Agriculture is a busy place at the best of times, so cutting through the noise to deliver concise, relevant information is a challenge.

It’s one that Bayer market development agronomist Craig White recognised many years ago and saw a solution in the launch of Bayer’s CropCast podcast in 2018.

Designed to bring experience and technical knowledge from the Bayer team to listeners, Mr White and his colleagues regularly record episodes covering a range of key topics.

“The Bayer CropCast really came out of the idea that it is a busy, noisy world,” Mr White said. “There's lots of information, all types of channels, people wanting to talk to each other and gather expertise and knowledge from other people.

“If someone's thinking they wouldn't mind knowing a bit more about a particular topic, the hope is that people can find or be channelled towards the podcasts and listen to me and my colleagues to get answers.

“Listeners might have a question or a motivation to find out more, and if they can get that from us at any time that suits them, even if it's in the middle of the night, they're out on a tractor or driving a truck, then it might help them to move towards some sort of action.”

Fast-forward to 2022, and Craig is now the host of two successful Bayer podcasts; CropCast – and HortCast, which was launched in 2020. While they are delivering significant value with each episode, the podcasts are also unscripted by design.

“The idea of the structure is to keep it fairly loose. We don't write a script for them, rather we have a general idea of the topics we'd like to cover, and usually around what's topical and seasonal right at that moment,” Mr White said.

“In the intro I will talk about topics related to growing healthy agricultural crops and about things that are happening right now or will be of relevance in the near future.

“In essence, HortCast has more external experts and demonstrates how Bayer links with the broader industry, while CropCast has been more about showcasing our significant team of field representatives and highlighting what’s going on in their areas, along with the products and services Bayer is developing.”

Mr White believes the real power of the podcasts lies in talking with Bayer team members from around Australia to extend critical information. In addition, experts from the broader industry beyond Bayer are invited onto the programs.

“For example, we recently had the CEO of Australian Macadamias on HortCast, and then from the Bayer perspective, we talk about how our solutions, products and services might be a fit to help that industry grow and be more sustainable,” he said.

When asked why podcasts seem to work particularly well as a medium in the agricultural industry, Mr White said is quick to refer to the idea of “hands-free learning”.

“I had a guy in a horticultural packing shed in southwest WA say to me ‘I love these podcasts because I otherwise miss out on a lot of that information. I just don't have time to sit down and read newspapers, watch videos, because I can't watch a video while I'm driving a forklift, but I can have my headphones in and listen to information through podcasts’.

“It shows how there's a lot of time spent with machinery or tasks that require your eyes and your hands to be on something else. That's why I call it hands-free learning, and the audio world has a huge role to play there, which is why I think it's so successful.”

Mr White’s vision for HortCast and CropCast into the future is to maximise its value by ensuring it remains natural, authentic and time-relevant.

“We’re building a library of expertise and commentary over the years that industry can look back on because messages from years back can still be very valuable,” he said.

“I'd love to continue to bring more experts from around the world and bring that knowledge to Australia for the benefit of growers in Australia and New Zealand.

“In saying that, I also don't want to lose sight of where the podcasts have come from, which is a very boots-on-the-ground approach, and that's what I want to keep.”

The Bayer HortCast and CropCast are available wherever you get podcasts – or go to crop.bayer.com.au/podcasts.