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Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

science

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13:52

25/04/25 Concerns around lack of awareness of EU food...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/25

Concerns about foot and mouth outbreaks in Europe have led to restrictions on what visitors and returning holidaymakers can bring into the UK. Meat and dairy products cannot now be brought back from Europe into the country, the aim being to prevent an outbreak here. That rule was introduced on the 12th of April this year and covers everything from cured meats and cheeses to sandwiches regardless of whether it's packaged or not. But over the past couple of weeks listeners have been getting in touch

13:44

24/04/2025 Warning that changes to planning bill...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/24

A government amendment to its planning bill would be disastrous for both wildlife and big building projects; that's the warning from the Wildlife Trusts which wants ministers to reconsider. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust releases its latest watchlist today, and says that while there is good news for some native breeds, others like the Manx Locton sheep are falling in number. It wants the Government to re-establish a Ministerial Native Breeds Roundtable. Today we are looking at a silvopasture project

13:30

The rise and rise of beef prices, carp growing,...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/22

Charlotte Smith examines what's behind 2025's unprecedented increase in prices paid to UK beef farmers. According to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board fewer cattle are being farmed in the UK, and beyond. This week Farming Today is taking a closer look at Agroforestry, the approach which combines farming crops or livestock with trees. And, big fish, big money: we visit a carp grower in Yorkshire.Presenter: Charlotte SmithProducer: Sarah Swadling

25:01

19/04/25 Farming Today This Week: wildfires, British...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/19

If you're travelling in mainland Europe this Easter and thinking about possibly bringing back some local delicacies, think again. Following outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in Germany, Hungary and on its border with Slovakia, restrictions on the food you're allowed to bring in, have changed significantly. You are now not allowed to bring in meat or dairy products from any EU country, except for poultry. So how great is the potential for cured meats or cheeses in your suitcase to transmit foot

13:56

Foot and mouth personal meat import ban, gearing up...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/15

Travellers have been banned from bringing meat from all EU countries into the UK following Foot and Mouth disease in Germany, Hungary and Slovakia. The ban applies to meat from cattle, pigs, and sheep as well as dairy products. We hear from the British Veterinary Association about why cured meats or cheese bought home from holiday could present a very real disease risk. After lambing, shearing is next on sheep farmers' springtime to do lists. Skilled shearers from overseas will now be able to book

24:56

12/04/2025 Farming Today This Week: Salmon Farming,...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/12

Salmon farming has long been plagued by questions over its environmental impact and welfare concerns for farmed fish and the wild fish that live nearby. Charlotte Smith asks if those concerns might be reduced if the industry moves into deeper, wilder waters.There's also a look at illegal meat imports and the resources that the Port of Dover has to police the arrival of suspect foods on British shores. Producer: Rebecca Rooney

13:57

10/04/2025 Wildfires and managing moorland, farmed...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/10

Firefighters across the country have been tackling more wildfires this week - from the Mourne mountains in Northern Ireland to the Scottish Highlands and North Yorkshire moors. These fires in rural areas are difficult to fight. In the Mournes more than 140 fires have been reported in the past few days and firefighters say most were started deliberately. Various countryside organisations, including the Countryside Alliance and the CLA alongside farming unions have been raising awareness of the

14:25

09/04/25 Funding for checks at the border, salmon...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/09

Farmers are calling for the government to look again at the amount of funding it provides to stop illegal meat imports coming into the country. The Dover Port Health Authority which carries out the checks has been offered £3.1 million pounds by DEFRA for this financial year - the same amount as last year. However it says the funding’s too low and will make delivering its remit ‘immensely challenging’ and will ‘leave the border largely open’. With an increasing number of confirmed cases of foot and

14:26

Scottish Farm Incomes, US Trade Red Lines, Farmed Trout

Farming Today ·

2025/04/08

The Scottish Farm Business Survey has revealed a big drop in average farm income, falling by 51% in its latest figures for 2023/4. The President of NFU Scotland, Andrew Connon, tells Caz Graham that farm profits are being squeezed by increased costs including interest rates. As talks continue to hammer out a trade agreement between the UK and the US, the President of the NFU in England, Tom Bradshaw, remains bullish that the UK Government will stand firm on food import standards. And we visit a

24:52

05/04/25 Farming Today This Week: Trump's trade...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/05

President Trump's announcement of sweeping new tariffs on goods entering the United States from around the world has caused chaos in international markets, and producers have been trying to work out what it'll mean for them. The UK faces tariffs of 10% on all exports to the States. The US is the third largest export market for UK farmers after Ireland and France, according to the most recent DEFRA figures. On average, we sell £68 million worth of cheese, £23 million worth of pork and around £3

13:59

04/04/2025 Tariffs and global food trade, Isles of...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/04

