.png)
Welcome
INSIDE AGRI-TURF podcast was created to serve the exciting, innovative and always progressive market for agricultural, garden, turfcare, forestry machinery and equipment.
Launched in 2020 during lockdown, the podcast has notched up over 90 episodes and has over almost 5000 unique listeners.
We delve behind the news, cover myriad topics and talk to those at the sharp-end of this fascinating industry. Why not explore the episodes to date below?
Thank you for your interest - and happy listening.
Chris Biddle
FORTHCOMING EPISODES
March 16 IMPROVING EFFICIENCY with Will Dunn, Founder of Ag-Drive, a cloud-based management tool for farm and rural businesses
March 23 DEALER DEVELOPMENT with Jerry Hanss
March 30 ATTRACTING APPRENTICES with Ken Smyth, General Service Manager, Ernest Doe and Sons Ltd
April THE WE ARE LAND-BASED ENGINEERING CAMPAIGN with Ruth Bailey and Gareth Ford (AEA/LE-TEC)
Dates may be subject to change
LATEST NEWS
INTRODUCING Branded Podcasts
Inside Agri-turf has launched a companion podcast, AGRI-TURF BRANDED PODCASTS. Bespoke paid-for podcasts for companies or organisations to promote their products, events, people, news, customer stories, advice - or anything else
LATEST EPISODE: NO 96
APP-LAUDED with Will Dunn, Founder of Ag-drive
Young agri-tech entrepreneur, Will Dunn, talks about his new innovative app, Ag-drive, which was born out of practical farming experience – and resulted in him winning the top innovation award at the recent LAMMA show.
Ag-drive is a cloud-based app for agricultural contractors and farmers to help manage the business, from job planning through to completion, with the ability to send invoices linked to accounts packages such as Quick Books, Sage and Xero,
Ag-drive provides a truly paperless system making every farm contracting business accountable and traceable. The system is also being used by businesses and contractors outside the agricultural sector.
Will describes the development process, the testing, the constant tweaking and preparing the app for launch. He has recently returned from Australia after taking part in a research trip organised by Innovate UK.
PREVIOUS EPISODE: NO 95
RE-IMAGINING THE LITTLE GREY FERGIE
with Campbell Scott of Atomic Tractors
Campbell Scott spent over 30 years with Massey Ferguson and was Director Marketing Services AGCO EAME Region Massey Ferguson brand when he left in 2018.
Last year, he founded Atomic Tractors, a company focussed on developing zero-emission power units for tractors, working on hybrid versions utilising hydrogen power cells and battery.
A devotee of the engineering principles of Harry Ferguson, Campbell is also working on an electrically powered adaptation of the iconic Ferguson TE20 (Little Grey Fergie) - a futuristic model using innovative technology aimed at small farmers who need a simple machine to carry out multiple jobs
EPISODE: NO 94
PITCHES, POLO AND PILOTING
with John Ledwidge MBA
.jpg)
IN his early days, John Ledwidge loved football, and in particular Coventry City FC, but didn't know what a groundsman was - or did.
Today John is Head of Sports Turf and Grounds at Premier side Leicester City with a role that not only encompasses overseeing the preparation of pitches at the King Power Stadium and Seagrave training ground, but also responsibility for the Club owner's golf course, two polo fields, gardens and the pitches at Belgian 1st Division side Oud-Heverlee Leuven.
He is also the brains and driving force for the innovative multi-million pound Sports Turf Academy at Leiester which is now in its second year offering training courses, trials and research, technical and tournament support.
John received the prestigious Alex Millar Award at the 2022 Grounds Managment Association (GMA) Industry Awards, whilst his Leicester City grounds team won the Professional Football Grounds Team Award.
If that's not enough, John has recently gained his pilots licence and can view the stadium and training ground from the sky to check that everything is looking good.
CATCH-UP EPISODE: NO 93
AGRI-TURF TALK No 7
FEELING OK? LET'S TALK
The second of our Agri-Turf Talks panel episodes of 2023 focusses on mental health and well-being challenges facing the agricultural and turfcare industries. Our panel is:
ALEX PHILLIMORE Head of Communications and Development with The Farming Community Network (FCN), a charity supporting farmers and farming families which helps approx. 6000 people each year with a number of issues, including mental challenges. FCN runs a confidential helpline (03000 111 999) open 7am-11pm 365 of the year.
TOM JOHNSTON Tom was a guest on Inside Agri-Turf in May 2021 when he described how he experienced depression and a series of mental health issues as he took his first steps into agricultural engineering. He decided to return to college and connected with the turfcare industry and started his own turf machinery repair business serving customers across Fife and central Scotland, Johnston Turf Machinery
.png)
STEVE DUDLEY-BROWN. Steve has been in greenkeeping since he was 16, working in the UK and abroad and was a golf course manager for over 13 years. Today he works for the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) and is currently leading a campaign aimed at training 100 mental health first aiders to support greenkeepers and other staff through any difficulties they may be experiencing
Pictured clockwise from top right: Alex Phillimore; Tom Johnston,and Steve Dudley-Brown
CATCH-UP EPISODE: NO 92
AGRI-TURF TALK No 6 with all women panel
This is the latest in the series of Agri-Turf Talks panel discussions first launched in 2020 which has previously featured topics such as The Future of the Dealership, Agricultural Engineering and the Environment, Challenges of Recruitment and Combatting Supply Issues
This episode features an all-women panel discussing opportunities in an industry that is male dominated
Chris Biddle hosts the panel comprising Poppy Burrough, Sales Support Specialist JCB Agricultural Sales and Marketing, Hannah Robinson, Operations and Marketing Manager Brian Robinson Machinery, Lauren Savage, Technical Trainer AP Air Europe and Jackie Evans, Head of Grounds, Wellington College.
In a refreshingly open discussion, the panel talks about sexism, women's thought processes v men, selling their industry to outsiders, lack of focus on employment opportunities for women and their role models.
Pictured clockwise from top left: Lauren Savage; Jackie Evans; Hannah Robinson and Poppy Burrough
Photo credits: JCB; Hannah Robinson; AGCO and Ben Wright for Grounds Management magazine
.jpg)