Trust in farmers, selling direct to consumers and social media success

Charlotte: 00:00:00

So, Hannah, since we were last, all three together, I feel you might have had a little bit of a career change and gone into sausage planting maybe?

Hannah: 00:00:08

Yeah, it's a lucrative market. Sausage planting.

No, I don't keep banging on about it, but I got married in September and there's a superstition that if you plant a sausage, any brand of sausage, the night before your wedding, then you are supposed to get good weather on the day of.

Tom: 00:00:29

And did you?

Hannah: 00:00:32

No, I forgot to plant the sausage. But we did get good weather. So maybe it is a myth

Charlotte: 00:00:33

Debunked. Sausage planting doesn't work.

Hannah: 00:00:37

Who'd have thought. There is no causation between planting sausages and the weather forecast.

Hello, I'm Hannah Clark and welcome to The AG Show.

Charlotte: 00:01:02

I'm Charlotte Forkes-Rees and it's a big welcome to The AG Show from me too.

Tom: 00:01:07

And I'm Tom Spencer. There's been a lot of build up to this, but I can't tell you how good it feels to finally be able to say welcome to The AG Show.

Hannah: 00:01:16

So this podcast. It's brand spanking new from AHDB. Think of it as your weekly farming fix.

Tom: 00:01:22

Keeping you up to date with the latest trends and challenges.

Charlotte: 00:01:26

With the odd surprise along the way.

Hannah: 00:01:28

That's exactly how we like it.

Charlotte: 00:01:29

Definitely. Coming up, we'll be finding out why consumer trust in British farmers is at a record high.

Jane: 00:01:36

In fact, out of the food system, they're the most trusted party. There was a really big increase in this last year and we thought that it had reached its high, but no, it's increased again this year.

Hannah: 00:01:47

We'll hear how a Lancashire livestock farmer became a smash on social media by selling direct to her customers.

Eden: 00:01:53

I don't care how scared you are to make a video or how much you don't like your face or you don't like your voice. Just do it, because the world is out there and they are listening to us as farmers.

Tom: 00:02:04

And think of us as F.I.E.L.D. agents.

Hannah: 00:02:08

That's F, I, E, L, D Agents.

Charlotte: 00:02:12

Farming Industry Explained. Language Decoded agents.

Tom: 00:02:17

That's correct. Only we could come up with another acronym to help explain the many confusing farming acronyms and terminology.

Hannah: 00:02:24

New episodes of The AG Show drop every Wednesday at midday. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

Charlotte: 00:02:30

With audio and video versions for every show. Just subscribe to make sure you don't miss an episode.

Tom: 00:02:36

And do get in touch. We'd love to hear from you, comment on any of our social posts or email agshow@ahdb.org.uk.

So now we've finished reveling in the fact that we are back as podcasters. Without further ado, I think it's time for the news.

First up, the EU Commission has officially recognised the UK as having negligible risk status for BSE. That's a big move, as it's been almost 30 years of EU import restrictions introduced during the BSE crisis back in the 90s.

Now, this was voted on back in May, but it is only the beginning of November, which is the start of it being in official written format that it is in place. So what does that mean for the UK?

Well, we're looking here at exports of beef specifically, and specifically that fifth quarter that is sometimes harder to get access to when you're looking at exporting. And this will make it far easier and hopefully bring some value for UK agriculture.

What have you got for us, Charlotte?

Charlotte: 00:03:44

I've been reading in Pig World all about welfare this week and if we can actually put a price on it. So researchers at Reading University say yes, and they're claiming to have built a tool which they say can prove it.

So it scores farming systems from 0 to 100 on welfare factors and that can include housing, health, freedom of movement and then it links these scores to what UK households claim they would pay for these improvements. And I have to say the results are quite interesting.

So an example being if there were better conditions in certain instances for some pigs, that could be worth up to £1.4 billion in a year. If you tackle lameness in dairy cows, that's just going to add another 1.7 billion. And beef cattle and sheep improvements could bring hundreds of millions more.

