What does it really take to prepare the agri-food sector for the future?

In this episode of The Future Herd, Jesse Hirsh is joined by Ruth Knight, director with the Agriculture Adaptation Council and chair of the Agri-Food 2050 committee, for a wide-ranging conversation on foresight, leadership, and cultural transformation in agriculture.

Rather than treating the future as something to be predicted or controlled, Ruth argues that future readiness is a mindset—one rooted in curiosity, patience, dialogue, and imagination. Together, they explore why resilience emerges from conversation rather than consensus, how play and experimentation can unlock innovation, and why engaging younger generations is essential to the long-term health of the agri-food system.

This episode examines the tension between problem-solving and big-picture thinking, the limits of top-down planning, and the need to shift from systems of control toward systems of emergence. At its core, the conversation asks how leaders can create the conditions for adaptation, learning, and collaboration over the next 25 years.

1. Why foresight is a practice, not a prediction
2. Curiosity and patience as leadership strengths
3. Dialogue versus debate in sector-wide planning
4. Play, imagination, and safe experimentation
5. Intergenerational leadership and youth engagement
6. From control to emergence in agri-food systems
7. Building cultural capacity for long-term resilience

Ruth Knight

Director, Agriculture Adaptation Council

Chair, Agri-Food 2050 Committee

Independent Agronomist and Rural Development Consultant

The Future Herd explores leadership, collaboration, and long-term thinking in agriculture and food systems. Through conversations with sector leaders, policymakers, producers, and innovators, the podcast examines how we adapt together in an era of uncertainty.