It’s a 200‑acre leap of faith for one of our guests on this episode of The AG Show, after they took the plunge and snapped up the neighbouring land and buildings. Cornish sheep and beef farmer Will Whiting joins us to talk about what tipped him over the edge - and how a friendly wager with fellow YouTuber Cammy Wilson is spurring him on.

We also dig into how pig producers, vets, processors and everyone in between can get the most out of AHDB’s Workshop in a Box – a handy digital toolkit designed to help build a solid African swine fever contingency plan.

Plus, why does the UK look so tempting to sweet potato growers over in North Carolina, USA? And is there anything British exporters could nick from their playbook?

SOME USEFUL BITS (FROM AHDB & BEYOND)

Fursdon Farming - YouTube

ASF contingency planning: Workshop in a box for pig farms and vets | AHDB

North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission | Home

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I've currently got an Easter egg that's staring at me across the desk that my husband's opened. That's all I can think of right now.

An Easter egg. And we're in May. You've still got Easter eggs?

Yeah, there's loads of Easter chocolate. There's like a part opened one literally just here.

And I don't even know that I'd like the chocolate that I'm really fussy when it comes to chocolate, but it's looking at me.

I think some of my kids have still got chocolate in the cupboard from Easter. I feel as though I can't eat them. Cause they're down to the, you know, where you've got the chocolate animals.

So you can identify them a little bit more. Like they've got names and everything. Whereas an egg's an egg's an egg.

But now they will notice if the bunny, which I thought was a dog, has been eaten or whether the. The little chicklet's gone. So it's a, it's a game I'm not willing to play.

When Hannah's straight onto barbecues already we've had the one bank holiday, so she's like, I'm not even thinking about Easter anymore. It's all about a bar, definitely.

Hi, I'm Hannah Clarke.

I'm Charlotte Forkes-Rees and welcome to The AG Show.

This week we hear from a Cornish beef and sheep farmer about the progress they're making since buying the farm next door.

Will Whiting's calling it the 200 acre gamble and sharing his progress on social media.

Is there a bet on there?

There's not a bet yet, but there'll be a forfeit or something.

We'll also hear about the contingency plans that all pig producers should have in place in the event of an outbreak of disease such as African swine fever.

Biosecurity.

It is so fundamental and it is so often the simple stuff like making sure that all of your gates are closed, that your visitors are being recorded correctly when they come in. If you can do things like move your feed bins to the perimeter of your unit, that saves the lorry coming in through your gate.

And can our red meat and dairy exporters learn anything from how we import food?

Because we have so many such a large Export market, and so much of that export market is dedicated to the UK and eu. Our growers treat all of their acres as if they're going to be exported.

A reminder, new episodes of the Ag show drop every Wednesday at midday. Available wherever you get your podcasts with.

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

And if you want to get in touch with us on the podcast, please do. We'd love to hear from you. Comment on any of our social posts or email ag show@hdb.org UK.

There is never a dull moment in farming, whether it's simply keeping on top of the day to day jobs or introducing new revenue streams through diversification. Will Whiting's a beef and sheep farmer in Cornwall who's become a whole lot busier after he recently bought a farm next door.

That's right. Wills called it the 200 acre gambler and you can keep up with his progress through his social channels. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

MTV.

Hi, MTV. Welcome to our crib.

Wow, this is nice.

So this is the porch boot room. And you know what, this can be absolutely stunning with a little bit of money.

Oh, it's skis here. You know all the times it snows in Cornwall. Yeah, we've got skis just in case. I got all my costings through ChatGPT.

Well, I've done the original cost and see if we could actually afford it. Is it a good purchase? I think it is. Because like, when does the next little farm to you come up on the market? Never, but thanks for watching.

See you again.

I'm really pleased to say that Will joins us now on the podcast to tell us a bit more about his journey. Will, welcome to the Ag Show. How are you?

Yeah, good, thanks for having me.

So you're fresh from Lamming, I understand. How's that gone for you?

We're still lambing a few. We've got about 50 left, so pretty much done.

Coming to the end of it now. How's it been?

It's been one of those years you're not gonna remember because it hasn't been the best year, but it hasn't been the worst year. So it's just one of those years you just forget.

And you're taking on a quite a large expansion project in your 200 acre gamble. I wondered if we could just maybe go back to the start a little bit.

I'm guessing farming's in your blood to really drive you to do this kind of expansion.