A really key takeaway that I've got from this is while welfare isn't just about ethics, it can be about economics, but it's only part of the picture.

So I know very much in my day to day role in AHDB as a retail and consumer insight analyst, that sometimes what consumers claim compared to what they actually do can be a little bit different.

So while there is potential, I do think this tool, you know, it could be used as a great way to spark some change, whether that's in farming or retail or policy. There does need to be that little bit more exploration around this area first to see actually how likely are these potential results going to be.

What about you, Hannah? Got anything bit light relief for us on this first episode?

Hannah: 00:05:24

I think it's a little bit more light hearted. I don't know if it's too early to be thinking about Christmas.

Tom: 00:05:30

Yes.

Charlotte: 00:05:31

No, you're wrong, Tom.

Hannah: 00:05:36

Well, I mean, look, we're in the world of food and drink, we're in the supply chain. People think about Christmas all the time.

Subway has just unveiled its: 2025

Charlotte: 00:05:52

So, Hannah, are you trying to tell me that you're taking Tom, I, producer Martin out for our Christmas meal at a Subway?

Hannah: 00:06:06

Yeah, it's footlongs for everyone this year. Merry Christmas. But it is quite interesting, isn't it, to see all the. The new product development that goes on, especially ahead of Christmas. It's a massive time of year for the food sector, isn't it?

Because we heard a lot of noise around M&S's beef wellington that was 195 quid. So the fact that Subway's come out with, you know, their festive, exciting menu for this time of year just means there's options for everyone.

You know, other people are jumping on the bandwagon for, you know, getting their specialist festive items out for consumers. So it's just quite interesting, really.

Charlotte: 00:06:35

All right, then, quick question. Who do you trust most in life? Your mum? Satnav? Weather forecast?

Tom: 00:06:43

No.

Charlotte: 00:06:45

Well, today we're talking trust.

So each year, ahdb, alongside research age agency Blue Marble, conducts a piece of research into trust in British agriculture. And I was there when we announced the findings of the report at AHDB's recent retail and Consumer Insight conference in the Midlands.

I am now joined by Jane Brookes from Blue Marble, who works in conjunction With us on our trust and agricultural research, which we do each year. Now, how have you found the day so far, Jane? Were you like me and too nervous before your session to eat breakfast?

Jane: 00:07:22

Yes, I didn't manage to take advantage of the bacon rolls.

Jane: 00:07:25

But it's, you know, really fabulous day so far. Really interesting, lots of really interesting presentations.

Charlotte: 00:07:30

Great. And what do you think because there were so many great things that you said in your presentation? What do you think is something that farmers should take from this as, like, a really key or really interesting point?

Jane: 00:07:44

Sure, Well, I think what's really paramount for farmers is that they're very trusted. In fact, out of the food system, they're the most trusted party.

There was a really big increase in this last year and we thought that it had reached its high, but no, it's increased again this year. So consumers really do think that farmers know what they're doing.

And also what we're noticing is there's this really big theme about sympathy for farmers.

So lots of consumers considering that there's pressure on farmers to produce foods in an environmental way, which might be pushing up food prices, but it isn't their fault, and that actually those farmers should receive fair prices even if it increases the cost of living, which is obviously quite an important topic in the current climate.

Charlotte: 00:08:31

It's nice then, isn't it, that consumers can acknowledge some of the challenges that farmers have had and they don't think that the farmers should be subsidising the consumer. They need to have that fair price coming through to them too.

Jane: 00:08:40

Yeah, absolutely, yes, very much. People recognising the important role that farmers play and wanting them to be rewarded for that.

Charlotte: 00:08:47

g reached an all time high in: 2025

nce we began tracking this in: 2019

Tom: 00:09:23

Yeah, absolutely fantastic. I think the real challenge now for agriculture for farmers, how can we convert this trust into value?

