Anna Jones grew up with one foot in the furrows and the other in the future. Raised on a farm on the Welsh Borders, in a small and tightly woven Shropshire community, she always knew she would leave—not to escape, but to tell stories. At 18, she left for university to study Journalism in northern England. The streets of Preston felt like downtown Manhattan to a farm girl who had never even lived in a village, let alone a city. From there, her voice found its way into newspapers, television, and eventually the airwaves of BBC Radio 4. For two decades, Anna Jones worked as a journalist and producer, sharing the stories of farming and rural life on programmes like Countryfile, Farming Today, and On Your Farm. But by 2015, she could feel the ground shifting. The relationship between farmers and the media was breaking down. Mistrust ran deep. Misunderstandings ran deeper. Anna Jones saw it clearly: farmers didn’t feel heard, and journalists didn’t know who to ask. So she created Just Farmers—a national training and media network that helps farmers understand the mechanics of storytelling, and helps journalists connect with people rooted in the land. It began as a simple idea: bridge the gap. Restore trust. Let farmers speak for themselves.
Since 2018, Just Farmers has trained over 130 farmers and connected them to hundreds of working journalists, editors, and producers. No spin. No agenda. Just people—real voices, real stories, real food systems—shared with respect and depth. Anna Jones now travels the UK running workshops, speaking at conferences, and quietly transforming how farming is portrayed and perceived. Her work is supported by leading charitable organisations, but its real power lies in the way it opens doors—on both sides. Alongside this, Anna Jones continues her own storytelling: producing documentaries, writing for Scribehound Countryside, and broadcasting from farms across the world. Her 2022 book Divide: The Relationship Crisis Between Town and Country explores the cultural fractures she has spent a lifetime crossing—with insight, compassion, and unflinching honesty. She calls herself a hybrid—half-townie, half-bumpkin—and lives alone in a flat in Shrewsbury, with her dog, not far from the family farm. She still works best with a microphone in one hand and muddy boots by the door. Because for Anna Jones, this was never about choosing between town or country. It was about building a bridge—and walking it in both directions.
