5. Ben Andrews - Bench Talk with Jo Hilditch

This podcast celebrates the lives of extraordinary ordinary people. Ben Andrews is a mixed crop tenant farmer who farms near Leominster in Herefordshire (he also happens to be gay); just like I’m a farmer (and happen to be a woman).  It is not your sex or sexuality that should define you in any industry but farming is a particularly traditional environment, not least in such an un-diverse county as Herefordshire.  We discuss this, as well as farming, food waste, food prices and his efforts to raise awareness and platform LGBT + in the farming community through social media and a signposting website.  As ever I ask Ben to highlight his top tourism tips for Herefordshire – the outdoor life is unsurprisingly becoming something of a theme.

Today our bench is a flat roll (farming equipment, not a small loaf of unrisen bread) in the corner of his farmyard.  Birds in the trees and the rumble of tractors and vehicles make up the background noise.
(By the way Ben, the Picturesque movement was started by William Gilpin with his ‘Observations on the River Wye’ – we should have known that!)

References:
Home - Agrespect - The Rural LGBTQ+ Network

www.visitherefordshire.co.uk
Farmer Ben (@bentheoandrews) • Instagram photos and videos
Farm Safety Foundation - YellowWellies.org
A Rule Of Tum
Welcome - The Courtyard
Welcome to Land Rover Experience Eastnor
www.highsheriffherefordshire.org
www.highsheriff.com
Picturesque - Wikipedia