Charlotte: 00:09:30

100%. And what we saw as well is this positivity is actually spanning across all of the farming sectors.

So cereals were actually leading the way at 75% positivity, dairy then at 72, beef at 68% and sheep at 67%, with pig farming now also at 63%.

So the study, the boring bits now. We looked at over 2,000 UK adults and we wanted to make sure that then that that data was really strong and really robust.

So making sure it cover what we would class as an average consumer within the UK and that then found that 77% of people say farmers are trustworthy and actually second only to doctors in terms of being a trustworthy profession. Now you're ahead of scientists, teachers, nutritionists, even politicians. I won't tell you quite how low they scored, but pretty low.

And you can read it on our website. What we also saw is that consumers, they're not just feeling good, they're actually claiming to be acting on it too.

So 58% say they're likely to actively seek out British food over imported alternatives. And interest in farming is actually growing. So almost half now express a strong interest or specialist knowledge in this area. Now that's up from 44% last year.

And I think actually really encouragingly, as well, those aged 18 to 24, actually that figure jumps up to almost 60% and often get this sort of negative impression put out by media that young people aren't interested. But actually this kind of results showing quite different, isn't it?

Tom: 00:11:17

Oh, it's fantastic news. I think you're spot on there.

There's a lot of studies that are done about, you know, a lack of young people moving into the market and actually taking up jobs in agriculture.

But this can only mean at least the start of what could be a sort of second wind, if you, if you let me say that, of the youngsters and, yeah, those between 18 and 24 stepping into farming. I know I saw recently a study of uptake in people who are taking agricultural courses at university as well.

So it's not just a stat on a piece of paper. This is actually youngsters moving with their feet.

Charlotte: 00:11:53

I do think that this can be a huge opportunity for our farmers, you know, sharing your stories, whether that's about sustainability or highlighting, you know, your localness and British provenance and where you can try and engage through social media, because actually this can be hugely influential.

There was one thing that I think was somewhat highlighted in this research as an area that perhaps, you know, farmers perform a little bit weaker. And I will say you perform very strongly on all fronts, but it does come through that communication could probably do with a little bit more work.

Some of that is going to be because actually you're doing much more important things, such as producing the food that we want to eat, but you're not necessarily then going to have the time or the inclination or perhaps even the confidence to go and put yourself out there in front of that consumer.

Tom: 00:12:42

I think some of the people who really are big contributors to spreading the word, the positivity of farming is butchers. They are really good at telling that story, that provenance of where that meat has come from, exactly where it's grown.

They can often, almost sometimes point to the farm in the shop of where it is, that telling of that story. I think butchers are amazing at being those communicators for farmers. Just like your other half.

Charlotte: 00:13:09

I was gonna say, I think my husband's gonna go, I like that, Tom.

Tom: 00:13:15

And on the back of that brilliant bit of positivity, Charlotte, quick break and we'll be back very shortly.

Speaker F: 00:14:31

Hi, I'm Andy Barnes, I'm a beef and arable farmer from Warwickshire. Now the weather has turned, we are looking at starting some winter jobs. We're just going into our second winter of our beef enterprise.

So we've got new sheds gone up there. Last year we had a few issues with frozen pipes.

We just need to have a bit of a sort of redesign and get some more cladding and make sure that shed's properly winterproofed. We've also had an issue this year with our grass lay. We've actually got chaffer grubs combing the grass, so that's got to come out.

That's been some nice grass, but 50% of it has gone down with chaffer grubs. Seems like it was a bit of a strange one this year with being so dry. I think the chaffer beetles have laid a lot of eggs in our field.

So also on the arable side, all looking good at the moment with the drought we had last spring and summer. I think all the autumn drilling went in very well.

However, the dry weather has also brought up its challenges. Trying to get a stale seed bed was very difficult. We couldn't get a chip, there was no rain, we couldn't get anything to spray off.

We're now looking at having to top up our pre-ems because the pre-ems went on very dry.

