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R2Kast - People in Food and Farming/All In
R2Kast 351 – Susan Poizner on fruit trees, regenerative soil care, and global understanding through storytelling
Today we welcome Susan Poizner onto the R2Kast! 🎙️ A fruit tree expert, author, and podcast host, Susan brings a wealth of knowledge about sustainable horticulture and the unexpected turns that led her from journalism at the BBC to growing urban orchards. 🌳📚
We hear how a backyard gardening project—sparked by her husband—blossomed into a lifelong passion for tree care, community orchards, and education. Susan shares how she learned the hard way that fruit trees aren’t like zucchini, and how this led her to write books and teach online to empower others. 🍎🌿
Susan speaks with Wallace about her work in Russia post-USSR, helping teach market economics through storytelling with the BBC. Their conversation spans global travel, language learning, and the importance of empathy across borders—highlighting how storytelling and curiosity can unite people. 🌍📖
We close with practical advice on regenerative gardening and fruit tree care—from the importance of soil microbes and leaf mulch to pruning techniques and why the right tree choice makes all the difference. An inspiring, warm, and wise chat on nature, education, and kindness. 🌱✨
Enjoy! 😊
Thank you to Howden Rural for the continued support.
#SusanPoizner #FruitTrees #UrbanOrchards #GrowFruitTreesFast #RegenerativeGardening #SoilHealth #BBCWorldService #TreeCare #BackyardGardening #CommunityOrchard #HorticultureEducation #SustainableFarming #SoilMicrobes #CompostWisdom #PruningTips #StoryBasedLearning #GlobalPerspective #KindnessMatters #R2Kast #PeopleInFoodAndFarming #HowdenRural
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2. R2Kast 404 – Madeleine West on new entrants, lambing and finding a way into farming
01:09:05||Season 6, Ep. 2Well today we welcome Madeleine to the R2Kast 🎙️ A brilliant chat with someone who found her way into farming later than most and proves there is no single route into the sector. 🌾We talked about her upbringing around agricultural workers, a career working with children with additional needs, and the moment a simple lambing job during lockdown changed everything. From turning up in DMs and an old shirt to falling in love with lambing and farm life, her journey was honest and refreshing. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about her work today on a rare breeds farm, combining livestock, education and community engagement, alongside studying regenerative agriculture. Her passion for learning, asking questions and making space for others coming in behind her really shone through. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂
1. R2Kast 403 – Anna Wylie on law, farming and youth voices in food policy
01:01:56||Season 6, Ep. 1Well today to kick off the sixth series of the podcast we welcome Anna to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone juggling life on the family farm with law, policy work and a serious passion for improving how young people are heard across food and farming. 🌾We spoke about her journey from an arable and beef farm in Fife to studying law, living across Europe through Erasmus, and working in global policy and technology spaces before feeling the pull back home. Her honesty about missing the farm and realising food security was missing from major policy conversations really stood out. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about her work bringing young voices into policy spaces, from national food strategies to building something new through the UK Youth Food and Farming Forum. Her belief that young people should be meaningfully involved, not tokenised, came through strongly and made for a powerful conversation. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂
119. R2Kast 402 – Claudia Audley on poultry passion, childhood entrepreneurship and keeping hens happy
55:18||Season 5, Ep. 119Well today we welcome Claudia to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone who has lived and breathed chickens since she was six years old, turning her sister’s unwanted hens into a full blown breeding hobby, a little business and eventually an educational platform followed by thousands. 🌾We talked about how she became overstocked at eight years old, selling chicks from rabbit hutches, learning through trial and error, reading Practical Poultry and building a client base before most kids knew their times tables. Her stories of juggling colours, managing the pecking order and keeping hundreds of birds as pets were brilliant. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing how that childhood obsession turned into the work she does today, from breeding Pekins in every shade of the rainbow to helping people across the UK look after their hens properly. Her knowledge on housing, red mite, dust baths, feeding, flock introductions and avian influenza was unreal, and her passion for welfare came through the whole way. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂
118. R2Kast 401 – George Dunn on tenancy, faith and three decades shaping farming
01:03:13||Season 5, Ep. 118Well today we welcome George to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone who has spent nearly 30 years leading the Tenant Farmers Association and has seen more policy cycles, governments and tenancy changes than most of us could list. 🌾We talked about his journey from Belfast to agricultural economics, joining the old Ministry of Agriculture, and eventually stepping into the TFA at a time when the whole tenancy landscape was shifting. His stories about navigating succession rules, short term agreements, landlord relationships and the fight to protect tenant rights were fascinating. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about his faith and how deeply it shapes the way he leads. From rural church work to the Farming Community Network, he spoke about supporting people not just technically but pastorally, and how that “head and heart” balance is at the centre of everything he does for the sector. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂
