What do hemp, barley, antimicrobial resistance and soft fruits have in common? They are the episode themes for a series of podcasts that SEFARI and SEFARI Gateway has created in partnership with OnFARM. So, if you’re a farmer, grower, food producer or simply interested in the science behind what we eat and where it comes from, then this is the 4-part series for you. Enjoy!
The project began following a previous year’s Royal Highland Show, where SEFARI colleagues such as the Rowett Institute, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and Moredun have presences at the event. Last year, the Rowett Institute’s stall was abuzz with activity when a number of our team were invited to feature on OnFARM’s special 150th episode ‘Pitch a Pod’, where presenters had a limited time to pitch their special topic to win a full episode (full episode can be listened on Podfollow). Sadly, the Rowett didn’t win but a great relationship was struck with the podcast team that sparked intrigue on both sides.
As a result, this year the Rowett Institute’s Knowledge Exchange team were approached by OnFARM to form a partnership to produce a series of episodes highlighting some of our research. Podcasts are an increasingly popular means of sharing research with an audience, and the opportunity to partner with the OnFARM team to promote SEFARI projects to the farming community was a great opportunity.
At SEFARI, multiple institutes work together to help solve challenges we’re facing. Therefore, we took the decision to include multiple experts in every episode to really show how multifaceted these topical subjects are. Furthermore, support from SEFARI Gateway event funding, enabled us to get to work. As a result, four fantastically insightful episodes were created,
First episode
It was a windy day when the team gathered to record the first episode in the fields of hemp farmers Ali and John Easson and their lovely dogs, from Hemp It Up. The Rowett Institute’s Dr Madi Neacsu spoke through the dietary and health benefits of consuming hemp as a regular part of the diet and her work trying to reintroduce it into the Scottish market. Dr Graham Horgan, Principal Statistician at BioSS, discussed his work on the numbers from Madi’s research and how this contributes to the bigger picture.
The Easson’s farm and the other members of the Scottish Hemp Growers Association have gained wonderful insight into the dietary benefits of hemp from the SEFARI projects and their push to reintroduce hemp into the market has been a learning experience.
To find out more and break some misconceptions, listen the episode on OnFARM website or Podfollow.
Second episode
The second episode in this special series was on Scottish soft fruits. Dr Fiona Campbell from the Rowett Institute is currently looking at whether eating Scottish fruits impacts memory as well as glucose levels. The James Hutton Institute’s Dr Gordon McDougall has done extensive work into how eating soft fruits alleviates and delays the effects of conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer. The final guest is Dr Valeria Montano from BioSS who recently did work on the blueberry market and how the health benefits of this ‘superfood’ affect the market. With all three, the conversation was stimulating and, if you’re a fruit-lover or in the Scottish fruit industry, this episode is right up your street.
You can find the episode on the OnFARM website now, as well as listen on Podfollow or you favourite podcast platform
Third episode
The team then took on the mammoth topic of antimicrobial resistance – AMR for short. This was a remote record where all joined together virtually and spoke through the issues surrounding farming and AMR. The Rowett Institute’s Professor Karen Scott joined Dr Eleanor Watson and Dr Nuno Silva from the Moredun Research Institute to chat about their work on AMR – how wildlife can spread it to farm lands, how farm animals can pass it into the soil impacting produce and the health of those living on the farm and wider.
If you’re interested in the AMR-farm-related issues, gut health and the spread of AMR among wildlife, growers and the wider public, this is an intriguing listen. You can also read more about AMR research, conducted by SEFARI institutions on SEFARI Gateway website.
The podcast episode can be found on Podfollow, OnFARM website and all the usual podcast platforms.
Fourth episode
The second episode the teams set out to record was a mixed recording. The OnFARM team met with the International Barley Hub director Professor Robbie Waugh to chat about the James Hutton’s centre of excellence in barley research, innovation, and knowledge exchange. After being told of the fantastic facility and the scope it has, the OnFARM team travelled to visit barley farmer Alison Milne, who grows her crops at the Crafty Malsters.
While with Alison, they also spoke with Professor Wendy Russell from the Rowett Institute, whose work on novel Scottish crops has led her to look at various species of barley to see how the nutritional values differ between varieties of the same crop. Chat between Alison and Wendy looked at the ways farming habits and eating habits could change to benefit farmers and growers as well as public health.
To listen to the episode and learn more about Scotland’s most valuable crop, visit the Podfollow website.
Final thoughts…
The process of bringing these wonderful topics to a wider audience was great and pulling together the experts and hearing their views together was eye-opening. These four episodes are a testament to the fantastic work that is happening every day in SEFARI institutes across Scotland, and its impact on our health and wellbeing, and the health of our animals and the environment. Huge thanks to OnFARM team for creating a platform for conversation on these important topics and the opportunity to share SEFARI’s work far and wide. The podcast is a 4-part window into the incredible work that goes on behind SEFARI doors – have a listen and let us know what you think!
Written by Tamsin Ross, University of Aberdeen.
Edited by Michelle Wilson Chalmers and Alöna Roitershtein, SEFARI Gateway.