Yeah, I suppose. It's in my blood. I'm fifth generation farmer. Well, my family moved down from Gloucestershire when I was six months old and we now farm in Cornwall.

I didn't really like farming growing up because I hate driving tractors and I hate being around tractors and machinery. It's not my thing.

Yeah.

So I didn't really get involved with farming until I was about 14 when I got six sheep for Christmas and then it's just grown from there.

So, I mean, how. Well, how big's your farm and can you sort of talk us through what you've got going on?

Yes. When we moved down, this is all what I've been told. Obviously I was six months old. I don't remember it.

So we sold a 80 acre farm up on the edge of the Cotswolds, took a year out of farming trying to find the right farm, went to Scotland a few times trying to find stuff, but didn't really like the weather and then went all over the UK basically and then saw this farm. I think it came to him on like a Monday and he always has a story about actually going to look at it. He said, yeah, I'm going to buy that farm.

Drove down on, I think it was the Monday and then by the Friday they had bought it and it was 220 acres at the time. We've expanded every year and we're currently now find about 900 acres, but about 300 of that is rented.

So this expansion then is increasing your enterprise and your business by quite a substantial amount.

Yeah, it is. Because the funny thing is, dad took his pension in July and then this farm came on the market in August and I was like, we could do this.

So, yeah, he's supposed to be retiring and now he's got to work harder than ever.

Farmers never retire.

No, no, that's it, that's it. You got to keep busy.

So what, I mean, take us through your sort of decision making around buying this farm.

Have you watched Yellowstone? Yeah, well, I'm not on about the ending but like at a start, they build an empire.

And I saw, I watched that was it last year or year before, like the first few seasons, and I was like, I want to build an empire, I want to be remembered. You know, that's the plan. Be remembered. Because I heard a saying on a podcast, can't remember which one it was.

It was saying, you don't remember your granddad's dad's name. And I haven't got a clue who my granddad's dad name is, but in like 100 years time, I want to be remembered. It sounds a bit arrogant. Does it?

I don't know, but I just don't want to go through life and not be remembered for anything at the end of it. So I'm just going to try and build an empire.

Yeah, I think that's really admirable to build a, you know, build something that's there and fit for future generations. So, I mean, how's this decision gone down with the rest of the family?

We've always borrowed a lot of money, so it was not a new thing, borrowing more money. Obviously it is a lot more money, but we've always had that borrowing above our head. We've never not borrowed money.

And they're all keen to push on as well. I know they are at retirement age. They weren't like admitting it, but they are.

But they're still keen to keep going, keep pushing and just trying to do the best we can, really.

I mean, what's on this new farm that you've purchased?

It was an old dairy farm, so they were milking about 100 to 120 cows. It's 200 acres, as the name goes. There's a few sheds, but not really.

They were basically a farming family that never really spent much money and it's not falling into disrepair, but it was never updated, if that makes sense. It's like walking back in time to what farming was like in the 60s.

Everything was just like small stone sheds and there's a small little parlor there and yeah, it's all a bit outdated.

And I saw on your. Well, I saw it on Instagram, but part of that is a massive farmhouse.

Oh yeah.

And I was following you and your partner, Jocelyn, is it going around it? And my goodness me, that is a hell of a project, isn't it?

It is, it is. Like, it was almost good that was on it because it put everyone else off. Like a lot of people looked at it and that put them off.

But like, I wanted the land. I wanted because it was right next door, I want the land. So, like originally it was split into two lots.

There was the land and then there was the yard. And originally I was like, we'll, we'll just buy the land because that's what we want. But then in the end to buy it, we had to buy the lot.

So now we just left with this massive, I think it's six bedroom house, which is about it start. It was first built in the 16th century and then they built an extra few rooms on every hundred years.

We've done a bit of budget and we reckon it's at least going to cost half a million to do.

Crikey.

So we might not do that for a minute.

Yeah, that just maybe that waits a little bit.

Yeah.

Because because it's grade two listed as well, there's a lot of hoops you have to jump through for it and it will have to be original materials and I don't know if I would want to live there because I live in a barn conversion right now and it's like real new and nice and I don't know if I want to move to that like. And then, then you've got enough kids to fill it up.

Working on your empire. You've got to remember that you need the kids for taking it on.

So what are your sort of plans for the land and, and the rest of the land?

