Jez Fredenburgh

I've been a journalist for 10 years and love nothing better than talking to interesting people, exploring new places, and getting my head around big issues. 

In pursuit of all of this, I've been lucky enough to report from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Côte d'Ivoire, China, Hong Kong, Portugal, Belgium, Greece, France, Germany, and all over the UK.

My bylines to date include; BBC Future, National Geographic, Farmers Guardian, Farmers Weekly, Wicked Leeks, Vice, and many other agricultural publications. If you've got a great story to tell, or you're an editor who would like to commission me, please get in touch here. 

bee on clover
Farmers Guardian •

How to manage complexity and biodiversity on farm

How do you manage the farm as an ecosystem, and how do you deal with all the complexity and diversity that this brings. Jez Fredenburgh talks to Caroline Grindrod, a former conservationist and previous tenant farmer in the Dales and Lakes, who has spent years exploring how to integrate farming and nature through systems. Caroline has trained in holistic management with the Savory Institute and is the founder of Roots of Nature, where she works with farmers as a regenerative farming consultant and coach.
Farmers Guardian •

Farming with nature - how to regenerate your soils

Regenerating your soil is not complicated, but it means understanding it differently – so you can help it do what it does best. With input prices through the roof and another summer of heat and drought, regenerating our soils has never been more important. Well-functioning soils increase a farm’s resilience to extreme weather, and unlock the soil’s natural ability to give crops what they need to grow, without artificial inputs.
Farmers Guardian podcast •

Regenerative farming legend Gabe Brown on healing your soil and your soul

Gabe Brown, regenerative farming legend and pioneer, speaks to Jez Fredenburgh about the power of regenerative farming to heal your soil and your soul. After hail and drought destroyed his crops four years in a row, Gabe decided to farm differently. He went on a huge learning curve, changing his mindset entirely, and getting to know his farm in a way he never had before – as an ecosystem reliant on fundamental, universal ecological principles, rather than a "chemistry set". He now travels the world advising on regen farming, and has been named one of the 25 most influential agricultural leaders in the United States.
Farmers Guardian •

Metrics system for the world’s farms gathers pace

The Global Farm Metric (GFM), led by the Sustainable Food Trust and designed by UK farmers over six years, is gradually gaining national and international attention, and now has more than 80 partners. If the system went global, consumers, governments and the supply chain would be able to genuinely compare how sustainable food is for the first time in history. As well as UK organisations and companies such as AHDB, the Soil Association, and major retailers such as Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, the coalition now includes WWF, Climate Works Australia and Cornell University in the USA. “This is a game changer,” says Adele Jones...
Farmers Guardian •

Russian army targets food production in Ukraine

An Eastern European agricultural organisation has issued a plea to farmers and agricultural companies across Europe to help get aid to Ukraine, where Russian troops have stepped up attacks on the farming sector. Maksym Kryvonis, executive director of the Eastern European Agricultural Alliance (EEAA), which is based in Warsaw but has members across 10 countries in the region including Ukraine, said Russia was now targeting agricultural production to weaken the country’s food security. “The biggest problem right now is where Russian troops are – some fields have mines, and there are already cases of farmers killed because they cannot identity them...”
Farmers Guardian •

England's water security is on a knife edge – but what is government doing?

Three years ago, the chief executive of the Environment Agency, Sir James Bevan, warned that within 25 years England would not have enough water to supply demand, thanks to a growing population and climate change. Public water consumption would have to be cut by a third; water companies would have to half leakages; big reservoirs and desalination plants would need to be built and more water would have to be transported across the country. To tackle the challenge, five regional water groups are drawing up plans. However, there is concern that the voice of farmers is not being properly taken into account...
Farmers Guardian •

Rising food prices risks causing another health crisis

The rising cost of living could lead to public riots, civil unrest and a major food scandal on a scale not seen since the horsemeat affair in 2014, say industry experts. Almost 11 per cent of UK households are now experiencing food insecurity, the highest figures since before the pandemic. Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation and chief independent adviser to the National Food Strategy team, said: “Civil unrest and riots are directly linked to food insecurity and we have a growing crisis in the UK.” Sue Davies, head of consumer rights and food policy at Which?, said 69% of the public were affected by rising food prices.
Farmers Guardian podcast •

Call for farmers across Europe to deliver aid to Ukraine

As Putin’s attack on Ukraine continues, Russian troops are targeting food production, including farmers and their livestock. To tell us more about this Jez Fredenburgh talks to Maksym Kryvonis, executive director of the Eastern European Agricultural Alliance (EEAA), which is based in Warsaw but has members across the region including Ukraine. Maks used to work in the Ukrainian agricultural ministry, and since the war has been using his network to get aid to internally displaced people. He is now calling for more farmers and agricultural companies across Europe to work with him to deliver targeted aid.
Morgado do Quintão •

Women in wine find jobs and hope for Ukrainian refugees

Three women in Portuguese wine are working with the sector to find jobs, accommodation and friendship for refugees from the Ukrainian wine industry. Eduarda Dias, Francisca Van Zeller, and Mariana Roque do Vale, have been tirelessly going through their contact books to find jobs and homes for people who were working in the Ukrainian wine sector before Putin’s attack on the country. So far they have received 33 people, matching all but one of them with jobs and accommodation in the wine and hospitality industry before they arrived in Portugal. “It is very stressful and hard for them when they arrive...”
National Geographic •