So we split the pre-ems and now just sort of waiting for a spray window to go across and top up all the pre-em to make the most of the chemistry we've got.

Hannah: 00:15:52

So Andy's actually a friend of the show. He's my husband, which is kind of weird saying that out loud, but yeah.

Hannah: 00:16:00

Anyway, please do get in touch with us. The email is agshow@ahdb.orguk. If you've got farming stories, please do send them in. We want to know what you guys are up to on farm.

We want to know what's going well for you, what's not going well for you, what are you doing at the moment, what are you planning for? Just get in touch with us, we want to hear from you.

So, our next guest has had a remarkable few years turning what was a side hustle of selling meat director customers into her full time business model. And it's safe to say she's become a bit of a social media star in the process.

Eden: 00:16:35

Calling all non-vegans. If you're a meat eater, to stick around. We're giving away free meat, and I mean free. No purchase necessary.

We're farmers, we sell beef, lamb, pork and mutton and we post out our meat across the whole of the UK. We have got thousands of fantastic reviews. But I'll tell you what else we've got.

We've got 350,000 followers across all of our social media platforms.

Let's talk about what's included on our Christmas meat boxes. You're just going to have to bear with me. I'm running on Barocca.

Okay, it's you, but on a good day, but it's me, but on I'm still not with it kind of day.

Hannah: 00:17:04

And I'm delighted to say that Eden Hill from Lancashire Lamb Boxes joins us now at normal speed, I think, but hopefully still full of fizz. Eden, welcome to the Ag Show. How are you doing?

Eden: 00:17:14

Hello, I'm good and I'm without Barroca today. We're doing all right. Well, I think we are anyway.

Hannah: 00:17:21

You've had a fantastic few years with your business. I wondered if you could sort of give us a bit of background as to how you got into it, how you got started?

Eden: 00:17:28

A little bit by accident. Not gonna lie, I wish I could pretend that it was the aim all along, but it's not been at all. I had a TikTok page and I just posted a video on that at the point where we had no money, our business was realistically in effect, failing. Although we hadn't maybe acknowledged that at that point, but we weren't making any money.

We couldn't heat our home. We were on our second winter of not heating the house, which, if you're wondering how cold a house gets, on average it sits around 8 or 9 degrees if you don't heat it. Not very nice. And obviously that's just not sustainable. So we realised we needed to do something.

We're quite keen to do well and succeed and we want to farm. So we were kind of looking at all sorts of different things. I'd previously sold meat boxes, so that was an option.

I was going to do pygmy play dates where people could come and see my pygmy goats. Milk, soap and all sorts we really had nothing was ruled out unless we realised that once we'd done a small business plan, it wasn't going to be viable. However, whilst all of that was going on, we bought some meat rabbits and thought, oh, this is great, we can do meat rabbits. No, that didn't work.

But my mum. I spoke to my mum and I said, I don't know what to do. The rent goes out in four days. What can I do?

And my mum, you know, she hasn't got any money to say to me, here you go, here's some money to pay your rent. It just doesn't work like that in our family. And she said, why don't you sell some of your meat boxes again? Sell your lamb boxes.

And I thought, oh, we live in the middle of nowhere. I used to hand deliver them to people when we lived in Sussex, but now I live in Lancashire. How on earth am I meant to do that? I don't know anyone.

But anyway, we had some boxes already that had been sent to us as a trial from the packaging company for posting out, and I still had them. I'd never used them because I decided no one would want meat posted to their house, surely.

Anyway, I put a post on Facebook and long story short, a few of my old customers said, yes, we would love your lamb posted to us. They sent me the money up front.

So we had the money in the bank, we paid our rent, and then we dealt with sending out the meat and they all arrived absolutely fine. But, yeah, it's gone from there to now doing about 100 boxes a week of lamb, beef, pork, mutton, and, at the moment, venison as well.

It's changed quite a bit, but it was all accidental. I just posted a video on TikTok and then it got 90,000 views. And at the time, I thought that that was viral.

