Guest posts are made to give you opinions from a different perspective. And todays article will change the way you see marketing possibilities for landowners, homesteaders and farmers.
What I am about to write, might sound really left-field, but bear with me. Please. Because I would like to refer you to a radio programme, called 'The Archers'. The Archers were created in nineteencanteen when the then Ministry of Food wanted to transfer new ideas to farmers and other rural folk. They didn't want to do it in a 'preachy' way, so they created this programme, which is basically a soap. It shows a number of people living in a small English village and it follows their trials and tribulations, the issues they're facing be it flooding in the village, the illegal disposal of dodgy chemicals, the occurrence of animal disease and crop problems. And whatever else can happen in a rural area.
And the question, which Charlie addresses in her article is a perennial one: How to make a living. It's a constant theme, where the people in the show discuss whether they should carry on with the way they're doing things or whether they should change things. E.g. whether they should change the breeds or types of animals or crops - the change to Hereford cattle was a major discussion point. As was the plan to move to automated milking. And the diversification into blue cheese created weeks of storyline .....
And some of these projects are moving from actual farming to farm adjacent - eg Helen Archer (the cheesemaker) created a space to do cheesemaking classes. Ruth and David remodelled one of their superfluous buildings into a party venue. Tom created a sausage brand and Ed & Emma are building up a tree surgeon business. And I haven't started on Eddie and his ventures .....
Basically, what I am saying in a rather long-winded way, why don't you add 'The Archers' to your entertainment schedule? Each episode is about 15 mins long with a weekly omnibus. But it's available as a podcast, which means you can listen to it whenever you sit down for a cup of tea and a bit of a break. Not everything the people in The Archers are doing is directly transferable, but it might provide a bit of inspiration. And if not, it'll provide a bit of entertainment.
What I am about to write, might sound really left-field, but bear with me. Please. Because I would like to refer you to a radio programme, called 'The Archers'. The Archers were created in nineteencanteen when the then Ministry of Food wanted to transfer new ideas to farmers and other rural folk. They didn't want to do it in a 'preachy' way, so they created this programme, which is basically a soap. It shows a number of people living in a small English village and it follows their trials and tribulations, the issues they're facing be it flooding in the village, the illegal disposal of dodgy chemicals, the occurrence of animal disease and crop problems. And whatever else can happen in a rural area.
And the question, which Charlie addresses in her article is a perennial one: How to make a living. It's a constant theme, where the people in the show discuss whether they should carry on with the way they're doing things or whether they should change things. E.g. whether they should change the breeds or types of animals or crops - the change to Hereford cattle was a major discussion point. As was the plan to move to automated milking. And the diversification into blue cheese created weeks of storyline .....
And some of these projects are moving from actual farming to farm adjacent - eg Helen Archer (the cheesemaker) created a space to do cheesemaking classes. Ruth and David remodelled one of their superfluous buildings into a party venue. Tom created a sausage brand and Ed & Emma are building up a tree surgeon business. And I haven't started on Eddie and his ventures .....
Basically, what I am saying in a rather long-winded way, why don't you add 'The Archers' to your entertainment schedule? Each episode is about 15 mins long with a weekly omnibus. But it's available as a podcast, which means you can listen to it whenever you sit down for a cup of tea and a bit of a break. Not everything the people in The Archers are doing is directly transferable, but it might provide a bit of inspiration. And if not, it'll provide a bit of entertainment.
Here's the link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr
This is super interesting! Will definitely be checking this show out.
Thank you again Daniel for allowing me space on your publication. I’m so glad we got connected!
It’s my pleasure 🙏. The article is a great read and offers a perspective not often discussed. Thank you.