In January I'll be heading to the Oxford Real Farming Conference and the Oxford Farming Conference. For the first time I'll be bringing you Meet the Farmers podcast episodes from both conferences, which I am very excited for. It's going to be a logistical challenge working out in which venue to be at which time … Continue reading Michael Gove to attend the Oxford Real Farming Conference
I was really pleased when I opened my copy of Farmers Weekly earlier today to find that Executive Editor Philip Clarke had chosen to focus his editorial piece on standing up to the racist slur shown towards dairy vet Navaratnum Partheeban, who incidentally wrote a discussion piece here on thinkingcountry a couple of weeks ago. … Continue reading Standing up to racism
The Carbon Farmer presents a vision for UK Peatland conservation, agriculture and climate action. Before reading on you may wish to view the film itself (it's only just over 7 minutes long). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAPGQ1wEJ08&t=2s I was privileged to be involved in this project (in a very small way) from the start, speaking to the film's producer, … Continue reading New film: ‘The Carbon Farmer’
Fashion trends come and go, and the rise of online shopping has led to more clothes in our wardrobe than we could ever wear. This has become a big thing in the UK, as we buy more new clothes than any other European nation, according to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee. Needless to … Continue reading The Push for Sustainable Clothing by Thomas Crabbe
This is another post in this current mini series of articles relating to the #FarmerMentalHealth campaign which encourages us all (not just farmers) to break the stigma of talking about mental health and look after our mental as well as our physical wellbeing. Firstly, the answer to the question in the title is almost certainly … Continue reading ‘Will a therapist help me?’ and 10 things you can do today to help your Mental Health #FarmerMentalHealth
Part of the #FarmerMentalHealth campaign, as well as Farmers Weekly's #Fit2Farm campaign, is about encouraging those who are struggling with their mental health to reach out to others for help. The most difficult thing in the world can be to accept that you are facing a problem but the old cliche that a problem shared … Continue reading Online Counselling, Telehealth #FarmerMentalHealth
It's not often that I leave a book with a lump in my throat but that's the case with Horatio Clare's recent journal The Light in the Dark. Brutally honest and emotionally harrowing Clare cuts to the heart of what it means to live with a mental health condition but also shows how the natural world … Continue reading Book Review: The Light in the Dark – A Winter Journal – by Horatio Clare
At this time of year it’s nice to give the birds in our garden a bit of a boost with some extra food and you get the benefit of being able to see lots of different species up close. Bird feeders don’t have to be expensive either – you can make your own. There are … Continue reading Make your own bird feeder – guest post by Tim Rogers
Partheeban Navaratnam is Senior Lecturer in Livestock Production at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester. He recently wrote an opinion piece in Farmers Weekly calling on us all to break down the ethnic barriers in farming and so I asked him to embellish on the subject on thinkingcountry. Agriculture and the veterinary profession are very important … Continue reading Making Farming and the Veterinary sector something we can all be involved in! – Guest post by Navaratnam Partheeban
I'm really excited to introduce this special podcast episode to you which was produced in collaboration with Matt Williams and the Wild Voices Project podcast. We visited Teleri Fielden (@TeleriFielden), a first generation farmer, who won a Wales Young Farmers Clubs and National Trust scholarship to run a farm in north west Wales for three … Continue reading ‘Meet the Farmers’ – episode 26 – Teleri Fielden
