SideCountry Podcast

What connects baking sourdough, climbing mountains, keeping chickens, deer stalking, forestry, fishing, farming and knowing how to sharpen a chainsaw? In this episode - broqadcast across every show on the SideCountry Network - Richard Prideaux and George Browne attempt to explain what SideCountry actually is, why it was built, and where the network is heading. They start with George’s idea of the “sourdough pipeline”: the idea that apparently unrelated countryside interests are often connected by the same desire to learn, make, understand and do things for yourself. From there, they look at how SideCountry brings those worlds together - not as one enormous general-interest podcast, but as a network of shows, articles, films and resources covering different parts of life in the British countryside. They also explain why SideCountry aims to occupy some of the ground between the usual rural tribes and echo chambers; bringing farmers, foresters, anglers, shooters, walkers, conservationists, climbers and others into the same wider conversation without insisting that every subject needs a simple good-versus-bad answer. Richard and George discuss plans to establish SideCountry as a Community Interest Company, how the project will be funded, why commercial income will be reinvested into the network, and the importance of maintaining editorial independence. There is also a look at what’s already here - SideCountry , Countryslide and Fish and Game - and some of what is coming next, including Wild Food People, a forestry show, How the Countryside Works and Land Girls, alongside articles, gear guides, practical resources and films. Plus drive-by agronomy, aggressive protein acquisition, Kevlar kilts, Heath Robinson smokers, professional explaining and the continuing possibility of a company yacht. This episode is being published across the SideCountry podcast feeds as an introduction to the wider network.Find out more, sign up for the newsletter or get involved at sidecountry.co.uk. CreditsPresented by George Browne and Richard Prideaux Produced and edited for SideCountry by Amy Green. DISCLAIMER Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.

Britain's 2026 harvest has been brutally early, dry and disappointing. With cereal yields down across much of the country, the obvious story is drought. But the economics underneath it may be more important. Herefordshire farmer Martin Williams joins Richard Prideaux and Richard Negus to explain why he decided last year not to grow cereals at all. What follows is a wider conversation about the business of British farming: shrinking margins, fertiliser and fuel costs, SFI, global grain markets, dairy, land prices, mixed farming, anaerobic digestion and solar. They also look at the uncomfortable question of what farmers should actually do when producing food no longer offers the best return from their land. Martin argues that British agriculture is already consolidating, that policy has helped shape some decidedly odd business decisions, and that adapting to a changing climate will require more than simply hoping next year's weather is kinder. The conversation finishes with water: storing more of it, keeping more of it in soils, sharing it better, and using it to build farming businesses capable of coping with hotter summers and wetter winters. Plus: Poldark, recreational tillage and the important distinction between a Merlo and a bottle of Merlot. In this episode Why Martin Williams decided not to grow cereals this year What the 2026 harvest looks like across England and Scotland Why wheat margins have become increasingly difficult for some farmers The impact of fertiliser, diesel and other input costs How SFI and agricultural policy are influencing cropping decisions Why a poor UK harvest does not necessarily mean higher food prices Global grain markets, Russia and the importance of logistics Land values, agricultural borrowing and the strange economics of farmland Why dairy farmers can be buying and selling cows at the same time Whether British farming could ever return to more mixed farming systems The long-term decline in the number of farms and the consolidation of agriculture Energy crops, anaerobic digestion and the debate around food versus fuel Solar farms, land use and what happens to agricultural land over the long term How climate change and increasingly erratic weather affect farm resilience Why Martin thinks water storage and water management should be a priority for British farming The role of collaboration, farm reservoirs and soil organic matter in adapting to drier summers Links Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 — Defra guidance Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) AIC policy team — including Ed Barker Lloyds Bank agriculture — with Ben Makowiecki Future Biogas — anaerobic digestion and energy crops Turriff Show National Farmers’ Union Defra drought support — including funding for on-farm reservoirs Defra guidance on farming during prolonged dry weather and drought CreditsPresented by Richard Negus and Richard Prideaux Produced for SideCountry by George Browne and edited by Amy Green. DISCLAIMER Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.

Do Britain’s uplands need more management, less management, or simply a different kind? Recorded at The Game Fair 2026, Richard Negus and George Browne are joined by Dr Nick Hesford and Dr Felix Meister of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust to examine the red grouse and the much larger argument surrounding its habitat. The conversation ranges across heather moorland, muirburn, wildfire, legal predator control, grouse disease and GWCT’s long-running research into falling breeding productivity. Nick and Felix set out the Trust’s interpretation of the evidence and explain why they see red grouse management as a driver of benefits for curlew, lapwing, golden plover, black grouse and rural communities. They also confront the politics around grouse shooting, the idea that management is inherently bad, and the difficulty of getting competing camps to look at the same landscape together. Rewilding, ecosystem services and changing Scottish policy all enter the discussion, along with the deceptively simple question beneath it: if nobody manages the moor, what happens next? In this episode Why heather moorland is rare, valuable and politically contested What GWCT’s long-term red grouse monitoring is beginning to reveal Muirburn, peat, carbon and the distinction between prescribed fire and wildfire Predator control, the Otterburn experiment and ground-nesting birds Louping ill, strongyle worms, ticks and grouse breeding productivity The class politics surrounding grouse shooting and conservation Rewilding, ecosystem services and the reality that every land use creates winners and losers How joint monitoring can bring gamekeepers and raptor workers onto common ground Links GWCT guide to conservation and grouse moors The Moorland Balance — GWCT’s detailed guide to grouse and moorland management GWCT’s 2026 red grouse research update Predator control and moorland birds — the Otterburn experiment GWCT Scotland team — Nick Hesford and Felix Meister GWCT Scotland Moor Walks 2026 Future Moors and changing upland policy NatureScot guidance on muirburn licensing Scottish Government independent review of grouse moor management — the Werritty Report Presented by Richard Negus and George Browne Edited and Produced for SideCountry by Amy Green. DISCLAIMER Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.

What makes a wildfire wild? In the first SideCountry episode, Richard Prideaux, George Browne and Amy Green follow that deceptively simple question into the increasingly urgent problem of fire in the British countryside. The conversation begins with a peregrine hitting George’s window and Australia’s alleged fire-spreading raptors, before turning to the fires that have affected moorland, woodland, farmland and communities across Britain. They discuss human ignition, disposable barbecues and campfires; the appeal of ‘voluntary outlawdom’ outdoors; and the difficult balance between greater access, personal freedom and responsibility. There are no neat answers. Rewetting, prescribed burning, cutting, grazing and changes in land management all enter the argument, along with climate change, fuel load, deep-burning peat and the tribal politics surrounding rewilding and grouse-moor management. The result is a wide-ranging discussion about risk, blame and what a more fire-resilient countryside might actually require — with a flaming buzzard, cultural burning and the Theft Act taking the occasional supporting role. In this episode Firehawks, peregrines and opportunistic wildlife What British agencies and the public mean by ‘wildfire’ Human ignition, disposable barbecues, lanterns and campfires Climate change, dry weather and increasingly unpredictable conditions Rewetting, prescribed burning, cutting, grazing and fuel management Cool burns, deep peat fires and ecological damage Access, freedom, responsibility and enforcement Why the wildfire debate so quickly becomes ecopolitical Links Presented by Richard Prideaux, George Browne and Amy Green Edited and Produced for SideCountry by Amy Green. DISCLAIMER Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.