I thought I was gonna walk out my door and be met with paparazzi, and I was terrified. Thankfully, that still never happened, but it was terrifying because it wasn't what I set out to do. I'm not an influencer.

I'm not someone that likes to actually be that much in the public eye. I just know that I need to do it for my job.

Hannah: 00:20:18

What a journey. That's absolutely fantastic. And how long has it taken you to grow your sort of following? Cos you're at 350,000 followers now.

Eden: 00:20:26

425,000 was our last count. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

Charlotte: 00:20:33

How did you kind of come up with the ideas of what to start with posting? Because I think sometimes the starting's the hard point.

But I suppose if you were like, you were saying, you were kind of at that point going, we haven't got any other option. We need to do something. Something's better than nothing. So I'm just gonna give it a go.

And then as it spiraled, or did you kind of go in thinking, I want to say these points?

Eden: 00:20:54

So I already had a little bit of a TikTok page, and I mean, little bit. Basically vegan myth busting.

Eden: 00:21:01

But there was no face, no name, no nothing. I even used a voice changer because I was too embarrassed to hear my own voice, which I still stupidly struggle with, but it is what it is.

Then I saw it was actually Gareth Wyn Jones, who I've since met, which was amazing, and I was very much starstruck. And he had posted a video.

Can't remember what it was, but in the comments section, somebody had commented that she didn't know how to buy from a farmer because she doesn't know any farms.

And then it dawned on me that people don't realise that they could just order it online or they could just search and find these farmers, but they don't know that it exists. So that was what my first video was about.

Charlotte: 00:21:43

As you say, it's probably quite a good point to actually make that actually. Yeah, majority of meat sales, most people would just go to a supermarket.

So I think for combined beef, lamb and pork, we'd have 78% of our volumes that would be going through a supermarket. And actually you're part of a market that's around 4%.

So you are almost like a niche area that, yeah, you do need to just get some awareness out there. And actually social media can be a great way to do that.

Eden: 00:22:08

Yeah, definitely. It's been huge. And the ability to post out across the whole of the UK has really opened a lot more doors as well.

Hannah: 00:22:16

Eden, we've been talking quite a lot about trust in this episode of The AG Show. How do you sort of manage trust with consumers?

Eden: 00:22:24

So for us, I actually went to an AHDB meeting several years ago when we first started, and a very crucial bit of the information that I found out was that farmers were the most trusted person in, like, the food supply chain. And we basically took that and completely ran with it. I know that seems very on point, but I promise you that is the truth.

And basically we realized that supermarkets, they have pictures of farmers in the meat aisle because the farmers are the person that people trust. They don't want to buy it from a supermarket, they still feel they're buying it from a farmer.

So we've tried really hard to get across that we're farmers.

So most of my videos I will start with I'm a British farmer, or I'm a farmer and I sell my meat or whatever it may be, but there's always some element of I'm a farmer. I think it goes a long way because you've already explained who you are, are what you do and sort of why you're there.

And that's gone a really long way in terms of the trust. But also, yeah, really importantly for us is communication.

Hannah: 00:23:34

And I hear that you're sold out of meat boxes until next year.

Eden: 00:23:38

Yes.

Hannah: 00:23:38

How fantastic is that?

Eden: 00:23:40

, we sold out for the rest of: 2025

Tom: 00:23:46

That's huge. Eden, what have been your best sellers?

If people do want to get their hands on some stuff, in the new year, what should they be looking out for?

Eden: 00:23:55

Despite being called Lancashire Lamb Boxes, the beef is the most popular thing that we sell. Our minced beef, our sausages.

Again, going back to something that I learned from AHDB, the talk that I went to, they mentioned that convenience is where people's meals are heading. And roasting joint sales were down and lamb chops and cutlet sales were up and again took that and used that information.

So we've added in extra burger flavours. We've got more sausage flavours coming soon.