We're. I'm hoping to get to about 2,000 ewes roughly. We currently lamb. Well, I just thought, well I'm nearly finished.

That's the plan with the land side and then also looking to fatten more cattle because we currently rear about I think a thousand calves a year. Contract written from a company called Dumbia. And then we're hoping, well, that's what the new, new sheds are. That's an exclusive by the way.

I, I haven't put that on any social media so that's an exclusive for this podcast to rear more calves.

You could definitely see why your dad thinking, oh I might be retiring actually. Yeah. Being busier than ever if you've got all of this going on. Not just, oh, I'm going to expand, you know, headcount.

Oh, I'm going to be doing all these projects too. That's a lot to take on.

You do think sometimes like why do I do it?

Yeah, why remind me again. So obviously this is a huge undertaking that, you know, you've got on your plate. How long do you think it's going to take you to do?

Is there a Bet on there?

Oh, there's not a bet yet, but there'll be a forfeit or something. We like a bit of competition. The calf sheds, well, hopefully they'll be going up soon and then the first batch of cabs will be go.

And then regarding the house, I don't know, we haven't really budgeted any money for it or even thought about it to start, to be honest.

I think that's completely fair, but I think it just shows that there's gonna be a lot going on. Now, if any of our listeners want to sort of keep up with what you're doing, where can they find you on social media?

On TikTok, it's Jocelyn and Will, or I think it's at first and farming and then that's the same handle for Instagram. YouTube's the same as well at Thurston Farming.

Thanks so much, Will. And in next week's episode, we will be hearing more from you. When you're talking to us about your 200 acre gamble, It's the eggshow.

And I know, Hannah, we are already partway through this episode, but it is lovely to be back recording with you after several weeks of, well, us being without each other. So thank you for being back.

It's a bit like ships in the night, isn't it?

Yeah. What with me being, you know, on lovely holidays and then you being unwell, I think I probably had the better deal from it.

But now I think it is time for the news. What have you been reading, Hannah?

So one piece caught my eye in Farmers Weekly and it's about the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund. And farmers in England have been given a bit more time basically to apply for funding under this scheme.

So the deadline was Originally set for 28th April, which is my birthday, but this has now been pushed back by two weeks to midday on Tuesday 12 May. So a little bit more time.

DEFRA says the extension is designed to help farmers strengthen their applications, as the scheme does remain highly competitive and it's scored against set criteria. Now, the fund offers £50 million in grants with support ranging from 1,000 up to £25,000 per theme.

And themes cover things like productivity, slurry management, animal health and welfare. And if you're successful in an application, you can also get up to 50% of costs covered for Eligible equipment.

Now, it's worth mentioning there are a few changes this year to the scheme, so this includes new eligible items like Colostrum testing kit and things like grain monitoring robots, which is quite interesting.

You have until 12 May head to gov UK or Google farming Equip and Technology Fund for all the information.

I have to say this is actually bringing back memories of previous roles that I've had where I was having to be on the quoting and sourcing side for this. So it takes more time than you think, guys.

If you're interested, I would probably say start looking into it, get in contact with people that can help you with sourcing things.

Now. Disease outbreaks don't just hit one farm, the effects ripple right through the supply chain.

HDB's been busy pulling producers, vets, processors and everyone in between into the same room to tighten up contingency planning when it comes to asf. African swine fever and other notifiable diseases.

Let's speak to our senior animal Health and Welfare scientist, Miranda Paulson, to talk about what they've learned, what's changed and what farmers should be doing now. Miranda, welcome to the Ag Show. We're very pleased to have you. Could you start by telling us what ASF is?

Yeah, sure. African swine fever is a viral disease that affects all species of swine, as you would think.

So, in the uk it is mainly concern for our domestic kept pigs, but also wild boar, of which we have a couple of meaningful populations.

And then anybody in a zoo or anything like that, that's keeping something like a warthog, that would also be at risk, but obviously far smaller numbers of them. So we're mainly interested in it from a domestic pig and wild boar perspective.

I mean, there's a lot of ASF in Europe at the moment. It's a huge watch point for the sector. Why exactly is ASF such a concern?

So it's partly a concern because it's getting pretty close. There are cases in Germany and recently, obviously, there's been a cluster of outbreaks in the Catalonia region of Spain.

