This month we begin by hearing from Joel Salatin about the tensions that inevitably arise from family farming over two generations. Joel is a pioneering farmer who frequently tours the world teaching the masses about his diversified ecological farming system. Here he gives us his tips on ways of resolving generational conflict on a family farm.
The ever-inspiring Sophie Alexander was a finalist for Arable Farmer of the Year in 2017, which was due in part to her fascinating work on compost tea trials at Hemsworth Farm in Dorset. We first heard about these trials in the Organic Farmers and Growers event podcast in July of last year, but in this episode we catch up with Sophie for an update on the benefits and costs of the compost tea technique.
Next, we hear from Stephen Ware at Throne Farm in Herefordshire, who is working on solutions to prevent disease in his apple orchards. Stephen had previously farmed dense bush orchards, but has now redesigned part of his farm in favour of a more diversified agroforestry system. The larger gaps between the lines of trees allow the apples to dry out quicker after rainy periods, and the diversified system encourages insect pollinators to thrive and soil organic matter to increase. Stephen is looking for a share-farming opportunity with a local grazier to introduce rotationally grazed cattle to the system, to further the increase in diversity.
Finally, we hear about the impressive innovation of Geert van der Veer, who is interviewed by Koen van Seijen for the Investing in Regenerative Agriculture podcast. Geert van der Veer is a co-founder of Herenboeren, a community owned farm in the Netherlands. The Herenboeren model relies on the shared investment of a 200-person strong co-operative, who raise all the annual costs of their farm, and get to eat the fresh produce in return! It has been such a great success they are in the process of starting up 20 other farms using the same model.
We would like to thank Rebel Kitchen for their ongoing support. We love that they are a B Corp – which means that as a business they are accountable to maximise not only profits but also their social and ecological contribution to the Earth. We find the B Corp movement very inspiring!
Farmerama is produced by Jo Barratt, Abby Rose, and Katie Revell. Social media is led by Annie Landless with Eliza Jenkins and Olivia Oldham, and the music is by Owen Barratt. This week we had contributions from Koen van Seijen, and one of our original hosts Nigel, who interviewed Joel with Abby.