Conservation Grazing: Balancing Food Production and Biodiversity

Elise Sutton on the left, a smiling woman in outdoor attire with a colourful knit hat, standing next to a large, shaggy-coated Highland cow in a grassy field. Elise is resting her hand on the cow's back. The cow, with impressive curved horns, stands prominently in the centre. The backdrop shows bare trees and a clear sky, suggesting a crisp autumn or winter day on a farm or rural setting.

Conservation grazing is an increasingly popular approach to land management that's catching on across the UK. It's a method that uses livestock to meet conservation objectives, primarily by removing dominant vegetation to allow threatened species of plants, birds and insects to thrive. This technique is becoming more common on nature reserves throughout the country, with … Continue reading Conservation Grazing: Balancing Food Production and Biodiversity →

187: Soil, Dung Beetles, and Longhorn Beef with Elise Sutton

English Longhorn cattle in a grassy field. On the left, a cow with large curved horns stands prominently, its brown and white patched coat visible. To the right, another cow with a lighter coat and yellow ear tag looks directly at the camera. Behind them, two more cattle can be seen grazing. The background shows a clear blue sky and autumn trees, creating a pastoral countryside scene.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2AcYu75pxYHjEFOFXXr0Of Can farming and conservation coexist harmoniously? How can farmers produce high-quality food while protecting biodiversity? Elise Sutton, a passionate conservationist and livestock manager at Cherry Lodge Farm, shares her experience in balancing food production with nature conservation. Elise talks about conservation grazing using English Longhorn cattle on a 650-acre farm that includes a Site … Continue reading 187: Soil, Dung Beetles, and Longhorn Beef with Elise Sutton →

186: Climate-Resilient Crops – Gene Editing with BetterSeeds and Ido Margalit

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2hXjTYu2gfnt37EKLULHr3 What are the latest advancements in gene editing for crops? How can genetic engineering help plants withstand climate change? Is genetically modified food safe for consumption? To answer these questions, I talk with Ido Margalit, a co-founder and the CEO of BetterSeeds, a plant genetics company focused exclusively on using genome editing/CRISPR technology for … Continue reading 186: Climate-Resilient Crops – Gene Editing with BetterSeeds and Ido Margalit →

185: Farmers’ Perspective on Carnivore Reintroductions with Jonny Hanson

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4zglYTuVc3e21c943KDYu0 Can large carnivore conservation coexist with livestock farming? In this episode, environmental social scientist Jonny Hanson and I discuss the complex issue of large carnivore reintroductions in Britain and Ireland. What are farmers' perspectives on sharing landscapes with predators like wolves and lynx? How can we balance conservation goals with the realities of modern … Continue reading 185: Farmers’ Perspective on Carnivore Reintroductions with Jonny Hanson →

183: Nature Restoration Law – an Irish Farmer’s Perspective with Bill O’Keeffe

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2P5wRUKaApPzbHjB0EmVlO Why was the farming community so opposed to the EU’s Nature Restoration Law? Doesn’t a healthy ecosystem benefit agriculture? Isn’t the availability of additional payments for alternative use of unproductive land a good thing? Aren’t the measures built into the law sufficient to protect the actively used agricultural land? To find answers to those … Continue reading 183: Nature Restoration Law – an Irish Farmer’s Perspective with Bill O’Keeffe →

181: Farming and Soil Biodiversity with Stuart Meikle

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3u0iFOeVuZ4sY9XK3sDAwa What is sustainable agriculture? Does regenerative farming mean focusing primarily on the soil biome? Is farming a leading cause of biodiversity loss? …and do we really have only 60 harvests left? To get the answers to those and other questions about farming and biodiversity, join me for a conversation with an agricultural management and … Continue reading 181: Farming and Soil Biodiversity with Stuart Meikle →

177: Nature, Farming and Politics with Saoirse McHugh

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3gIrzcaKjqTNMXMVqWaBN1 Politics is a topic that is often avoided by many nature and science communicators. They don’t want emotions, controversy and often abuse related to expressing their political views or even commenting on such. I was one of them, but I’m gradually coming to the conclusion that it is the wrong tactic. As one of … Continue reading 177: Nature, Farming and Politics with Saoirse McHugh →

144: How to Cut All Chemical Nitrogen on a Farm with James Foley

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2KEERp5msXQsmC8fLqACK0?si=67224b4eeec6436e I always enjoy speaking with farmers, whether on my podcast or when I’m out in the fields hunting and fishing. Therefore, I welcomed an opportunity to not only talk with James Foley, a dairy farmer from Co. Waterford, but to visit him and spend the day on his farm. Yes, that means it’s one … Continue reading 144: How to Cut All Chemical Nitrogen on a Farm with James Foley →

143: Emergent with Miriam Kate McDonald

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1dFGDPogQaVxPMLt1BXxww?si=d2e3469535b84c7d In conversations about nature and wildlife, we often observe an ideological divide between two groups: farmers and rewilders. This divide can be seen in their different approaches to conservation and land management. Farmers tend to prioritise the production of food and other resources, while rewilders focus on restoring natural habitats and ecosystems, with a … Continue reading 143: Emergent with Miriam Kate McDonald →

Apocalypse Cow – The End of Veganism | Tommy Says…

https://youtu.be/Vp1Hle-NP5U Apocalypse Cow is an anti-farming documentary heralding the end of agriculture. But I say it’s about the end of veganism and a showcase for hunting. Here is why.