The Agri-Food Comms Cast is back with a bang! In the first episode of season four, Catherine Linch delves into the role of different communication platforms, from the ultimate ‘long form’ book to the fast-paced world of social media. In particular, we explore how food and farming topics can present a challenging dialogue between town and country.

Our first guest, journalist, broadcaster, founder of Just Farmers Media Portal and Nuffield Farming Scholar, Anna Jones, joins Catherine to introduce her brand-new book ‘Divide: The Relationship Between Town and Country’.

With the current climate of polarised attitudes to food and farming, it’s easy to have an ‘us and them’ mentality, but Anna’s book aims to break this mindset by demonstrating how both communities have an opportunity to come together for good. This thought-provoking topic encourages us all to find common ground with each other so that we can reap the benefits, socially, politically, and culturally.

We also hear from agri-media professional Emily Davies, who describes herself as a digital storyteller and provides valuable insight on the power and the pitfalls of social media for propelling stories and comms strategies to a wider audience.

This fast-paced comms channel has proven beneficial for many brands seeking to build awareness, but the episode importantly touches on the issues social media users need to be aware of when consuming content on social platforms including biased algorithms and lack of accountability.

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk

The Agri Food Comms-Cast (AFCC) unpicks the marketing and communications stories behind the issues facing the food and farming sector.

Episode 17 explores the communications challenge behind the massive global issue of transitioning the livestock sector to net zero.

Lynsday Chapman, CEO of the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL), introduced their new, independent industry report: Net Zero Carbon & UK Livestock.

Providing a summary of known research and science on what’s understood about the topic of net zero in livestock systems, it delivers an unbiased baseline position for retailers, processors, governments and NGOs to talk from.

Rob Hues, agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries manager at Waitrose joins the discussion having recently been part of the retailer’s roll out to their farms that laid down the gauntlet of reaching net zero on all its UK farms by 2035.

He concurred that CIEL’s report is a practical framework that will be invaluable to the industry and support positive dialogue and a change in practices.

The pair agree that communicating the practical steps to net zero is a major challenge, but one that shouldn’t be held back by finding a uniform means of measuring the carbon footprint of any one particular farm system.

It’s anticipated that sharing progress of the journey to net zero, even where a diversity of carbon footprinting tools are employed, will encourage others to follow.

Both Lyndsay and Rob agree that the farming community shouldn’t wait for the perfect tools for measuring net zero progress; far better to choose a system and make positive progress, even if the comparisons cannot yet be accurately compared and contrasted to farms using other measurement criteria.

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk

Our Agri Food Comms-Cast explores the issues in the food and farming supply chain, with a marketing and communications spin.

Episode 10 focusses on export opportunities for British produce following the introduction of the Government’s ‘bounce back’ plan for food and agriculture.

Ian Wright, chief executive at the Food and Drink Federation, explains how, with just one in eight food and drink businesses considering entering the export marketplace, more awareness of export is needed, along with help in removing the fear factor of entering new markets.

He says communications tools such as webinars, online conferences and having export ‘champions’ – all part of the bounce back plan – are some of the best ways to educate and share knowledge of developing foreign trade.

Next up is Adam Sopher, co-founder of gourmet popcorn producer Joe & Seph’s. He explains how since leaping into the export market without an initial plan in place, the business has gone from strength to strength and is now exporting to 19 different countries. They have even won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade this year.

Adam offers advice to other companies looking to export food and drink products, such as the first steps to take when entering markets overseas and how to promote the best of British produce to the local buyers.

The Bees' Knees Comms-Cast is brought to you by Pinstone, a B Corp award-winning PR and marketing agency specialising in food, farming and the environment. Speak to us if you want to engage your audience authentically on your sustainability story. www.pinstone.co.uk