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Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

science

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25:07

15/02/25 - Farming Today This Week: Inheritance Tax...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/15

After a week that saw hundreds of tractors block Whitehall and a prime ministerial visit disrupted by protesting farmers, we take an in-depth look at the proposed changes around inheritance tax on farms.From April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than a million pounds will be liable to inheritance tax at 20% - half the usual rate. The Government says the tax is fair and will raise much-needed public funds. Farmers argue the move could see family farms put out of business. Charlotte

13:43

14/02/25 Prime Minster and a tractor protest, the...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/14

Pesticides are killing plants, insects and animals that they're not aiming to control, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the University of Sussex have joined international researchers to analyse 1,700 lab and field studies of 471 insecticides, herbicides and fungicides used in agriculture or commercially around the world. Their report identifies 'wide ranging negative effects' on a range of species and while the authors acknowledge that without pesticides global food production would

13:58

13/02/2025 - Farmers say the latest measures to...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/13

Free Range egg producers say the Government's latest measures to combat bird flu don't go far enough. The Chief Vet says that from Sunday, poultry in a further five English counties, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Lancashire, must be brought inside, joining restrictions already imposed in Hull, East and North Yorkshire, York, Norfolk, Suffolk and Shropshire. Gatherings of poultry have also been banned in England, and enhanced biosecurity measures are already in force across

13:39

12/02/25 Farm minister at Norfolk Show, rural...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/12

Farmers have vowed to continue protesting at the government's decision to implement inheritance tax on their businesses. The rate at which they are taxed is half that of other businesses, 20 percent, but farmers still say many of them will have to sell up, to pay it. We speak to the farm minister Daniel Zeichner who took questions at the Norfolk farming conference. He said the money raised from inheritance tax was necessary to support public funds. He said the government was trying to help farmers

13:57

11/02/25 - Inheritance tax protest and farming mental...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/11

As many as one and half thousand tractors have converged on Westminster as farmers continue their protest over the Government's plan to re-introduce inheritance tax on farm business assets from next year. The Government says imposing the tax on farms worth more than a million pounds is fair, and will raise much needed public funds. But some farmers argue the move could see family farms put out of business.And as part of a week long feature, we're hearing from rural community champions - the unsung

11:46

10/02/25 - Animal protein in livestock feed, hare...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/10

Should meat be allowed in some animal feed? Measures brought in to control BSE banned feeding animal protein to farmed animals, but the Government says those rules no longer reflect the scientific evidence and is consulting on various proposals to use processed animal protein in feeds.Gangs of hare coursers have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to farm land and infrastructure after about 25 vehicles swept through fields in Cambridgeshire in a single weekend. We hear from one of the farmers

24:53

08/02/25 Farming Today This Week: illegal meat...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/08

MPs are told that animal products from Germany continued to enter the UK after an import ban was put in place because of the foot and mouth outbreak there.Egg producers want their chickens ordered inside to protect them from bird flu.A new report finds farming leaders in Scotland must do more to call out racist, misogynistic and homophobic language from union members.We visit a prize winner of the Westmorland Agricultural Society's annual hotly contested silage competition. And we speak to The Crown

13:44

07/02/2025

Farming Today ·

2025/02/07

Scottish farming leaders have been told they need to be more effective in calling out sexist, racist and homophobic language. An internal report presented to the NFU Scotland conference says inappropriate comments are going unchallenged. We hear about the would-be farmers competing for a tenancy on national TV.And we speak to The Crown Estate about its new rural strategy. It's one of the country's biggest landlords, with over 300 tenant farmers across over 200,000 acres. As part of the estate's new

13:52

06/02/25 - Call for countrywide bird flu housing...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/06

Egg producers want the Government to order all free range chickens inside to protect them from bird flu. The British Free Range Egg Producers Association has told Farming Today that with rising numbers of cases of the virus, it's time to protect the national flock. In Scotland, tenant farmers are concerned about inheritance tax because of the way their farm lease system works.A new report gives a 'critical' warning about the UK's ability to feed us all, given pressures like climate change and

13:49

05/02/25 - Illegal meat imports, council farms and...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/05

Animal products from Germany were still getting into the UK days after the Government banned imports in response to cases of Foot and Mouth there. That's according to evidence given to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee of MPs as they started a new enquiry into animal and plant diseases. We have the latest from the first session.The future of councils farms in England is being thrown into uncertainty by the proposed reorganisation of local authorities - according to one Devon

