In this episode we talk to Sam Bagshaw of S C Bagshaw Agricultural Contracting. Based on the Cotswolds / Warwickshire border, Sam splits his time between contract spraying and duties on the family’s mixed farm.

Ever since Sam can remember, he has lived and breathed farming. He talks about growing up on the family farm, joining Young Farmers and his first job as sprayer operator on a Warwickshire farm. Sam also talks about his time in New Zealand working for a contracting business.  

Sam discusses his decision to set up a contract spraying business. How, as a young operator looking for work, he did his homework before throwing his hat into the ring and having a go. As Sam says, you can do everything right, but you still need that little bit of luck now and again.

As far as Sam is concerned, farming is not a career, it’s more a way of life. It’s important to strike the right balance of time in and out of farming, something Sam reflects on now that he has become a father for the first time.

Apart from spending time with his family, Sam tells us about his rugby playing days and watching Northampton Saints. He also likes to shoot clays and game. During the season Sam helps as a loader on shoots at a local estate. We hear about the man who after spending a day shooting, hopped on a plane to see his rather famous girlfriend, before returning for the next days shoot.