The Pasture Pod – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Claire can be found on Instagram as dr_dowhittle

The Regenerative Vet website: https://theregenvet.co.uk/

The Carbon Calling Panel session with Claire, Nikki, Amy and Sarah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3APZqJpHwbQ&t=3007s

Become a Patron on Patreon ("It's quite good actually"): patreon.com/thepasturepod

Farmax website: https://www.farmax.co.nz/

Cows and Effect on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/cows-and-effect/id1823193312

Cows and Effect on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/32Bo5Rie5F8mqXzm7Fgt3z

Working Cows Episode on leased cows: https://workingcows.net/ep-063-aaron-berger-leased-land-and-cow-herds/

I spent most of this episode in my pants watching YouTube.  Clips used are for educational purposes. The series up to this point was on a roll with reviews like "I'm enjoying it much more than I thought I would" - but this was a big test to keep the underwhelming momentum up.  Systems is such a monster of a subject but I hope you get something from it.

Additional thanks to James Sills (@JRDSills) off of Twitter for talking about Elon's 5 steps.

Books and YouTube clips:

Thinking in Systems by Donnella H Meadows

Russell Ackoff example speech

James Paine lecture

Everyday Astronaut and Elon Musk

Episode 3 sees me continue haphazardly like King Arthur in Monty Python's Holy Grail ... no horse and just coconuts as a sound effect.  I eventually take my brave tablets and speak to "The Australian", then spend the rest of the episode trying to translate things to a UK Context. Luckily I have some sensible people helping.  Can we nail down what is possible in terms of labour efficiencies in UK farming?

The quest for answers continues.  Is our use of time the invisible handbrake on our lives and businesses that we leave on without realising?  I visit three dairy farms and hear about their experiences and challenges, within them there are parables and wisdom and glimpses of the answer.

Warning: may contain poor analogies.

Books mentioned in this episode:

Yes I Can: Achieve Success with the Life-Planning Toolkit by Con Hurley

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R Covey

A Book for Life: 10 Steps to Spiritual Wisdom, a Clear Mind and Lasting Happiness by Jo Bowlby

A departure from the normal Pasture Pod, I do my best attempt at being a poundshop Louis Theroux and go on a quest to find answers on how time affects farming and how we can use time to affect our lives and businesses for good.

Episode one contains a record breaking number of metaphors per minute of narration ... so be prepared. Thankfully all is saved by those that were interviewed.

Profound thanks to the Frank Parkinson Agricultural Trust for their support in the making of this. 

Episodes will be released weekly from 16th January 2023 ... there will be six or seven in total. There will also be at an opportunity to interact on the subject after this series is over through a couple of webinars in March.

Once apon a time soil was less cool than flares (when they weren't trendy) and plastic shoes.  I may have been forced to wear the latter two items of clothing as a young adult but at least I wasn't studying soil science!!  BUT times have changed, a revolution has happened and soil science might be - quite possibly - one of the coolest things going.  Joel Williams is one of the people that have made it cool - a bit like Damon Albarn was to Britpop without the pretentiousness.  If you get depressed at all the chat that sneers at carbon sequestration from those with the loudest voices, listen to this to feel a lot better.  The power of rotational grazing and its benefits to soil health is very real - keep putting up those fences folks and keep getting pumped up by pasture!

LInk to info on Joel's Foliar Nitrogen course:  https://www.integratedsoils.com/foliar-nitrogen

Gus and Duncan are full siblings with impressive EBVs for 3 Hour Bantz; Low CoP and Positive Mental Attitude. They are both structurally correct with good locomotion and teeth but increasingly bare heads.  

The Pasture Pod returns to its roots with this episode - hardore farming chat and a glimpse into the motivation of a couple of awesome individuals.

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