If Nikki is a human being, I am a slug.  By this I mean - we share 80% of our farming DNA but it still seems we see things differently.  This was a theraputic conversation that allowed me to accept the final 20%.  "It is what it is" as they say in Love Island. It's OK not to think exactly the same way and maybe there's wisdom in other opinions.  Now I feel like Jerry Springer. I mentioned "Scotland the What" and specifically the Balleter Toy Shop sketch.  Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzS3AdzZ0Nw  Hope you enjoy this episode.

Holly Beckett could possibly change your life. Quietly and without a lot of fuss she has been helping people become more focussed,  less stressed and have a renewed appreciation of life.  She has been introducing mindfulness to the UK farming industry and its making a difference to people. Keep an open mind.  Even if mindfulness is not for you, I think this interview is full of wisdom and great stories. If you fancy trying the 5 day brain training challenge click here More generally, Holly's website is here: https://www.focussedfarmers.com/ The Steve Jobs speech Holly mentions is brilliant: Steve Jobs Speech - Joining the dots Holly also mentions research that suggests the human mind can have an effect on physical matter. Not quite as much as the girl from Stranger Things but ..... Slit experiment - detailed; Slit experiment - simpler

This is enormous.  Its the biggest and longest.  Don't be scared. Alex Brewster is a fascinating chap whatever your own farming philosophy.  In my opinion he is one of the best communicators in UK agriculture. A Soil Farmer of the Year, a Nuffield Scholar and someone who stole the show at the Oxford Farming Conference. You will soon know him as Beanie due to some sort of mystical unexplained force makes you ditch his real name.  Try and play along with Beanie Bingo which involves drinking alot each time the phrase "Point of Balance" is used.    

Daniel has grown a beard that provides more biodiversity habitat than Knepp Estate. He cares for it deeply, sometimes with product.  He has scanned many sheep in his career but his true destiny is to be the biggest sheep nerd in either hemisphere.  He is from a place called New Zealand and if he was on a cruise liner his favourite deck would be deck six. I honestly know of few people with such strong sheep chat.  I think you'll like it.

With his long torso and teeny, tiny legs Graham Lofthouse and his family own 109.99999999999999 Hectares in Galawater in the Scottish Borders.  A man driven by the knowledge that nothing is ever perfect but there's always hope that one day it might be, we speak about all sorts - sport, psychology, decimal points and obsessive attention to farming detail.  I make a big enough mistake to probably get a Hawick Fatwa issued on me regarding 1980s lock forward Alan Tomes. Graham has a huge agricultural knowledge and breaks down how he makes money from a relatively small land resource.  A former AgriScot Sheep Farmer of the Year, I hope we can be best friends in future.

If a life lived in fear is a life half lived then Tim has a double life #pasturearithmetic.  One of the founders and drivers of the Exlana breed he loves breeding and statistics .... what are the chances of that?  The Exlana sale is on Tuesday 3rd August. Checkout their website https://www.exlana.co.uk/sales Link to register for the Farmax ‘The Benefits of Pasture Monitoring and Data Collection’ Webinar go to: https://forms.gle/oAwuiWtVGr3ynz7n9

Recorded when Jamie was 38 years old, this week Jamie has his 40th birthday.  We didn't talk that long rather the editor is well rubbish. Jamie is from Shetland and has made great strides in his farming business despite being in a challenging environment.  He is also the most northerly Fodder Beet grower in the world though his friend Matthew from up the road is wrestling this crown from him as we speak.

Not all heroes wear capes some have a buzz cut and speak Welsh.  Rhys may be the most succesful first generation farmer I know but I still want to be a little vague just in case any of the other first generation farmers I know think it might be them instead. There are around five people in this world I've learnt most from in terms of pasture.  Rhys is one of the five.  I hope you learn as much. I've tried to summarise some technical things in the photos.

Five months later than it should have been but Murray is worth waiting for.  A New Zealander of great enthusiasm, I got up with him the night before a Soil Association Scotland "Paddock Grazing for Profit" day. The Soil Association Scotland do a whole range of days on lots of topics (see here) Murray was a key person in pumping people up about pasture in Scotland and those on The Farming Forum might know him as Global Ovine.

Born and raised on the right side of the Fen and far enough away from the smell of cabbages in Lincolnshire, Liz Genever grew up to be a significant driver of knowledge transfer in England.  A force of nature within AHDB Beef & Lamb for a number of years, she was key to helping get the Ram Compare and Challenge Sheep projects up and running; she was one of the first specialists to seriously talk about rotational grazing and she even set up a project that introduced Farmax to the UK. Anyone who has been to the Sheep Breeders Roundtable will be under no illusions that she might have organised it all. She has recently left AHDB to start up on her own as an independent consultant.   An hour and ten minutes wasn't really enough but hope you enjoy it.