So it is getting steadily nearer to us, but for us it's a concern because it obviously has huge health and welfare impacts for our pigs, but also it would have an enormous negative effect on our ability to export. So during an outbreak, we would effectively be unable to export anything as it currently stands. So it has a huge economic impact as well.

And then also the mental health impact on farmers and anybody in the industry that's coping with an outbreak.

And you've been doing quite a lot of work with the whole supply chain, really, haven't you? Could you tell us a little bit more about the stuff you've been up to?

Yeah, sure.

So we've done loads of really different things with different parts of the supply chain because I think when you first think of a disease, it's natural to think that the first thing that's going to be affected is the animals on the farm. And that is. That is true. But it will have an impact on the entire supply chain.

So from production on farm right the way through to processing and retail, so we've worked really hard to try and make sure that everybody is involved in becoming as prepared as possible.

So on the producer side of things, we've done a big project recently where we've done 15 producer facing roadshows, where we've gone with some contingency planning experts and vets to run workshops with producers with maps and contingency planning templates so they can think about how a plan would function on their own unit.

But we've also done things like pre designation workshops and online Q and A sessions with the processing facilities for both slaughterhouses and cutting plants. And policymakers have been really well engaged in that.

So we've had great input from DEFRA and the Animal Plant Health Agency and the Food Standards Agency as well.

We've worked with lots of the industry to have an alignment on communications group, because one of the things that is going to be really, really key is making sure that everybody knows all the information quickly, simply, and everybody is saying the same things. So we have these communications groups that involves everybody right along the supply chain and we're hoping to start working with retailers as well.

Because the one thing that will happen if we do have an outbreak is that our domestic supply is going to be affected. So how are retailers going to be able to keep the shelves stocked?

So I mean, you've been doing a lot of different methods of engagement with the sector to get this key information out. I mean, why did you choose these approaches instead of just like a standard sort of webinar kind of format?

We did try a standard webinar format to begin with, but actually found that we didn't get as many views as we would have liked.

And I think particularly, particularly from a producer perspective, that generic messaging about biosecurity and what to have in your contingency plan can be a bit broad. So every farm and every production unit is completely unique. Everybody's infrastructure is different, everybody's way of working is different.

Some people have lots of staff and some people are a one man band. And trying to get people to see it in a bit more individual way actually drove uptake much better.

And then from a processing perspective it's the same thing.

All the slaughterhouses are different from one another and the way that they going to be able to operate or otherwise during an outbreak is individual and different.

And I think it's gotta be that bespoke level of engagement with something that's so complicated and potentially, you know, severe as a notifiable disease outbreak like asf. Could you tell us a bit about the workshop in a box and how farmers and vets can use that?

The workshop in a box has come out of the back of those producer facing workshops or roadshows that I've just talked about.

I really wanted vets to feel empowered with their clients, to go away and take the mantle of doing this on without the need for me or anybody else from AHDB to do it with them.

Because as brilliant an experience as it was, we had over 160 producers and stock people come to a workshop that is a big number, but it's far fewer than the number of levy payers that we actually have. So I can't get in front of everybody.

So the most important thing is to make sure that the vets and producers are armed with the information and the tools to be able to go and do it themselves. And so we turned all of the learning and all of the material from those workshops into a digital suite of resources.

So slide decks, how to create the aerial maps and annotate them, and all of that guidance and frequently asked questions into an online suite of resources that you can download or you request it from us from the website and we'll send it to you and you can go and hold one of your own workshops.

And I understand there's a new comms push communication push for small scale producers. What do people most often get wrong with moves and licenses and feeding and that sort of thing?

Well, the areas that we're going to be focusing on in the campaign which is primarily aimed at those smaller scale often keeping breeds at risk and might not be red tractor assured, unlike most of the other producers that we have in the country, they might not be seeing a specialist pig vet either. So they're a bit harder to reach.

And the things that we're really focusing on are, like you've just said, movement licenses and making sure that your holding is registered appropriately. Because it's not just about registering where you're keeping the animals. You then have to additionally register that you've got the pigs.

And anytime you move a pig, even if all you have is a pet pig that lives in your back garden and you want to take it for a walk, that requires a movement license. So making sure that everybody knows that you must have this license.

And then reiterating the ban on feeding kitchen waste to pigs, even if it's come from a vegan or vegetarian kitchen, it's illegal. Like, we had Mark hyten on Radio 5 live the other week reiterating exactly that.

And what's the one thing that every producer that you would like every producer to check this month to be better prepared for an outbreak?

