David Howard wins BGAJ Podcaster of the Year Award for Farmstrong Scotland

David Howard, founder and Director of BeSpoken Media has won the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists Podcaster of the Year award for 2026 for an episode of the ‘Blether Together’ podcast, which is hosted by Sarah Stephen and produced for Farmstrong Scotland.

The award, sponsored by specialist rural podcast production agency RuralPod Media, celebrates agricultural and rural podcasts and encourages best practice and innovation within the craft.

The judging panel consisted of Ben Eagle, Director of RuralPod Media, alongside last year’s winner Johann Tasker and BBC Farming Today host Anna Hill.

David’s entry for ‘Blether Together’ profiled the topic of menopause, which gains little coverage usually, and the judges were impressed with the originality and purpose of the episode.

Ben said: ‘’The episode excerpt was not only well produced and edited but it tackled a topic that is too often hidden from conversation and media coverage. As judges we were looking for a podcast episode not only with high production values but a sense of originality, purpose and potential for impact on its audience and the wider agricultural community, sparking conversations. The Blether Together entry, certainly achieved this.’’

The Runners up were Ellie Layton and Tom Ryder for their ‘For Flock’s Sake’ entry, a podcast series from Farmers Guardian which aims to give young farmers a voice on the issues shaping the future of British agriculture. This podcast scored highly for its production standards but also the warmth of the conversation between hosts and guests and the judges were left wanting to listen to more.

The winner received a £200 prize, with the runner up taking home £100, plus a ticket to the Guild’s Harvest Lunch where the prizes were announced.