Donald Trump’s new tariff regime, imposing at least a 10% tariff on all imports to the US, has caused chaos in international markets, and farmers across the world are wondering how they’ll be affected. Here the National Farmers Union says it’s working “at pace” with government on how to react if there is market disruption.The University of Reading has a worldwide reputation for expertise in agriculture and food research. So there was some surprise when it was revealed the University was planning to

13:40

03/04/25 Extreme risk of wildfires, review of...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/03

Firefighters are warning of the 'extreme risk' of wildfires in Scotland. The fire service has issued its third warning this year after fires in hills near Glasgow and in Aberdeenshire. It says after a spell of warm weather there is plenty of dry vegetation which can act as fuel for fires, and is urging people not to light fires outside this week. Government plans to streamline environmental regulation to speed up house building and boost economic growth risk causing irreversible damage to nature,

14:13

02/04/25 Housing shortages in Scottish islands,...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/02

This week we're taking a closer look at the rural lives of islanders around our shores. A survey by the Young Islanders Network found the biggest concern for young people in Scotland’s islands, is housing – or a lack of it. We speak to people about some of the problems they've faced - and some of the solutions.The Environment Food and Rural Affairs select Committee of MPs has been grilling the farming minister Daniel Zeichner about the repercussions of suspending the Sustainable Farming Incentive,

13:53

01/04/25 Review of agricultural pollution rules in...

Farming Today ·

2025/04/01

An independent review has backed controversial muck-spreading regulations for farms across Wales, but said improvements are needed. Stricter rules on spreading and storing manures have been phased in since 2021, against a backdrop of fierce opposition from the farming industry. The Welsh government says it will implement all the recommendations in the study in full, though some will take longer to deliver. A ban on the burning of heather on deep-peat land could be extended to cover a wider area of

11:54

31/03/25 Lifeline for Guernsey dairy farmers, wartime...

Farming Today ·

2025/03/31

Guernsey dairy farmers have welcomed a decision to increase the support they receive from government.An ambitious plan is underway to digitise wartime farm records and make them available online. A ban in Europe on shooting turtle doves, and work by farmers in England to provide both habitats and food has resulted in a 40% increase in populations. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

24:59

29/03/25 Farming Today This Week: Bird flu in a...

Farming Today ·

2025/03/29

Bird flu has been found in a sheep for the first time. DEFRA said the case in Yorkshire was on a farm where avian flu was present in captive birds. One ewe tested positive and has been culled, but her lambs and the rest of the small flock of sheep were negative. Surveillance of mammals for avian flu has been stepped up, partly because in the United States many dairy cattle and even some dairy workers have gone down with the disease. We speak to the chief vet.Avian influenza is at the forefront of

14:08

28/03/25 Investigation into supply chain arbitration,...

Farming Today ·

2025/03/28

Farmers are too afraid to use a government system that was set-up to improve their relationship with the supermarkets, according to a new investigation by BBC One’s Countryfile.All week we've been looking at the egg industry. Yesterday we heard about pullets, the young female chicks that grow into laying hens. But for every egg that hatches a female chick, there's another that hatches male, and cockerels can't lay eggs, which obviously renders them useless for egg producers. In the UK these chicks

13:47

27/03/25 Chancellor's spring statement, pullets,...

Farming Today ·

2025/03/27

The Chancellor's spring statement has drawn a mixed reaction from the rural community. Farming itself wasn't mentioned as such, Rachel Reeves focused on the government's agenda for growth and plans to build more homes. We speak to a professor from Newcastle University's Centre for Rural Economy to assess what it means for agriculture and rural communities.All this week we're looking at eggs, and today we focus on the farms which supply laying hens. We visit a pullet rearer which supplies egg

14:07

26/03/25 Red Tractor responds to farm assurance...

Farming Today ·

2025/03/26

Red Tractor has responded to an independent review into the assurance scheme. A report, published earlier this year, recommended more than 50 changes to the Red Tractor scheme, which is supposed to hold farmers to meet high standards on animal welfare, food quality and business governance. We speak to the interim chair about the changes Red Tractor's making as a result.The Environment Food and Rural Affairs select committee has been hearing more evidence about how border control points are managing

14:07

25/03/25 Bird flu in sheep, free-range eggs,...

Farming Today ·

2025/03/25

Bird flu has been found in a sheep for the first time. DEFRA said the case in Yorkshire was on a farm where avian flu was present in captive birds. One ewe tested positive and has been culled, but her lambs and the rest of the small flock of sheep were negative. Surveillance of mammals for avian flu has been stepped up, partly because in the United States many dairy cattle and even some dairy workers, have gone down with the disease. We speak to the chief vet.Avian influenza is of course at the

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