So making those things easy for people to make meals where people don't have the time to be cooking full roast dinners even once a week, but they don't have the time for cooking big meals like that or time consuming meals like that every day. So we're moving towards those quicker, easier things. But yeah, I would say that minced beef.

But also our second most popular thing that we sell is bones for stock. I can't make sense of that. I would have thought that they wouldn't be that popular still used.

But yeah, second most popular individual item that we sell, which is crazy.

Charlotte: 00:24:59

Well, bone broth's a huge social media trend.

I think. On that note, we're going to take a quick break here and we'll catch you on the other side.

Hannah: 00:26:28

Welcome back to the Ag show with me, Hannah, Tom, Charlotte, and of course, always producer Martin. We're gonna do something now called F.I.E.L.D. agents, apparently, but I don't know what that means. Martin, can you tell us what that means?

Martin: 00:26:42

I certainly can. It's the time in this show where you guys become jargon busting superheroes. You don't wear capes. But not all superheroes have to.

And that is F.I.E.L.D. agents. That's farming industry explained language decoded agents.

Martin: 00:26:58

Yes, you're gonna help navigate everyone through the world of confusing farming acronyms and terms. And let's face it, there are thousands, millions, billions. And yes, we have created a needless acronym to help do this. Guilty as charged.

The first term that we've had suggested for decoding is stacking income. Agent Tom, over to you.

Tom: 00:27:23

Stacking income. So stacking is all about getting the most value out of every hectare of land.

So by layering is the word I'm going to Sort of use to help describe this one. So layering multiple income streams on top of one another.

So instead of treating the farm as one business unit, stacking takes a like a field by field approach, using each area for its best purpose.

So this might mean combining your core production with that public schemes being offered, such as, you know, SFI, so sorry, another acronym for you, Sustainable Farming Incentive.

Or potentially adding private income from biodiversity or carbon markets or even potentially sort of leasing space for renewables or diversification projects as well. The aim for this is to help your land work harder financially whilst also spreading risk and building resilience within your business model.

Because we all know about the volatility of the world market, the volatility of extreme weathers. They seem to be happening more and more as the years go on. But stacking isn't just about chasing the payments as such.

It's farmers proving another word for you. Additionality.

We're going to go through a lot of these, I think in this podcast, but showing that each activity brings a new benefit, avoiding what we call double funding. So sometimes you aren't actually able to do that. It's where two schemes pay for the same outcome.

So it's got to be sort of different things but when done appropriately with all that data that is being collected, it can be very effective financially.

Martin: 00:28:59

Perfect. I think I am now less confused, so thank you, Agent Tom, I have got another one for you. I think we can squeeze that in. I want to know what is TRQ?

What the heck is TRQ?

Tom: 00:29:12

Tariff rate quotas.

They've been in the news a bit recently with some of the trade deals that have been going on, whether that be Donald Trump over in America or whether that be our own Prime Minister looking at places such as India or potentially even further abroad. But particularly of interest I think on this note is some of the deals done even further away, Australia and New Zealand.

So I'll use that as a good example of what a TRQ is. I know I've been waffling on, I still haven't told you what it actually is. It's the actual amount of produce or tonnage weight.

It can be different with different products.

ht percent. So in the year of: 2025

And so far I've got the stats up to August, they have used around about 10,000 tonnes of that. So with not long left of the year, it's probably quite likely that they won't be able to use up that full TRQ.

But it must be added that by the end of what's called this sort of timeline, each year that TRQ increases all the way. I think it's 10 years that it goes on to. And we're currently in year three of that trade deal.

So gently increase and it's a way of, as I said again, gently easing in a new country into our trade portfolio, enabling us to put food on the plate all round and continue trading with multiple countries.

Martin: 00:30:50

Thank you, Agent Tom.

And if anyone out there has got another acronym or confusing farming term that they want to be be officially explained to one and all to make everything a little bit more straightforward out there, then agshow@ahdb.org UK is the email address to send it to.

Charlotte: 00:31:09

Brilliant.

