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Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

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14:03

30/05/25 - Galloway National Park turned down, the...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/30

Plans for a new National Park in Galloway and Ayrshire have been dropped. The Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary, Mairi Gougeon, has announced that following a consultation, the park doesn't have enough support locally, and so will not go ahead.In the Broads National Park in Norfolk, a rise in the number of deer is having an impact on habitats and farmland. A drone survey to asses the numbers has revealed as many as 20 per square km. Work is underway to generate a market for local venison to help

14:09

29/05/25 New Reservoirs, Golden Eagles, Coastal...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/29

Two proposed reservoirs have been given 'nationally significant' status by the government to speed up the planning process. Decisions on the Lincolnshire Reservoir which is planned for an area near Sleaford and the Fens Reservoir near March in Cambridgeshire will now be accelerated. Ministers say the law will also be changed so that in the future all projects which are, as they put it, 'fundamental to national water resilience' will automatically be designated as 'nationally significant'. Farming

14:01

28/05/2025 - Galloway National Park, UK bioethanol...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/28

The Scottish Government is due to make a statement this week about whether Galloway is to get a new National Park - or not. Galloway, in the south west of Scotland, was chosen from five potential locations and the first round of consultation on the plan was completed earlier this year, with its report now being considered by Scottish ministers. We hear from those in favour and against.Farmers who supply wheat to Britain’s biggest bioethanol plant have been told it may have to close unless the

13:52

27/05/25 National Parks, impact of dry weather,...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/27

All week we're looking at National Parks, last week the Supreme Court ruled that wild camping on Dartmoor is legal. Some areas, however, are dealing with anti-social behaviour and 'fly camping'. We talk to Kevin Bishop CEO of Dartmoor National Park who also sits on National Parks England about the challenges.The prolonged dry spell has had affected the growth of crops and water levels in rivers and reservoirs, but what about wildlife? We ask the British Trust for Ornithology what impact it's likely

25:06

24/05/25 - Farming Today This Week: The EU-UK Summit

Farming Today ·

2025/05/24

Five years on from Brexit, the Prime Minister has re-set the UK's trade relationship with the EU, with a new, wide-ranging deal. In this programme Caz Graham looks at what it could mean for food, farming and fishing.The UK and EU will now move towards an agreement which would reduce the paperwork and border checks involved in exporting foods like fish, meat and dairy, and fresh produce like plants and flowers. It also means the export of some products to the EU which has been banned since Brexit -

13:55

23/05/25 - Vet meds, octopuses off Devon, Welsh bTB...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/23

Veterinary medicine is not part of the agri-trade agreement sketched out between the EU and the UK earlier this week. It's left vets increasingly concerned that some veterinary medicines won’t be available in Northern Ireland after the end of this year when a ‘grace period’ under the Windsor Framework allowing medication from Great Britain to cross the Irish sea and be sold there runs out.The warming of coastal waters means a change in the species that can thrive in them. Fishermen in the South West

13:53

21/05/2025 The UK-EU deal, badger vaccination,...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/21

Border post facilities set up since Brexit to handle import checks could now be scaled down or even dismantled. The UK's new deal with the EU promises progress towards an agreement to reduce the paperwork and border checks involved in trading foods like meat and dairy. It also includes a deal on fishing which would allow EU boats to fish in British waters for a further 12 years. The Scottish Fishermen's Federation has called it "a horror show", but the DEFRA Secretary, Steve Reed, says it's a

14:07

20/05/2025 - The UK-EU Summit agreements, the impact...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/20

The Prime Minister has re-set the trade relationship between the UK and the EU, with a new, and extremely wide-ranging deal. In this programme Anna Hill digs into the impact of changes around fishing and a new agreement around Sanitary and Phytosanitary rules that govern safety and hygiene.Bovine TB costs the tax payer at least a hundred million pounds a year - in compensation for culled cattle, and measures to control the spread. But it also costs farmers - financially as well as emotionally. We

11:59

19/05/25 Summit to 'reset' trading between EU and UK....

Farming Today ·

2025/05/19

Sir Keir Starmer welcomes EU leaders to London today for a summit to improve cooperation and "re-set" relations in a post Brexit world. Fishing quotas are being talked about as a possible deal breaker. Leaving the EU has had a huge impact on some UK fishing businesses which is why industry leaders are adamant their interests shouldn’t be bartered away as part of a deal. We hear from Cornish fishermen who say the summit comes too late for their businesses.All week we're talking about bovine TB. Each

24:56

17/05/25 - Farming Today This Week: US Agriculture...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/17

The first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the UK is Brooke Rollins, his Agriculture Secretary. Secretary Rollins told journalists the 'historic' trade deal would create billions of dollars in opportunity for U.S. export markets and more choice for British consumers. She also described their notorious 'chlorinated chicken' as a myth. Is it? We look for some clarity. MPs have written to the Government calling for a year’s delay to the inheritance tax changes on farms. It’s agricultural

