R2Kast 427 – Iain McDonell on farming across the world, environmental regulation and mentoring

About this episode

Iain McDonell discusses his diverse career in farming, environmental regulation, and mentoring in agriculture.

Today I had Iain on the R2Kast 🎙️ A really interesting chat with someone whose career has taken him from agricultural college through to farming, consultancy, environmental regulation and now working across farming in protected landscapes. 🌾 We spoke about his route into agriculture through Seale Hayne Agricultural College before heading off around the world working harvests and farms across Australia, New Zealand and the USA. From huge arable operations in Montana to cattle work in Queensland, it was a brilliant insight into how travel and hands on experience can shape your understanding of farming systems. 🍎   A big part of the conversation focused on his work with the Environment Agency and now within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, helping support farmers through environmental regulation, landscape management and changing policy. We got into the balance between food production and environmental responsibility, how farming has changed over the last two decades, and why communication and trust matter so much when working with the industry. 🌍 We also spoke about mentoring, football coaching and helping younger people into the sector, and how passing knowledge on is…

People in this episode

Host: Wallace Currie

Guest: Iain McDonell

Topics covered

• farming
• environmental regulation
• mentoring
• agriculture
• landscape management
• food production
• communication in agriculture

Keywords

• farming
• environmental regulation
• mentoring
• agriculture
• landscape management
• food production
• communication
• experience
• policy
• travel

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Environment Agency, Yorkshire Dales National Park, Seale Hayne Agricultural College

Places: Montana, Queensland, Australia, New Zealand, USA

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