Right, let's get back to our chat with Eden and how making sure that you're sort of debunking some of the things that your consumers, your customers, might be asking for. What do you think some of the top things are that they are looking for in the questions that they're asking you?

Eden: 00:31:27

I think a lot of our customers are looking to make sure that they're buying ethically, like they want to make sure that their money is being spent wisely and well and is actually going to the farm.

Hannah: 00:31:41

Eden, I wanted to ask again just on kind of the trust theme. We talked about trust with consumers, but I understand you work with other farmers to sell produce.

I just want to explore that a bit more and how, how you kind of built trust up with other producers to kind of club together and, and sell products that way.

Eden: 00:32:00

So we aim to sell as much of our own produce as physically possible. However, we're. We found ourselves in a very amazing position that we have more customers than we can supply.

So we sell all the produce that we produce.

But then in order to try and make sure that we can sell all year round and to meet the demand that we have, we also sell the produce from other farmers as well. So we make sure that we pay them a fair price.

So we now have farmers that come to us because they can't get a fair price for their produce, which obviously is very sad that they're in that position in the first place, but it's really handy that we're in a position where actually we can say, yeah, okay, we can, you know, we can help you there, or we can see what we can do. Not everything works for us.

You know, sometimes farmers are trying to sell us stuff that isn't right for our business model, or it's just not the right time. But we'll just always obviously try and do whatever we can.

Hannah: 00:33:00

So what's next, Eden? What are your plans?

Eden: 00:33:03

A lot of things that I can't fully explain right now because it's all up in the air, but there is a lot of things planned. It's very exciting. Terrifying as well, don't get me wrong. But, yeah, it is very exciting, including. I daren't say it, but I'm going to.

Including a name change, which is terribly scary. Yeah. I think we've outgrown Lancashire Lamb Boxes as a name and it's confusing a lot of people.

We sell across the whole of the UK, but people think it's only in Lancashire and they think, of course, that we only sell lamb, which lamb is actually the thing that we probably sell the least of out of beef, lamb, pork and mutton. Well, mutton being the least least.

But yeah.

Tom: 00:33:51

Before we say goodbye, have you got any. Any last minute sort of tips and tricks?

Because I'm sure there's lots of farmers out there who have heard your story today and are thinking, that sounds amazing. How can I get involved? How could I start up my own similar sort of thing and try and sell direct to that consumer?

Eden: 00:34:10

My inbox is always open and we get a lot of farmers asking us and I will. I have all the time in the world for farmers wanting to do what we do. I'm not here to gatekeep what we've done.

And you might listen to it and think, yeah, that's amazing, and I'll do that. Or you might listen and go, that's a load of rubbish, Eden. That won't work for our business.

But I can tell people the mistakes that we've made along the way, et cetera.

And realistically, I think the most important things that have led to our success have been having good communication with your customers and just doing it. Like, I don't care how scared you are to make a video or how much you don't like your face or you don't like your voice, just do it.

Because the world is out there and they are listening to us as farmers. There is so much interest in what we do or why we do things. And people are listening, but we have to speak to them.

We have to tell them and show them what we're doing. So just do it. Whether that be for selling something or just in your normal farm life.

We're monetised on three social media platforms now and I make about £800 a month on average just from filming videos to advertise my business. Like that's crazy, isn't it? And that's an amazing position to be in.

Tom: 00:35:32

Thank you so much for joining us, Eden. And if you have a suggestion of what Eden can rename her business, do let her know or even let us know agshow@ahdb.org.uk.

Charlotte: 00:35:43

Well, I think that might be all we have time for for our first ever show. So, yeah, whistle stop tour through trust, Eden and Lancashire Lamb Boxes. We even had a little insight into Hannah's hubby and a day in his life perhaps.

If you want to be the next farmer that we feature on our show, do let us know.

Charlotte: 00:36:09

Drop us a message.

And that's agshow@ahdb.org.uk.

I think that's everything for now. Bye.