is a registered nutritionist and former vet and her book is called Soil to Gut. And Tim Parton's Intelligent Farming invites us to join him on the agroecological journey that he's been on since 2009.Click here to find the books on 5m's website - https://5mbooks.com/
• 
  How to prepare for an emergency 14.07.2026 47min

  ffinlo Costain speaks to Professor Tim Lang about his report for the National Preparedness Commission - Just in Case: 7 steps to narrow the UK civil food resilience gap.Tim Lang is Emeritus Professor of Food Policy at City St George's, University of London. Over a long career he's served as a consultant to the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the UN Environment Programme. He's also the author and co-author of several books, most recently, Feeding Britain: Our food problems and how to fix them.
• 
  Day 10 - How to build fertility in veg systems 12.07.2026 13min

  ffinlo Costain learns about fertility-building, rotations, and system design for vegetables from Andy Dibben (Abbey Home Farm), Christine Watson (SRUC), and David Newman (Bucksum Market Garden).
• 
  Day 9 - Farmer-led innovation: the engine behind regen 11.07.2026 43min

  Farmer-led innovation, and the research that backs it up. Farm Gate’s ffinlo Costain is joined by Thomas Slattery (ADOPT Support Hub), Matt Smee (Agricology) and Katherine Lewis (Ag-Impact).They discuss what it takes to put farmers at the heart of on-farm trials - the role that agricultural research and good knowledge sharing play - and how all of it connects to regenerative farming and broader agroecology.
• 
  Day 8 - Building landscape-scale resilience 10.07.2026 29min

  What is resilience - and how can landscape-scale collaboration help to deliver it?ffinlo Costain meets Alex Robinson (Moor Wood Farm and Zora Ecosystems), Jenny Phelps (FWAG), and Alex Donnelly (Berks, Bucks, and Oxon Wildlife Trusts) to discuss the role of farm clusters in helping to restore nature's infrastructure.
• 
  Day 7 - Why should young people be flocking to farming? 09.07.2026 45min

  We need a new generation of inspirational regen leaders, landscape transformers, communication stars, and R&D wizards. Farming professions test every part of the human being, and offer remarkable soul-enhancing rewards. So why are parents and schools still pushing young people toward AI-vulnerable careers in medicine and law, and into burning hot cities and suffocating wards and offices?ffinlo Costain talks to Jonty Brunyee (Farmer and Co-founder, Emergent Generation), Mitch Green (Stockman & Steering Group, Emergent Generation), Sophie Gregory (Organic dairy farmer and Nuffield Scholar), and Lucy Robbins (Farmer, Nosehill Farm).
• 
  Day 6 - How do I get hold of ADOPT funding? 08.07.2026 17min

  I talk to ADOPT facilitators, Daniel Kindred (Agronomy Research Circle) and Harriet Scott (Raft Solutions), to find out how good ideas can become great on-farm research projectsThis is Day 6 of 10 More Days of Groundswell – a series of conversations, recorded in-the-field at Groundswell.
• 
  Day 5 - Are sheep the scourge of regen? 07.07.2026 19min

  Day 5 of our 10 More Days of Groundswell series, which continues every day for 10 days.I talk to Hannah Thorogood (Inkpot Farm) and Jamie Jack (Pasture for Life, Scotland) about how sheep can be a fantastic ecological force for good.
• 
  Day 4 - Chewing the fat on farm policy 06.07.2026 30min

  Day 4 of our 10 More Days of Groundswell series, which continues every day for 10 days.I meet Martin Lines (Nature Friendly Farming Network), Vicki Hird (Wildlife Trusts), Alice Groom (RSPB), and Joe Stanley (GWCT Allerton Project). I find out what they thought of the Secretary of State's address to the Groundswell Big Top audience - and what needs to happen next with English farm policy?