To review your biosecurity, basically, you know, it sounds really, really simple and quite boring because biosecurity, it is so fundamental. But this is not a disease foot and mouth that is spread on the wind. You can keep Africans wine fever out of the unit with really good biosecurity.

And it is so often the simple stuff like making sure that all of your gates are closed, that your visitors are being recorded correctly when they come in.

If you can do things like move your feed bins to the perimeter of your unit, that saves the lorry coming in through your gate and making sure that anybody that comes in the vehicle is scrupulously clean. And so are people's boots.

So even having boots that are specific to the unit, so a visitor puts on unit specific boots rather than wearing their own shoes, that can really help as well. So it's just the really, really fundamental stuff.

Yeah, definitely get the basics right. Miranda, thank you so much for your time and taking us through all that.

There's more on ASF contingency planning on the HDB website and some of the animal health and welfare team will be at the Pig and Poultry Fair in Birmingham, which is coming up next week.

Next we'll be hearing from someone who exports sweet potatoes to this country and finding out if there are any lessons to learn for our red meat and dairy exporters.

It's the Ag Show. Do remember, we love to hear from you.

You can contact us through any of our social media or email agshowdb.org.uk We've had more interest in the inbox. I have to say, Martin and Hannah around that rainwater harvesting piece.

So, yeah, if Anyone hears anything on any of our previous shows and they go, oh, that was interesting. Reach out to us. We're more than happy to try and put you in touch with the relevant people. And on that front, the rainwater harvesting.

We are expecting an update from Carl coming in the next few weeks. So listen out to that one. I think it's definitely gonna be really interesting to hear about how progress is going.

I have my diary, I have my pen. I'm gonna write it in. Must get Carl back for that rainwater harvesting. So, yes, we will hear how it's all progressing up in Cumbria.

Right. Well, we've heard a bit in recent weeks from our exports team and the work they do promoting British red meat and dairy across the globe.

We thought we'd flip that conversation and look at imports and understand the challenges for overseas farmers and see if there are any lessons we can learn.

Now, given our climate, we're not known as big producers of sweet potatoes, but among the countries that are is the United States.

I recently caught up with Michelle Granger, executive director of the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission, and they're an organization with aims not too dissimilar to ours. And I asked Michelle about what the UK market means to them.

Well, first and foremost, the entirety of the UK is a very special market for us here in North Carolina. And England was our very first country, with London being the very first city that we went after.

We did that through partnership of working with some very industrious and progressive packers and shippers who also were producing a varietal of sweet potatoes that we still produce today called the Covington Variety. And we did it in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture as well as the Sweet Potato Commission.

And at the time we went into the marketplace, the sweet potato, at best, was considered an exotic table item. It is now a table staple, as you well know.

And it is such a thrill for me, as a native North Carolinian, to travel all over the UK and EU at this point and to see North Carolina sweet potatoes in all of the retail outlets, as well as on so many different restaurant menus.

And while I can't prove that they're North Carolina sweet potatoes at the restaurants per se, I do know that because of our efforts, they are on those menus now, regardless of what the location of origin is for the sweet potatoes that are being prepared and served. So exporting is a tremendous priority for us as an industry.

It is representative of about 40% of all that we produce in North Carolina, which we are the largest producing state in the nation. And we produce to that point, we produce over 65% of all sweet potatoes that are grown in the US are grown in North Carolina.

And of that 65%, we export around 40% of what we produce. And of the 40% that we export, over 85% of it goes directly to the UK and EU.

I was going to say sweet potatoes. I remember when it isn't that long ago, the only way that you could really get them over here was probably as a sweet potato fry.

But now they have even worked their way into my Sunday roast. So we have them alongside our standard roast potatoes.

My husband's a huge fan of them, so they are definitely, definitely much more mainstream than they were. And do you find that the UK consumer is looking for something slightly different to other markets that you might be shipping to?

I do. And for me, it's exciting because the UK consumer is always looking to, I feel, fully maximize the versatility of the sweet potato.

As someone who's just admitted that you incorporate it within your own family meals, you've seen that versatility, and I, I've noticed it with the UK consumers as I've traveled through all of the different incorporations of sweet potatoes from a cultural influence and substituting sweet potatoes for perhaps a white potato or another type root vegetable, and including it in a traditional dish that's been influenced by the flavors and culinary practices of a particular culture, at first to experiment, but then to elevate, as the discovery is oftentimes found of just how next level that sweet potato has now taken that traditional dish.

