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  "path": "/2026/05/19/the-rural-payments-agency-podcast-episode-15/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-19T10:49:59.000Z",
  "site": "https://ruralpayments.blog.gov.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Apple",
    "Spotify",
    "Buzzsprout",
    "@ruralpay",
    "blog.gov.uk",
    "facebook.com/RuralPaymentsAgency",
    "Rural Payments Agency",
    "instagram.com/ruralpay"
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  "textContent": "Welcome to the fifteenth episode of The RPA Podcast.\n\nIn our latest episode, we re-visit the topic of Integrated Pest Management (IPM).\n\nLast May we discussed the research being done to help farmers tackle pests, weeds and diseases more sustainably and the funding available to help farmers get involved.\n\nIn this episode we find out how things have moved on. We chat with Dr Sam Cook and PhD student Charlotte Robb from Rothamsted Research, who've been researching natural pest control and how farmers can reduce their reliance on pesticides.\n\nSam and Charlotte are joined by two farmers, Chris Gemmill and Fergus MacGregor, who've been putting IPM into practice on their own land. Both have been working with the team at Rothamsted and have some valuable on-the-ground experience of IPM to share, including its cost effectiveness, challenges faced, and the range of digital tools available to farmers to help plan and implement IPM.\n\nYou can listen to episode 15, and earlier episodes of The RPA Podcast on Apple and Spotify or through Buzzsprout.\n\nFollow us on social media for the latest updates and information on the following accounts:\n\n  * follow us on X @ruralpay\n\n\n  * sign up for our blog at blog.gov.uk\n\n\n  * Facebook: facebook.com/RuralPaymentsAgency\n\n\n  * YouTube: Rural Payments Agency\n\n\n  * Instagram: instagram.com/ruralpay\n\n\n\nBy following and subscribing to our social channels and blog, you’ll be able to see the latest updates about important information.",
  "title": "The Rural Payments Agency Podcast: Episode 15",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-19T11:22:24.000Z"
}