Patrick speaks to Andy Cato, farmer and musician, who found fame in 00’s electric pop duo Groove Armada.
Andy now leads the farming initiative Wildfarmed, which offers a route to market for crops grown in systems that prioritise soil health, working with farmers embracing regenerative approaches to improve farm biodiversity and soil condition. Patrick and Andy discuss the different methods they use for agricultural success, agreeing on the part livestock has to play, also questioning how the needs of a farm in west Wales differs from one in Oxfordshire.
“Ultimately, if the whole thing is based around as diverse soil microbiome as possible, the recycling of nutrients and an input free system, then how can you do that without animals? I don’t see how you could do it.”