And, you know, I love going into the retail marketplace and as I travel through the UK and just seeing what the ready to go meals are that incorporate sweet potatoes and all of the different ethnic cuisines that are having influence within that retail space. For a girl from North Carolina, it's really great to see.

Now, obviously, we are an important export market to you alongside the eu, but who are some of your rivals that you have for coming into, particularly, I guess, our market, but other markets that you might be accessing, and what is it that you try and do to set yourself apart from them?

Our current competition probably comes from Egypt, and they are our strongest competitors in the UK and EU marketplace. The way that we've been working to, in your words, combat that competition is to educate.

Here in North Carolina in the us, our universities have been committed to sweet potato research for well over 50 years at this point, as have our farmers partnering with the universities.

And sure, that goes with breeding, but it also goes with field management practices, as well as harvesting, curing, storing, and then ultimately shipping.

So the messaging that we work to differentiate ourselves with is indeed, starting with research and getting that message out is probably our biggest challenge at this point to the masses. We have influencers that go viral globally that then help us push that message, whether they've partnered with us or not.

They just naturally like the product. So that has helped us.

But it's the intentional effort and steadfast dedication of really honing in to what we do, instead of hopping to a new opportunity, but knowing that we can do something very well and taking great pride in it and then getting the message out.

And so that's to communicate to the wholesale buyers, to the importers, to the produce managers, and then also creating a message that is specifically honed for our consumers to hear as well.

And what are consumers thinking very much from a red meat and dairy perspective. There are loads of aspects that they are looking for when it comes to finding out about how their food's produced.

Do you find that things such as sustainability and traceability are really important when you are talking to your UK consumer?

I do, and I would say that sustainability and traceability are also important to consumers elsewhere in the world as well.

And because we have such a large export market, and so much of that export market is dedicated to the UK and eu, our growers treat all of their acres as if they're going to be exported because they're never quite sure if one original commitment might not pivot to a different commitment.

And because of the focus and intentionality of both of those key areas of sustainability and traceability are so critical to the consumers of the UK and eu, our growers treat everything they produce as if they're going there. And that way, should any partner that they have or customer that they have request information, they're able to provide it.

And do you find that well in any of your markets? Is there a different demands in terms of the quality or the consistency of the products that are coming, or is that quite consistent as well?

There are differences in sizing in different markets, different sizes seem to be more preferred, but within that sizing preference, there is still a requirement of consistency of quality. And in North Carolina, we take great pride in producing a premium product regardless of what size it is.

And part of being premium is ensuring that you have consistency of quality. And our growers really work to ensure that they can meet that.

And I think, finally, do you have, like, anything that you think might be interesting or important to share from everything you've learned from dealing with exporting to us in the uk that you could share with our UK farmers.

If you farm, regardless of what country you are farming in, you are a hero, period. You are helping feed people well beyond your own borders of the land in which you steward. And not many people in the world can do that.

I know in the US, less than one and a half percent of our population of over 330 million people actually farm, and that number continues to get less every day. And so to farm, take pride in it and understand that you are serving a need so much greater.

And I do think most farmers get that anyway because there's so many sacrifices that they have to make. So I always like to say thank you.

Thank you for what you do, thank you for the risk that you take, and thank you for ensuring that we have nutritious, available food to survive on, because we absolutely need that. I also would say, tell your story, Be proud.

You know, one thing that farmers struggle with is telling their story, because what they do is so tightly interwoven into who they are and who they're most of the time, who their families have been for generations. So it's natural to them. It's second nature. And it's kind of awkward to talk about yourself.

And farmers are typically pretty humble individuals and they keep to themselves and they farm the lands that they have.

But.

But it's important today, in today's world, with consumers being so remote and disconnected from where their food comes from, to be willing to tell the story and to tell it from the rooftops, because what you're doing is pretty heroic and very important.

Well, I think that's all we've got time for this episode. It's been fascinating to hear stories from Will and hear about ASF from Miranda and sweet potatoes and the potential for the UK market from Michelle.

I want to know, Charlotte, is that Easter egg still on your desk?

Well, there's a little bit of wrapping left, so technically, yes, it survived the wrapping did. I didn't chew that.

When will it fully disappear?

Before my husband gets home, so he doesn't know Sam.