October 20, 2025 • 6 mins
Our UK Farming correspondent comments on the British Farming Awards, the autumn harvest and planting, drought-proofing and a “wartime-scale overhaul” to avoid a food crisis, plus what do you do with a problem like Prince Andrew and Fergie?
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here's a UK farm and correspondent farmer Tom Martin, social
media influencer arable Farmer, just north of London, and Tom,
I want to talk about the British Farming Awards for
twenty twenty five. I see you missed out on the
Arable Farmer of the Year title as well as the
Regenerative Farmer of the Year title. Were you nominated?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
No, I wasn't nominated, but I saw Arable Farmer of
the Year as Will Oliver, fantastic farmer not too far
away from here, been doing some great experimentation in the
world of grain maize and very very worthy recipients. Yeah,
there's there's some great some great captains of industry celebrated
at the British Farmy Awards. It's one of the two
(00:43):
kind of major British agriculture awards. There's the Farmer's Weekly
Awards from the Farmer's Weekly magazine, and then the British
Farming Awards is really I think founded by the Farmers Guardian.
That's the kind of countertitle to the Farmer's Weekly. So yeah, great,
it sounds like a great evening. I've been before but
didn't go this time. We've been pretty busy.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Yep last Thursday in Birmingham. Well, there's always next year
for you.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Tom.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
You've been flat out because I think you have you
finished all your autumn harvest and have you have you
got your winter sun crops?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
And that's right, so we I mean really we've been
flat out from from about the third and fourth of
July all the harvesting was completed, I guess in record time. Really.
We had such a dry spring and summertime. It's been
probably the worst harvest, but it's been followed by a
(01:34):
really kind autumn planting season. We're pretty dry here in
the East as usual, but we've had a little bit
of moisture. Everything's gone in really well. And of course
you know the seed when you plant it is full
of potential. Everything else after that will rob it. But
you know, it's a it's a time of optimism amidst
kind of political backdrop of kind of thoroughly depressing pessimism.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
I've picked up on a couple of stories and I'll
flick them through to you, and no doubt you will
have seen these as well. Scientists worn the UK must
grow drought proof weight or risk a food crisis. And
also we'll start with that one. But tying in with
that is that the UK food system needs a wartime
scale overhaul to survive. Let's start with the droughtproof weight.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Are you growing the no, but we are with I mean,
I guess what we're doing is we're trying to droughtproof
our soils. So we're improving our organic matter, improving our
soil health using things like green manures, cover cropping, companion planting,
that kind of thing, and differing rotations. But you know,
we as you guys are, we're an Ireland. We rely
(02:44):
on that maritime climate climate which is little rain, a
little and often, you know, and kind of relatively mild weather.
But we seem to be getting these more continental systems
where we're getting a lot of rain in the middle
of the middle and the end of winter, very dry
times the summer and hot temperatures, and so the wheat
(03:04):
varieties and other crops as well that we've traditionally employed
in the UK just don't seem to be performing in
this kind of new climate that we're experiencing. Kind of
fight the last five years, we've had real periods of
extended drought in the spring period. So yeah, we've definitely
got to be looking at the varieties, but there's a
(03:24):
lot of other things that we're doing at the same time.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
What about this wartime scale overhaul. You know, they're talking
about the biggest overhaul since the Second World War, and
one of the areas they're looking at is healthier diets
because at the moment in the UK, half of your
veggies are imported. And I couldn't believe the stet tom
eighty five percent of your fruit is imported.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah, well, I mean we've been grubbing up orchards, apple orchard,
traditional British apple orchards in those traditional areas of East
Anglia and in the West. They're not viable. We're undercut
by competition from abroad, and you know, so then therefore
we are, Yeah, we're importing eighty five percent. We've just
(04:12):
planted six hundred fruit trees on the farm last year
and so hopefully we can get a very small way
to mitigate that. But the report was in essence a
bit of an overhaul or recommending an overhaul. It was
one of those reports about kind of you know, food
systems twenty fifty and it was pretty high level. But
(04:32):
we clearly do need a bit of a change. We're
importing more food, I think than we've ever imported as
an island nation. We are less healthy than we've ever been.
People have never been more divorced from where their food
comes from. Our exercise or exercise levels I think are
going up. There's a huge disparity in exercise and fitness,
(04:55):
and so I do think we need a pretty systemic change.
Not sure we've got a government that's going to be
delivering that, but that you know, the challenge is there
and with it the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Well, unless your creckit team's going okay, mind you all
be it coached by a bunch of New Zealanders. Let's
just finish on a book I've been reading during my
travels in the past couple of weeks, and it's an
absolute shocker. It's called and titled and it's about the
former Duke of York and the former Duchess of York.
My goodness, those two are grifters and that's being kind
(05:29):
to them.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, do you know, well, you know, Jamie, I'm sure
every family's got it's black sheep, and if if yours
hasn't been, you are it probably.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
But this is not about me. This is about Andrew
and Fergie.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, it's pretty remarkable. You've got just you know that
the variation in that one one generation. You've got Andrew Charles,
who's doing a great job. You've got Princess and who's
the hardest working Royal is the most remarkable human being.
I mean, she's absolutely you know, she's an asolute rocket.
And then and then Andrew, who's you know, who's made
(06:06):
some pretty terrible decisions in well seemingly for decades. So
I'm sure there's more to come out, as there always is.
