The Farming Advice Service podcast brings you insight from our team of expert advisors on a range of cross compliance, best practice and sustainable farming issues.
This episode explores the unique challenges and considerations involved in farming on peatlands, offering insights for sustainable agricultural practices.
7 Apr 2025TRANSCRIPT
17: Succession Part 2 - with Mark Thomas of the Farming Community Network
Taken from our Succession webinar, hear from Mark Thomas of the Farming Community Network on approaches to succession planning for farm businesses.
7 Apr 2025TRANSCRIPT
16: Succession Part 1- with Heather Wildman of Saviour Associates
Taken from our Succession webinar, hear from Heather Wildman of Saviour Associates on approaches to succession planning for farm businesses.
30 Jan 2025
15: Farm Wildlife and Operation Turtle Dove
Laura Harpham is joined by Mark Nowers, Turtle Dove Conservation Adviser with the RSPB, to talk about approaches to wildlife friendly farming in 2025 and the successes and challenges of Operation Turtle Dove.
23 Aug 2024
14: Farm Safety Week with Stephanie Berkeley of Yellow Wellies
29 Feb 2024TRANSCRIPT
13: Q&A from the FAS webinar "The farming offer in 2024, with Janet Hughes and Jonathan Marsden"
If you would like to watch this webinar recording, you can find in on our FAS website here: https://www.farmingadviceservice.org.uk/webinars/fas-webinar-farming-offer-2024 (https://www.farmingadviceservice.org.uk/webinars/fas-webinar-farming-offer-2024)
29 Feb 2024TRANSCRIPT
12: Briefing sessions from the FAS webinar "The farming offer in 2024, with Janet Hughes and Jonathan Marsden"
If you would like to watch this webinar recording, you can find in on our FAS website here: https://www.farmingadviceservice.org.uk/webinars/fas-webinar-farming-offer-2024 (https://www.farmingadviceservice.org.uk/webinars/fas-webinar-farming-offer-2024)
29 Jan 2024TRANSCRIPT
11: Get ready for the Big Farmland Bird Count with GWCT
Following the popular webinar series delivered in partnership the Future Farming Resilience Fund (FFRF) and the Farming Advice Service (FAS), Programme Manager Laura speaks to Amelia Rome from Andersons on the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions for 2023, what is available and how to apply for an agreement.
Please note: all opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect FAS or Defra views.
You can also watch recordings of these webinars for further detail on options for particular farm systems through the links below.
Webinars:
Sustainable Farming Incentive Webinar - Mixed Farms (https://www.farmingadviceservice.org.uk/webinars/sustainable-farming-incentive-webinar-mixed-farms)
Sustainable Farming Incentive Webinar - Arable Farms (https://www.farmingadviceservice.org.uk/webinars/sustainable-farming-incentive-webinar-arable-farms)
Sustainable Farming Incentive Webinar - Grassland Farms (https://www.farmingadviceservice.org.uk/webinars/sustainable-farming-incentive-webinar-grassland-farms)
Sustainable Farming Incentive Webinar - Upland Farms
GOV.UK (http://GOV.UK) guidance on the Sustainable Farming Incentive
SFI Handbook for the SFI 2023 offer (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sfi-handbook-for-the-sfi-2023-offer)
Sustainable Farming Incentive guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sustainable-farming-incentive-guidance)
RPA Blog
For guidance on the soil testing requirements under the Farming Rules for Water please visit:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rules-for-farmers-and-land-managers-to-prevent-water-pollution (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rules-for-farmers-and-land-managers-to-prevent-water-pollution)
22 Sept 2023
9: Support available from ADAS through the Future Farming Resilience Fund
Laura Harpham speaks to Alex Kay at ADAS about their Future Farming Resilience Fund offer.
Find out more about free farm business advice and resilience support from ADAS at https://adas.co.uk/services/future-farming-resilience-fund/
You can also contact Alex directly at Alex.Kay@adas.co.uk (mailto:Alex.Kay@adas.co.uk) or 07767 161 762.
Details of organisations giving free FFRF advice (listed by county) are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-free-business-advice-for-your-farm/organisations-giving-free-advice-in-your-area-listed-by-county (https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fget-free-business-advice-for-your-farm%2Forganisations-giving-free-advice-in-your-area-listed-by-county&data=05%7C01%7CLaura.Harpham%40ricardo.com%7Ce7d80499307b496807ab08dbbabf1a8d%7C0b6675bca0cc4acf954f092a57ea13ea%7C0%7C0%7C638309102188987135%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xCav2HJGGvElFQhK%2Bz3BaK6AcMk%2BPnv%2FqHp0KzlgCrc%3D&reserved=0)”
30 Mar 2023
8: The Future Farming Resilience Fund with Sarah Starkey
Join Laura Harpham and Sarah Starkey as they discuss the business support available to farmers and land managers during the early years of the agricultural transition through the Future Farming Resilience Fund.