13:51

16/05/25 -The Balmoral Show

Farming Today ·

2025/05/16

A special programme from The Balmoral Show outside Lisburn in Northern Ireland. Helen Mark meets farmers showing rare breed pigs, as well as talking politics. Earlier this month, a consultation was launched by Northern Ireland's Farming Minister on a new Nutrients Action Programme or NAP - rules for farmers to help reduce water pollution. It includes a limit on the amount of excess phosphorus produced by intensively stocked livestock farms. The Ulster Farmers Union says it's the wrong approach, but

14:02

15/05/2025 Chlorine-washed chicken, turf farm,...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/15

So-called ‘chlorinated chicken’ has been a major sticking point in US-UK trade talks, one of the red lines British farmers say the Government cannot cross. But US Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, says we’ve got the wrong end of the stick about how their chicken is produced nowadays. So is chlorine washed chicken merely a “myth to dispel”? We look for some clarity.It’s been obligatory to keep all poultry and captive birds indoors in some parts of England under the Government’s mandatory

13:45

14/05/25 US Agriculture Secretary in UK. Grazing system.

Farming Today ·

2025/05/14

The US Agriculture Secretary has been in the UK to discuss trade deals with importers and exporters. Brooke Rollins said the 'historic' trade deal announced by Donald Trump and Keir Starmer would create billions of dollars in opportunity for U.S. export markets and more choice for British consumers. She also said she would like to see the UK and US more aligned on food standards regulations. We speak to the NFU for their response.All week we're taking a closer look at grassland - vital to livestock

13:50

13/05/25 - SFI update, herbal leys and deep soil...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/13

DEFRA says an "error was made" when closing the Sustainable Farming Incentive to new applications earlier this year, and people who had applications in progress when it was shut, could now be allowed to submit them. The Sustainable Farming Incentive - or SFI - is part of the new system of farm payments in England, replacing the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. It pays people to do things like grow cover crops, plant flowers for pollinators, and manage hedgerows on their land. But in March this year,

12:07

12/05/25 - Ash dieback, viticulture and spring grass...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/12

The tree disease ash dieback has been less devastating than initially feared. 2500 trees that show signs of resistance to ash dieback have been planted at a tree archive site in Scotland. It's part of ongoing Government research that suggests there are more tolerant trees than at first expected, and those left in the wild are regenerating naturally.We visit a vineyard in Norfolk at a crucial time of year for viticulture. As the vines come into flower, growers are hoping for no late frosts, which

24:59

10/05/25 - Farming Today This Week: India and US...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/10

Farmers have welcomed a new UK trade deal with India, with tariff reductions for whisky, salmon and lamb. And the UK Prime Minister and the US President announced a trade arrangement between the two countries, with UK tariffs removed on imports of American ethanol, and a reciprocal agreement on beef. But the UK ban on American chlorine washed chicken and hormone treated beef continues.To mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we hear from one of the 'land girls', who ploughed crops, milked cows and

14:04

9/5/2025 UK trade deal with USA and what it means for...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/09

The UK and the US have announced a trade deal between the two countries. President Trump hailed it as an agreement which will 'dramatically increase' access to UK markets for American farmers involving he said billions of dollars and singling out ethanol - where the UK tariff on American imports will be removed, and beef, where a reciprocal agreement has been made. The UK ban on American chlorine washed chicken and hormone treated beef continues. The UK government says it opens up a new market

13:55

07/05/25 - India Trade Deal, gene edited potatoes and...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/07

A former Government trade advisor says the new trade deal with India could be good news for UK farmers. The deal comes after three years of negotiations and includes reduced tariffs on exports of products including whisky, lamb and salmon.Many potatoes end up getting wasted because of bruising and discoloration. We hear from a potato producing company in Lincolnshire where they're hoping gene editing can produce a bruise-resistant spud.And a select committee of MPs is urging the Government to do

14:06

6/5/2025 Drought warnings in Scotland, seed potatoes,...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/06

Scottish farmers are being warned to prepare for a possible summer drought. SEPA, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued a water scarcity alert as 17 river catchments are so low. In England the Environment Agency says two thirds of rivers are below normal or lower for the time of year. This week we're digging into the world of potato production - none of which would be possible, of course, without healthy, disease-free seed to get the crop started. Growing seed potatoes is a

24:26

03/05/2025 Farming Today This Week: sandeel ruling,...

Farming Today ·

2025/05/02

A challenge to Britain's ban on commercial fishing for sandeels in the North Sea has been partially upheld. The ban was introduced by both the English and Scottish governments in March last year because of concerns that so many sandeels were being fished that seabirds along the UK's East coastline were losing out. But Danish commercial sandeel boats said it threatened their future, and that claimed the move was discriminatory and disproportionate. They then took the case to the EU's Permanent

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