Farmerama

Hello, and welcome to Farmerama. Today, we’re sharing an episode from our friends in Australia. SOIL: Rewilding the Underground is a 6-part documentary podcast that follows the farmers, scientists, Indigenous custodians and communities who are turning degraded dirt back into living soil. We’re sharing episode one, which traces our relationship with soil over millennia, to understand how humanity impacts the living, breathing universe of soil hidden beneath our feet, and the role that we play in their ecosystems. The series is told by Freya Mulvey, a lawyer and environmental enthusiast, so it’s a slightly different and wider ranging perspective on soil than we usually cover on Farmerama - we think you’ll really enjoy it. If you do, go ahead and listen to the rest of the six-part series, and stay up to date with the amazing work that Jess and Freya are doing by following them on socials, adding your voice to their impact survey, or checking out the resources on their website - links below. As for Farmerama, we recently celebrated our 10th birthday! Thanks to all of you who’ve tuned in over this time - it’s a real privilege that we get to share the voices, knowledge and practical learnings of people on the land and seas and as ever we are so grateful for all of you out there doing the work on the ground to build a more ecological farming future for us all. For those of you in the UK, we will be at Groundswell on the 1st and 2nd of July, and will be hosting evening drinks on July 1st, where we will hear from some Cereal Revisited contributors as well as more celebrating a decade of storytelling with Farmerama listeners. Keep your eyes out for us in the Groundswell Programme! And stay tuned as we release our Summer season of episodes starting next month Enjoy episode one of SOIL: Rewilding the Underground. SOIL links: Follow the journey @soilpodcast on instagram Head to the website to listen to further episodes at https://www.thesoilpodcast.com/podcast and respond to the impact survey as well as find further resources!

SOIL: Common Ground is a three-part podcast series produced by Somerset House exploring what soil can teach us about being human, through the lens of art. Our Future is tied to the future of our soil. Our decisions as to how we care for and use it matter. Soil teaches us that cycles are ongoing, and even in decline every day offers us opportunities for new beginnings. In this final episode Shenece Oretha explores the regenerative qualities of soil and composting as a model for personal redemption. We hear from Palestinian grower Mohammed Saleh whose life story offers a personal story of hope, looking at how permaculture and art can help to heal the destructive impacts of war. Somerset Studios artist Harun Morrision’s singing compost invites us to see decay in a new light and Fin Jordâo lays out how composting can be a radical action for rethinking our relationships with each other and the planet. Does the future hold a closer, more natural relationship with the soil by rethinking our relationship to burial? Radical undertaker Ru Callander reconsiders our attitude to death. The series launches off from the Somerset House exhibition SOIL: The World at Our Feet. Presented by Shenece Oretha Produced by Jo Barratt and Alannah Chance Exec produced by Alannah Chance and Eleanor Ritter-Scott. The series is mixed by Mike Woolley Original music by Andrew Pekler. This series is part of the Somerset House Podcast.

This month we start at Folx Farm in Sussex with new entrant farmers Chrissy, Rae and Dunia. Next, we learn about the power of a composting network with Thomas Daniell and catch up with food activist and grower Jo Kamal about attending La Via Campesina’s international conference last year in Brazil, as part of the Landworkers’ Alliance. To finish, we ask Marco Carbonara about his experience learning to grow olives in Italy.

What do we do about meat? With this urgent question as its starting point, this series seeks to move beyond polarised debate and identify key questions and shared values to help us build a better meat future for all. In this final episode, co-hosts Katie Revell and Olivia Oldham reflect on everything they’ve heard over the course of the series, thinking about what they personally have learned and considering what common ground has been found amongst the values and priorities of everyone they’ve spoken to.

What do we do about meat? With this urgent question as its starting point, this series seeks to move beyond polarised debate and identify key questions and shared values to help us build a better meat future for all. In episode 6, co-hosts Olivia Oldham and Katie Revell explore questions of food justice as they relate to less and better meat. By speaking to food producers, researchers and eaters, they explore whether less and better meat risks entrenching existing injustices, or could support a transition to a fairer, more equitable food system.

What do we do about meat? With this urgent question as its starting point, this series seeks to move beyond polarised debate and identify key questions and shared values to help us build a better meat future for all. In episode 4, co-hosts Katie Revell and Olivia Oldham ask: why do we use land the way we do, and how should we use it in the future? They meet with farmers, academics and land management advisors, to delve into the history of land use in the UK, reflecting on the cultural and political factors that continue to shape it, and looking for common ground between advocates of different approaches.

What do we do about meat? With this urgent question as its starting point, this series seeks to move beyond polarised debate and identify key questions and shared values to help us build a better meat future for all. In episode 2, co-hosts Katie Revell and Olivia Oldham meet a climate scientist, along with regenerative and organic farmers across the UK, to discuss the complex ways that animal agriculture interacts with our natural environment. From how we measure emissions of greenhouse gases, to what we feed our animals, and which management systems we use, they ask – what is the place of farmers when it comes to less and better meat? Thank you to everyone on our Patreon. Your support helps us in bringing you the stories of regenerative farming around the world, each month. We appreciate it. If you'd like to join, please visit patreon.com/farmerama where you can choose your level of support.

This month we bring you a conversation Abby convened at Groundswell Festival back in June, focused on Landscape Scale Regeneration. We hear from three people involved in different ways in an initiative in Waterford, Ireland. This discussion expands upon the Commonland initiative in Southern Spain we featured back in Episode 68, highlighting the power of a common vision and the benefits of working across a whole region.