13:56

04/02/25 - UK-EU trade relations, the Rock Review,...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/04

The Prime Minister has been with EU Leaders in Brussels intending to 're-set' the UK's position with the EU. The Government is seeking a veterinary agreement with the EU to free up trade in food and animal products - something some farmers and food businesses have been calling for.We visit the author of the Rock Review into Tenant Farming - Baroness Kate Rock is herself a tenant, farming 450 hectares of arable and a small beef herd with her father in Dorset.And under the new system of farm payments

11:59

03/02/25 - Tenant farmers, silage competition, slow...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/03

Silage is the preserved chopped grass or other crops that farmers feed to livestock through the winter. The more good-quality silage you can harvest and store yourself, the less money you need to spend on bought in feed. There’s also a real pride in producing a great crop of silage. The Westmorland Agricultural Society runs an annual hotly contested silage competition. The entries are lab analysed and the best four farms in each category get a personal visit from the judge. We visit a prize

24:47

01/02/25 - Land Use Framework, inheritance tax, avian...

Farming Today ·

2025/02/01

There are a lot of different things we want land to deliver - growing food, producing green energy, supporting wildlife and supplying space for new homes. The Government has released a new Land Use Framework to help decide what should go where. A new analysis of the planned inheritance tax on farm businesses suggests over 75% of commercial farms in England and Scotland could be impacted. Farmers are being urged to seek advice.And 5 years since the UK left the EU we assess the progress towards new

14:06

29/01/25 - Avian flu in people, housing orders for...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/29

After the the UK Health Security Agency confirmed a case of avian flu in a person, what does it mean for farmworkers on poultry units?As avian flu outbreaks in farmed poultry continue, we visit a free range egg farm that's under housing orders, with the chickens shut indoors. New rules mean eggs from previously free range birds that now have to be kept inside can still be sold as "free range" for the duration of the housing order. Before, after 16 weeks inside, eggs would have been labelled as "barn

14:07

28/01/25 - Storm clear-up, agricultural valuers and...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/28

A patch of commercial forest has been left "flattened" by Storm Eowyn and looking like "a bunch of giants have gone in there and played rugby" according to one farm manager in Scotland. We catch up on how the clear up is going.Since the Budget in October, farmers have been coming to terms with the introduction of inheritance tax on their businesses. Many are now trying to work out how much money they might owe the Government when the changes come into force next year. So what does that mean for the

12:05

27/01/25 - Crops in a new climate, International...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/27

As the climate warms, UK farmers may be able to start growing new crops - from oranges to okra. That's according to a new study from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the University of East Anglia which looks at the future suitability of more than 160 existing and new food crops in a warming climate.We visit the new International Barley Hub in Dundee, where scientists are exploring the genetic diversity found in their collection of ancient barley varieties for traits that could be

24:41

25/01/25 - Farming Today This Week: Inheritance tax,...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/25

This week, the Government has refused emergency use of pesticides shown to harm pollinators for the first time.What’s the future for US agriculture if farm workers with no documents are deported?And will the collective voice of the supermarkets make a difference on inheritance tax for farmers?Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

14:00

24/01/25 - Inheritance tax, sheep scanning, neonics...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/24

The dispute over the proposed inheritance tax on farms continues, with the UK's farming unions planning what they call a "Day of Unity" to demonstrate their opposition to the plans. Meanwhile, the supermarkets have added their voice to the argument, with many big players asking the Government to reconsider the tax. DEFRA Secretary, Steve Reed, argues "stable finances are the foundation of the economic growth needed" and has outlined a "new deal for farmers" that would help them become more

13:56

23/01/25 Climate change impact on Scottish marine...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/23

Climate change is altering the number, variety and distribution of plants and animals around the coast of Scotland according to a new report from NatureScot. It’s good news for some sea-snails and barnacles, but not so good for blue mussels and the wildlife that feeds on them. Scientists have been surveying changes in 50 species at 167 locations around the Scottish coast to assess the impact of minute increases in sea temperature. This week we’re looking at the jobs that fill up farmers’ days in

13:55

22/01/25 - US undocumented farmworkers, hedge laying,...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/22

There are concerns food production in The United States could be affected by President Trump's plans to deport illegal immigrants, since many thousands of farm employees are living in the US illegally. Donald Trump has said the deportation of criminals and national security threats will be his priority, but hasn't ruled out extending deportations more broadly to include undocumented farmworkers.It's peak time for getting hedges laid and maintained, before birds start nesting in them in the spring

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