The MacVet Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of The MacVet Podcast, Fiona speaks with Dr Millie Preece, also known as “Dr Cheese”, about her journey to become an artisan cheesemaker, dairy scientist and entrepreneur.

Millie shares how hands-on experience with a local cheesemaker sparked her fascination with the science and creativity of cheese, leading to research into how cheese affects emotion, a PhD on reduced-fat cheese, and the launch of her Shropshire-based cheese business, The Dairy Door.

The conversation also explores the realities of building a local food brand, supporting young people into agricultural careers, Millie’s role with the Society of Dairy Technology, and future themes for the dairy industry including digital technologies, sustainability, high-protein diets and stronger support for farmers. 

This episode highlights the importance of communication, connection and opportunity across agriculture, dairy technology and young people’s career pathways. 

Links:

The Dairy Door: https://thedairydoor.co.uk/

National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs: https://www.nfyfc.org.uk/

Society of Dairy Technology: https://www.sdt.org/pages/

In this episode, I’m joined by exercise physiologist Marcelle Malan as we discuss current trends in health and fitness alongside how to effectively communicate their relevance and context with clients.

We begin with why behaviour change is rarely just about logic, and why people often need a meaningful or emotional reason to stick with difficult habits.

Marcelle shares her view that different people are motivated by different levers — for some it’s emotion, for others it might be numbers, progress tracking, or competition — and that understanding those drivers is key to creating lasting change.

We then dive into the mechanics of breathing, which Marcelle feels are often missing from mainstream conversations about breathwork. Rather than focusing only on breathing techniques for relaxation or performance, she explains why it matters to understand what breathing is doing mechanically in the body. We discuss the role of the diaphragm not just in respiration, but also in spinal stability and movement, especially when lifting or carrying load.

We also chat about heart rate variability (HRV) and how it’s often presented as a simple marker of stress or recovery when the reality is much more nuanced. Marcelle explains what HRV is, why it can be useful when tracked over time, and why comparing your numbers to other people is rarely helpful. We also touch on how many health and fitness norms are based on male data, which can create misleading assumptions — especially for women.

Along the way, there’s plenty of humour, coffee chat and practical advice on how to think more critically about the information we absorb online.

Join the conversation with your thoughts, observations and feedback by leaving us a comment!

Links:

www.fitpro.com/blog/authors/marcelle-malan/

www.instagram.com/marcelle.malan_ep/

www.theepgroup.com.au/practitioners/

https://open.spotify.com/episode/74T9m0N6w0v7a94xY4ZYAn

Lorna Burdge runs Waterhayne Farms in Devon with her husband, helped out by their three children. She is on a mission to share her farming story, to help bridge the gap between consumers and food producers. She regularly speaks in person at local schools and keeps children engaged through Farmer Time, an online platform that offers video calls between farmers and classrooms.

Lorna also loves to share daily activities on the farm in Devon on her social media channel, from bringing the cows in from the fields, taking us through the milking parlour, feeding the calves and general jobs around the farm.

In this episode, Lorna talks about:

• confidently communicating about farming
• educating the next generation about agriculture
• the joy of drinking fresh milk in coffee

Notes from this episode:

Instagram account @waterhayne_farm

NFU Education: https://education.nfuonline.com/

Farmer Time: https://www.farmertime.uk/

Completing a marathon is a significant challenge for most people, so imagine what it must be like to complete a couple of marathons every day for around 10 months. This is the challenge that the modern dairy cow has mastered, with a truly impressive metabolic response.

Dairy vet and herd manager Nial O'Boyle has for some time been fascinated by the metabolic capacity of the dairy cow, which led him to study mitochondria and the role they play for his PhD.

Originally from Northern Ireland, Nial has worked in many different countries across the world, with extensive experience managing large, high yielding herds in the US.

In this episode, we discuss:

• ​how a cow uses energy,
• ​the importance of providing feedback for engagement,
• ​changes in farm veterinary practice over the past 20 years.

This episode will not only appeal to farm veterinarians and dairy farmers, but anyone who wants to hear more about cows!

Links from the episode:

'Oleic acid abomasal infusion limits lipolysis and improves insulin sensitivity in adipose tissue from periparturient dairy cows', Journal of Dairy Science paper open access:

https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(23)00195-9/fulltext

Contact Nial on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nial-o-boyle-14a815130/

CattleEye https://cattleeye.com/

Returning to the show for a third episode is our favourite exercise physiologist, Marcelle Malan! Marcelle works in private practice in Melbourne, Australia, helping clients understand how to engage with exercise to promote resilience and maintain physical and cognitive function well into older age. 

