Down on the Farm (Part Two)

Does planting new hedgerows help farmers, and how? Is having a connection with nature important to a farm’s success? And, where’s Jan? Paul is left to fly solo after a car breakdown means Jan cannot make it to Orton, and the farm of Jim Beary. Luckily, Lake District Farmers Head of Purpose and Sustainability Phil Scott can help out as the trio discuss life at Gaythorn Hall, a farm in the far east of Cumbria that falls within the boundaries of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. From his home among the flocks of sheep and herds of cows – as well as smaller numbers of pigs and chickens – Jim tells us about his past experiences in farming – including a ‘horrifying’ time on an arable farm as a crop sprayer – and his determination to do things less intensively and more sustainably to create high-quality food. We learn about the benefits of working with LDF, how to adapt to circumstances and the environment, how Jim has learned from his mistakes, soil resilience, and more sustainable feed types. You can see Jim’s Instagram account at @farmer_beary Listen to Jan and Paul’s first farm visit here: https://pod.co/transforming-tomorrow/down-on-the-farm-part-one

Om Podcasten

Sustainability is a key consideration for any contemporary business, from biodiversity to modern slavery, seabeds to factory floors. On Transforming Tomorrow, we’ll guide you through the complex, ever-changing and often exciting (yes, really!!) world of sustainability in business. Alongside members of the Pentland Centre, academic experts, and business leaders, we cover the theory and practice of mainstreaming social and environmental sustainability into purposeful business strategy and performance. Whether you are leading change in your business, or just want to know more about how asteroid mining may influence the future of sustainability, Transforming Tomorrow is the show for you. Taking you through it all are your hosts, Jan and Paul, who bring insight, perspective, and not a little amount of disagreement, to all the subjects. Professor Jan Bebbington is the Director of the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University. Jan is an expert on accounting, benchmarking (to her co-host’s annoyance), and how business and sustainability intersect. She loves nature and wants to protect it – and hopes she can change the world (ideally for the better). She is also motivated to address inequality wherever it is found and especially to eliminate forced, bonded or child labour. Transforming Tomorrow is one small step on that quest. Paul Turner is a former sports journalist who now works promoting the research activities in Lancaster University Management School – a poacher turned gamekeeper as his former colleagues would have it. He has always been interested in nature and the natural environment – it comes from growing up in Cumbria – and has been a vocal proponent of the work of the Pentland Centre since joining Lancaster University. He does not like rankings and benchmarking, and is not afraid to say so. Join us every Monday to uncover new insights and become a little more inspired that you can make a difference in sustainability.