117. R2Kast 400 – Cameron Kinch on Big Brother, farming and finding his voice
01:04:42||Season 5, Ep. 117Thank you for supporting for 400 episodes! What a ride it’s been! Here’s to 500 🎉Well today we welcome Cameron to the R2Kast 🎙️ A young arable farmer who somehow found himself swapping the grain store for the Big Brother house and ended up becoming one of the standout voices of the whole series. 🌾We talked about life on the family farm, his unusual school where you could be learning maths one minute and milking cows the next, and how a news interview at a farming protest planted the first spark that maybe he belonged on camera. A few months later he filled out an application on a whim and suddenly he was in lockdown, phone gone, heading into the house. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about the friendships he built in there and the moment he opened up about inheritance tax. That clip travelled far beyond the show and struck a chord with thousands of farmers who felt seen and heard at a time when the sector needed it. Cameron spoke about what that reaction meant and how powerful it felt to use a mainstream platform to give farming a voice. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂
116. R2Kast 399 – Leah Davies on Welsh roots, marketing and building a fast moving career
01:05:17||Season 5, Ep. 116Well today we welcome Leah to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone whose story moves quickly, from Welsh speaking smallholding life to dropping out of uni on her birthday and walking straight into agricultural marketing. 🌾We chatted about how she messaged Andy at Hillsgreen on a whim, turned a week of work experience into 15 months, and found out she preferred real world creativity over lectures. Her honesty about wanting pace, purpose and practical learning made a lot of sense. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about her role with the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society. From the madness of running social media at the winter fair, to launching a content creator internship so the show can finally be covered properly, to helping steer one of the biggest events in UK agriculture. Her passion for Wales and pride in the show really shone through. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂
115. R2Kast 398 – Katelyn Randle on marketing, broccoli stems and building a career in food
01:06:49||Season 5, Ep. 115Well today we welcome Katelyn to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone whose early career has moved quickly, from Harper Adams to placements, into food marketing, and now into a role working with sustainable ingredients made from broccoli stems. 🌾We spoke about how she nearly studied law before a last minute spark pushed her into agri food marketing. Her time at Harper was full of funny moments, including turning up to crop class in sparkly wellies and confidently identifying a blade of grass as green. During her placement year she found herself learning everything from finance to branding to factory life, all while navigating the chaos of large team meetings and the curse of confusing acronyms. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about her current work helping turn broccoli stems into fibre ingredients, reducing waste and adding nutritional value in a really clever way. Her passion for people came through constantly, from supporting international visitors to juggling marketing, communications and everything else you’d expect in a fast moving startup environment. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂
114. R2Kast 397 – Bill Gray on curling, farming and a lifetime in the industry
01:12:29||Season 5, Ep. 114Well today we welcome Bill to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone many folk in Scottish farming will know well. We started with his journey from Belfast to St Andrews, studying medicine before realising it wasn’t the right path, and how that eventually led him into agriculture through rugby clubs, mentors and a real love of working on the land. 🌾We spoke about his thirty years at Rosemains, running a mixed arable estate, the changes he’s overseen, the monitor farm years, and the diversification that’s brought new life into the place. His honesty about learning on the job and the value of great mentorship was brilliant. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about his curling career. Representing Ireland, beating Canada in a world final and winning the 2012 World Senior Championships. The pride, the teamwork and the story behind it really shone through. 🌍We rounded off with RHS governance, being chair during COVID, the emotion of the showcase year, his MBE, and the advice he gives to anyone coming into farming today. Bill has lived a life full of graft, passion and service to the industry.Enjoy! 🙂
113. R2Kast 396 – Ally Hunter Blair on podcasting, farming and life on and off camera
01:29:48||Season 5, Ep. 113Well today we welcome Ally to the R2Kast 🎙️ Someone many of you will know from the telly, from farming, or now from podcasting as the co host of Meet the Farmers The Big Debate. We kicked off chatting about how that show began, how he ended up working alongside Sophie and Ben, and the challenge of debating topics when everyone secretly agrees. 🌾We got into the farm at Weir End, how he took over the tenancy, the move into diversification, his ongoing hunt for the perfect legume crop and the reality of trying peas, beans and soya with very mixed results. His honesty about the highs and frustrations of arable farming made for a brilliant conversation. 🍎One of my favourite parts was hearing about his TV days and the chaos, comedy and madness behind the scenes. From Discovery filming the whole place, to his dad unexpectedly stealing the show, to dealing with online criticism and learning when not to reply. It really showed how grounded he is and how much he values people and community. 🌍Enjoy! 🙂