But yeah, I hope p we don't publish a book
about me. I'm well, that's skeletons in the closet.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Okay, at least you've got William and Kate to look
forward to, who I think will do a good job
carrying the Royal torch. And there's poor old It but
of course he's about as much use as a chocolate
teapot or an ashtray on a motorbike. But never mind,
he's not causing much harm. Hey, farmer Tom, thanks for
some of your time. We'll catch you back next month
and you start getting your CV ready for the British
(06:42):
Farming Awards for twenty twenty six, Thanks Davis,
Here's a UK farm and correspondent farmer Tom Martin, social
media influencer arable Farmer, just north of London, and Tom,
I want to talk about the British Farming Awards for
twenty twenty five. I see you missed out on the
Arable Farmer of the Year title as well as the
Regenerative Farmer of the Year title. Were you nominated?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
No, I wasn't nominated, but I saw Arable Farmer of
the Year as Will Oliver, fantastic farmer not too far
away from here, been doing some great experimentation in the
world of grain maize and very very worthy recipients. Yeah,
there's there's some great some great captains of industry celebrated
at the British Farmy Awards. It's one of the two
(00:43):
kind of major British agriculture awards. There's the Farmer's Weekly
Awards from the Farmer's Weekly magazine, and then the British
Farming Awards is really I think founded by the Farmers Guardian.
That's the kind of countertitle to the Farmer's Weekly. So yeah, great,
it sounds like a great evening. I've been before but
didn't go this time. We've been pretty busy.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Yep last Thursday in Birmingham. Well, there's always next year
for you.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Tom.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
You've been flat out because I think you have you
finished all your autumn harvest and have you have you
got your winter sun crops?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
And that's right, so we I mean really we've been
flat out from from about the third and fourth of
July all the harvesting was completed, I guess in record time. Really.
We had such a dry spring and summertime. It's been
probably the worst harvest, but it's been followed by a
(01:34):
really kind autumn planting season. We're pretty dry here in
the East as usual, but we've had a little bit
of moisture. Everything's gone in really well. And of course
you know the seed when you plant it is full
of potential. Everything else after that will rob it. But
you know, it's a it's a time of optimism amidst
kind of political backdrop of kind of thoroughly depressing pessimism.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
I've picked up on a couple of stories and I'll
flick them through to you, and no doubt you will
have seen these as well. Scientists worn the UK must
grow drought proof weight or risk a food crisis. And
also we'll start with that one. But tying in with
that is that the UK food system needs a wartime
scale overhaul to survive. Let's start with the droughtproof weight.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Are you growing the no, but we are with I mean,
I guess what we're doing is we're trying to droughtproof
our soils. So we're improving our organic matter, improving our
soil health using things like green manures, cover cropping, companion planting,
that kind of thing, and differing rotations. But you know,
we as you guys are, we're an Ireland. We rely
(02:44):
on that maritime climate climate which is little rain, a
little and often, you know, and kind of relatively mild weather.
But we seem to be getting these more continental systems
where we're getting a lot of rain in the middle
of the middle and the end of winter, very dry
times the summer and hot temperatures, and so the wheat
(03:04):
varieties and other crops as well that we've traditionally employed
in the UK just don't seem to be performing in
this kind of new climate that we're experiencing. Kind of
fight the last five years, we've had real periods of
extended drought in the spring period. So yeah, we've definitely
got to be looking at the varieties, but there's a
(03:24):
lot of other things that we're doing at the same time.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
What about this wartime scale overhaul. You know, they're talking
about the biggest overhaul since the Second World War, and
one of the areas they're looking at is healthier diets
because at the moment in the UK, half of your
veggies are imported. And I couldn't believe the stet tom
eighty five percent of your fruit is imported.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah, well, I mean we've been grubbing up orchards, apple orchard,
traditional British apple orchards in those traditional areas of East
Anglia and in the West. They're not viable. We're undercut
by competition from abroad, and you know, so then therefore
we are, Yeah, we're importing eighty five percent. We've just
(04:12):
planted six hundred fruit trees on the farm last year
and so hopefully we can get a very small way
to mitigate that. But the report was in essence a
bit of an overhaul or recommending an overhaul. It was
one of those reports about kind of you know, food
systems twenty fifty and it was pretty high level. But
(04:32):
we clearly do need a bit of a change. We're
importing more food, I think than we've ever imported as
an island nation. We are less healthy than we've ever been.
People have never been more divorced from where their food
comes from. Our exercise or exercise levels I think are
going up. There's a huge disparity in exercise and fitness,
(04:55):
and so I do think we need a pretty systemic change.
Not sure we've got a government that's going to be
delivering that, but that you know, the challenge is there
and with it the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Well, unless your creckit team's going okay, mind you all
be it coached by a bunch of New Zealanders. Let's
just finish on a book I've been reading during my
travels in the past couple of weeks, and it's an
absolute shocker. It's called and titled and it's about the
former Duke of York and the former Duchess of York.
My goodness, those two are grifters and that's being kind
(05:29):
to them.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, do you know, well, you know, Jamie, I'm sure
every family's got it's black sheep, and if if yours
hasn't been, you are it probably.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
But this is not about me. This is about Andrew
and Fergie.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, it's pretty remarkable. You've got just you know that
the variation in that one one generation. You've got Andrew Charles,
who's doing a great job. You've got Princess and who's
the hardest working Royal is the most remarkable human being.
I mean, she's absolutely you know, she's an asolute rocket.
And then and then Andrew, who's you know, who's made
(06:06):
some pretty terrible decisions in well seemingly for decades. So
I'm sure there's more to come out, as there always is.
But yeah, I hope p we don't publish a book
about me. I'm well, that's skeletons in the closet.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Okay, at least you've got William and Kate to look
forward to, who I think will do a good job
carrying the Royal torch. And there's poor old It but
of course he's about as much use as a chocolate
teapot or an ashtray on a motorbike. But never mind,
he's not causing much harm. Hey, farmer Tom, thanks for
some of your time. We'll catch you back next month
and you start getting your CV ready for the British
(06:42):
Farming Awards for twenty twenty six, Thanks Davis,
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