In this episode, Marcelle brings us up to date on the most effective types of exercise for women going into and after menopause. There's a weight of evidence that shows women significantly benefit from using weights, but sometimes the messages we hear from social media personalities can be misleading.

We also talk about which supplements you should consider taking for brain health, and Marcelle shares tips on how to keep exercise fun!

And if you haven't listened yet, you can check out her previous episodes from Seasons 1 & 2.

Notes from the show:

The Resilient Ageing Project

https://www.theepgroup.com.au/the-resilient-ageing-project/

FitPro Education Provider

https://www.fitpro.com/blog/authors/marcelle-malan/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/marcelle.malan_ep/

How would you like to have better interactions with others, less conflict at work, and to feel more confident in what you say?

Becoming an assertive communicator could help!

Gill Hasson has spent the past 30 years helping people improve their communication skills and realise their potential. She is a teacher, tutor, lecturer, speaker and has written close to 40 books.

In this episode, we discuss:

• how to deal with difficult people,
• simple tips to start improving your communication,
• Italian coffee makers and being wary of cows in a field.

Notes from the episode:

Gill Hasson website: https://www.gillhasson.co.uk/

Walking Through Cows: 3 Helpful Tips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh6LtpxZC2s

Two years since the podcast launched, we're catching up with our first guest from the world of fitness, Matt Gleed. Matt has worked in the fitness industry for nearly 25 years, providing a range of services from individual personal training, through to representing global fitness brands such as TRX and Matrix Fitness as an education specialist working with other personal trainers.

Matt has a knack for inspiring and motivating the people around him, winning numerous awards in recognition of this.In this episode, we catch up on Matt's latest role as Community and Leisure Manager for Central Swindon North Parish Council, where a key goal is to strengthen the diverse community through various fitness activities.

Just before taking on this new challenge last year, Matt suffered an acute Achilles tendon rupture, leaving him with restricted mobility.

Listen in to hear how Matt has adapted his communication approach working in a new role, his thoughts on communication strengths and weaknesses across age groups and, of course, we chat about coffee drinking habits and canine antics!

Notes from the show:

Moredon Sporting Hub

https://centralswindonnorth-pc.gov.uk/moredon-sporting-hub/

British Rowing article and You Tube videos

https://plus.britishrowing.org/author/author-mgleed/

Matt Gleed You Tube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@MattGleedPT

Back in 2012, farmer Dan Luff felt there had to be a different way to buy and sell cattle, so he decided to take matters into his own hands and co-founded SellMyLivestock, the online livestock marketplace.

He soon came across challenges that threatened to derail the startup but, reflecting on what the issues were and how they could be overcome, he and co-founder Jamie McInnes were able to adapt and build what is today an established and thriving business.

In this episode, we discuss:

• taking a positive attitude to turn an idea into a business,
• the future of cattle farming,
• posh coffee in Petersfield.

Listen in to hear Dan's thoughts on communication, cows and coffee!

Links from this episode:

SellMyLivestock website

https://sellmylivestock.com/about

Dr Paul Gaffney helps people get results when working under pressure. He is Lead Consultant in High Performance Sport Clinical Psychology at the Sport Ireland Institute and was Head of Psychology for Team Ireland for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

You may have heard his name if you're a fellow snooker fan, as Paul also works with professional snooker player Mark Allen.

Paul's journey to become a clinical psychologist was influenced by personal loss and the guidance of mentors.

In this episode we discuss:

using intuition to judge if someone needs support or space,

managing anxiety and conflict,

connecting over a coffee to support mental health.

Listen in to hear Paul's thoughts on communication, coffee and connection!

Links from the episode:

Dr Paul Gaffney Psychological Consulting

https://drpaulgaffney.ie/

Tim Ferriss Fear Setting TED talk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J6jAC6XxAI

Renowned for his tongue twisting talent on University Challenge, the UK’s toughest TV quiz show, Roger Tilling is the voice-over artist who can accurately pronounce the most complicated surnames at pace!

Roger’s journey to become an airline pilot gave him a great foundation in confident communication skills, so when he was forced to consider a different career path, broadcasting offered an ideal alternative to apply those skills.

In this episode, we discuss:

essential communication skills for an effective voice actor,

tips to warm up vocal chords and mouth muscles,

the delights of freshly-ground coffee beans.

Listen in to hear Roger’s thoughts on communication, cows and coffee!