Rock and Roll Farmer never thought he'd be stalking the halls of Oxford University

Will Evans Emerging Leader

2018 Emerging Leader Will Evans runs a mixed farming enterprise near Wrexham in north Wales, and has become well known for his popular Rock and Roll Farming podcasts.

Frustrated by the way farming and food production is often portrayed in the media, Will decided to initiate his own series, talking to interesting and innovative farmers – and others in the industry - around the country and telling the story from their different perspectives.The podcast, which showcases the diversity of the industry and could be about breeding pedigrees, farm safety or being a vet, has been downloaded over 25,000 times, and Will won Digital Innovator of the Year in the British Farming Awards in 2017.

When Will returned to the family dairy farm after studying agriculture at Harper Adams, he made some drastic changes. In 2007 the cows were sold, and the beef finishing enterprise was expanded, cereal crops area increased, and a free-range laying unit was put up. Farming with his parents, the focus is on self-sufficiency, with almost all of the work being undertaken by himself and his father, and very little feed bought in for cattle.

Will came to the Oxford Farming Conference for the first time in 2018 as an OFC Emerging Leader, and in this short film, he shares his impressions and views of the conference. Will also blogs at www.fatherandfarmer.com.

The 2018 Emerging Leaders were sponsored by BASF