Organisations giving free FFRF advice (listed by county): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-free-business-advice-for-your-farm/organisations-giving-free-advice-in-your-area-listed-by-county (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-free-business-advice-for-your-farm/organisations-giving-free-advice-in-your-area-listed-by-county)
17 Mar 2023
7: Nutrient Management with Mel Holloway
Links to the resources mentioned in the podcast:
FAS webinar: Nutrient Management with Mel Holloway (https://www.farmingadviceservice.org.uk/webinars/nutrient-management-mel-holloway)
FAS technical article: Nutrient Management and Farming Rules for Water
AHDB Nutrient Management Guide (RB209) (https://ahdb.org.uk/nutrient-management-guide-rb209)
PLANET (https://www.planet4farmers.co.uk/Content.aspx?name=PLANET)(Planning Land Applications of Nutrients for Efficiency and the environmenT) - nutrient management decision support tool
MANNER-NPK (https://www.planet4farmers.co.uk/Manner.aspx) - software tool that provides farmers and advisers with a quick estimate of crop available nitrogen, phosphate and potash supply from applications of organic manure.
Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/catchment-sensitive-farming-reduce-agricultural-water-pollution)advice for farmers and land managers
Tried & Tested (https://www.nutrientmanagement.org/)online nutrient management tools
Future Farming Resilience Fund (FFRF) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-free-business-advice-for-your-farm) provides business support to farmers and land managers in the first few years of adapting to agricultural transition (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-farming-changes-to-farming-in-england).
16 Jan 2023
6: Mental Health in Farming
Laura Harpham is joined by Mark Thomas from FCN and Caroline Harrison from RABI to talk about the particular challenges for mental health in those who working in the farming industry. They talk about how attitudes are changing, how people approach taking care of their own and others' wellbeing, and where they can get help if they need it.
rabi.org.uk/how-we-help (https://rabi.org.uk/how-we-help/)
Freephone Helpline: 0800 188 4444
fcn.org.uk (https://fcn.org.uk/) / farmwell.org.uk (https://farmwell.org.uk/)
FCN Helpline (7am - 11pm): 03000 111 999
Samaritans( 24 hours a day, 365 days a year) - 116 123
National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK (https://www.spuk.org.uk/national-suicide-prevention-helpline-uk/) (6pm–3:30am every day) - 0800 689 5652
20 Dec 2022
5: Meet the Farming Advice Service Helpline Team
Hear from members of the FAS helpline team on what they can help with, the process for free expert referrals and how the team triage calls for other teams or services.
29 Mar 2022
4: Livestock movement and ID, with Laura Harpham and Ian Cairns
In this podcast, we speak to Ian Cairns about livestock movements and identification. Ian is farmer and consultant with 15 years of experience in proving advice to farmers. Laura asks Ian about the key things to know about this area of compliance and his tips on how to stay compliant with the rules.
28 Feb 2022
2: Farmer resilience with Keesje Avis and Suzy Deeley from RABI
In this podcast, we speak to Suzy Deely who is the head of partnerships at RABI. Suzy is from a farming background so has an understanding of the challenges farmers face both through her personal life and her work. Keesje asks Suzy her views on resilience in agriculture, including how she thinks it has changed over the years and key findings from RABI's Big Farming Survey which asked farmers about their business, mental and physical wellbeing.
28 Feb 2022
3: Reducing ammonia emissions on farm, with Keesje Avis and John Morgan of Creedy Associates
In this podcast, we speak to John Morgan of Creedy Associates about ammonia emissions and how they can be reduced on farms. John is keen to keep advice practical and affordable for farmers. Keesje and John talk about what ammonia is, what this means for farms and practical ways the emission can be reduced.
28 Feb 2022
1: Cross Compliance in 2022 with Laura Harpham and Andrew Wells
In this podcast, we speak to Andrew Wells from Arable Alliance about the changes to cross compliance in 2022. Andrew is an independent farm consultant and has been advising farmers on cross compliance for more than 15 years. Laura asks Andrew about the updates for 2022 and he provides his tips on how to stay compliant with the rules.
Inside a recent episode
18: Farming on Peatlands
Published 19 May 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] What is so important about the management of peatland? So peats and peatlands are really key carbon stores. They are an integral part of the net zero pathway, and all of the carbon budget leading up to 2050 as well. Every four or five years or so, there is a basically a marker at which point the idea is that you achieve certain emissions reductions so that by 2050, we reach net zero, and restoration and responsible management of peats as an integral part along that whole process, because of their capacity to store carbon. Emissions from peats or currently equate to around 2 % of the total greenhouse gas emissions from England, which I think is equivalent to just over a million homes, so it's essentially tackling and equivalent emissions reductions. […]
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