Making vanilla pay in São Tomé and Príncipe

Originating from Mexico’s rainforests and once picked by the Aztecs to flavour their cocoa, vanilla is today the most used flavouring in the world and second most expensive spice after saffron. It’s also an exceptionally labour-intensive crop, and highly liable to fail. On São Tomé and Príncipe, a tiny island nation off the coast of Gabon, this challenge has brought together two Europeans and a group of local farmers, who are determined to make vanilla growing less risky and bring much-needed income to the islands. Located on the Equator, São Tomé’s rich volcanic soils produce pods with a distinctly nutty, caramel aroma...
Morgado do Quintão •

Ricardo Rodrigues, Portugal's newly crowned top sommelier

At just 33, Ricardo Rodrigues has been crowned Portugal’s Sommelier Of The Year at the annual Revista de Vinhos awards. He tells us what it’s like remembering thousands of wine profiles, how he trains his palate, and what makes the Portuguese wine sector unique. Q: How do you remember so many wine profiles? A: You build memories. When you taste and discuss a wine, the flavours and aromas lead you to them – it’s different for everyone, for example it might remind you of a scene with your grandmother, although of course you wouldn’t say that to a customer!
Farmers Guardian podcast •

Could Seasonary instead of Veganuary be a more sustainable approach?

It's January and that means Veganuary, when thousands of people try to cut out meat and dairy for the month in the same of a healthier and more sustainable diet. But could there be better, alternative messages to achieve a healthy and sustainable diet? One that better embraces what the UK's landscapes and natural resources offer? Jez Fredenburgh talks to John Pallagi, a former restauranteur and now co-founder of Farmison, an award-winning online butcher, about his call for 'Seasonary' instead of Veganuary and a possible 'unseasonal food levy'.
Farmers Guardian podcast •

Paying farmers to go green – the rising trend of corporate sustainability incentives

This week we’re talking about the growing trend towards corporate sustainability incentives – a form of incentivisation that a buyer uses to encourage a farmer supplier to adhere to a set of sustainability criteria. Jez Fredenburgh talks to Rich Clothier, MD of Wyke Farms, which is it introducing its own incentivised scheme for its dairy farmers. Jez also talks to NFU vice president and mixed farmer, Stuart Roberts about where things currently stand with such schemes, what he thinks of them, and if we're likely to see more.
National Geographic •

Meet the maker: The tea sommelier of Lisbon

The taking of tea is a profound moment of the day for Sebastian Filgueiras. “Drinking tea is very spiritual,” he explains. “It’s a connection moment, a time to sit down, go inwards, and tune into your emotions. Drinking coffee is social, but tea… tea is introspective.” Sebastian tests every single tea and mixes all blends by hand in his workroom behind the shop. Surrounded by bags and bowls of tea leaves, flowers, herbs, spices, and teapots of all shapes and sizes, he quietly pours boiling water over leaves in tiny porcelain cups. “When you’re tasting a new tea, it’s an electric, nervous feeling,” he says, inspecting a cup of Mao Feng green tea.
The Cut •

Could regenerative farming revolutionise the Scottish livestock sector?

A quiet movement is happening on farms across the country – a growing interest and transition towards regenerative agriculture. For Scottish farming with its wealth of natural resources, the potential to optimise production, improve profitability, and build environmental resilience, is huge, say practitioners. “We're exploring the possibilities of regenerative agriculture and gathering as much information as possibly, because it's very clear that it’s going to be the movement that solidifies farming going forward,” says Bruce McConachie, Head of Industry Development at QMS...
The Cut •

Sustainability metrics and their role in the future of global food competition

Imagine a world where every farm – from a Scottish beef producer to a Kenyan green bean grower – measures their sustainability using a universal set of criteria, agreed by every nation on Earth. This could be used by farmers to benchmark, add premiums to sustainable produce, and sell their natural capital to the private sector. For Scottish livestock farming, with its wealth of natural resources, grasslands to sequester carbon, and potential for sustainable production, this system could help the sector tell its story better, stand out from the crowd, and show consumers that home-grown meat can be part of a sustainable diet...
BBC Future •

From Portugal to Chile – the race to predict extreme wildfires

Across the Atlantic in Pedrógão Grande, as early evening approached, thick smoke blocked the sun and made it difficult for the villagers to see or breathe. The fire sucked air towards it, generating wind speeds of up to 117km/h (73mph) and rocking cars in a nearby municipality. Still the flames charged on, now devouring 4,460 hectares (17sq miles) of forest an hour. But the most dramatic, dangerous moment was still to come. At about 8pm, the dark cloud of smoke – now 13km (8 miles) high – "collapsed" through its plume, sending cold air whooshing down to the base of the fire and fanning it with oxygen...
Farmers Guardian podcast •

Biodiversity Net Gain – a new income for farmers?

The world is facing a biodiversity crisis, but farmers can help. Later this year, the UK's Environment Bill will make it a legal requirement for all new developments to create more biodiversity than was there to begin with, or so-called Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). Thousands of hectares of land dedicated to biodiversity will be needed – as will farmers to deliver it. Jez Fredenburgh speaks to Teresa Dent of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, and David Hill of Environment Bank, a UK company at the forefront of biodiversity accounting.
Load More Articles