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Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

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14:11

11/12/24 Welsh budget, new agri-environment schemes,...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/11

The Welsh government has delivered its budget. Wales received an extra £1 billion from Westminster in the autumn budget which means that all departments have seen seen an increase in the money available to them. There's a 6.6% increase in revenue and a 31% increase in capital funding for climate change and rural affairs. The Welsh government says it's prioritising support for agriculture by maintaining the budget for the main farm subsidy, the Basic Payment Scheme, at £238m next year, with an uplift

14:07

10/12/24 Avian flu bounce back, methane emissions,...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/10

Turkey farmers are at full stretch across the country, as they get their birds ready for sale. Two years ago it was a very different picture when avian flu hit the poultry industry. In November 2022, the British Poultry Council said the UK had lost 40% of its free-range turkey flock. We visit a producer in Norfolk who lost thousands of birds to the disease. This year, he's back on his own farm, rearing thousands of free-range birds once more.A House of Lords Committee says agriculture must do more

11:40

09/12/2024 Port inspections risk spreading plant...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/09

Fruit and veg importers say a shortage of government inspectors at ports is reducing the shelf life of products and the current system risks spreading plant disease. At the end of April, the Government introduced its new Border Target Operating Model, a post-Brexit system of biosecurity checks for goods entering the UK. It means products classed as high or medium risk have to be physically checked, including live animals and meat, as well as fruit and vegetables and some plant products. The

24:34

07/12/2024 Farming Today This Week: Dairy emissions;...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/07

Agriculture accounts for around 12% of greenhouse gases in the UK, according to DEFRA and there is much work across the industry to cut that figure. Arla, the farmer run dairy cooperative plans to reduce its emissions by 30% per kilo of milk by 2030. The company has just started trials using a dietary supplement called Bovaer which is added to a cow’s feed to reduce methane emissions. The trial involves around 30 farmers and 3 supermarkets who buy their milk. But despite the feed supplement getting

13:37

06/12/24 Labour exploitation, seasonal workers, a...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/06

With few British people wanting to pick fruit and veg, for many many years now workers have come from abroad to work the season. It's been something of a vexed issue, with complaints about the way the system works and the number of people allowed to use it, as well as concerns about the exploitation of workers. After Brexit a new seasonal workers visa scheme was introduced. The Government has confirmed that next year 43,000 such visas will be available for people in horticulture, with a further

13:36

05/12/24 Scottish budget for agriculture, vote on...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/05

Farmers in Scotland have given a cautious welcome to the increase in the agriculture budget to £660 million. It's up from £620 million but falls short of the £776 million that the National Farmers' Union Scotland had wanted.MPs have voted in support of the Government's change to inheritance tax on farms. In an opposition debate yesterday the Conservatives proposed the tax be scrapped, but the motion was defeated. We continue our week focusing on workers on farms. Today we hear about the shortage of

14:08

04/12/24 - Farming in Protected Landscapes, Lake...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/04

The future is uncertain for the Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme - which funds projects like nature recovery, historic building maintenance and community projects. The deadline for applications for the original scheme is in March next year, and as that time gets closer, people are worrying about what comes next. DEFRA have told us, “Decisions on the future of the scheme have not yet been made,” but says there will be an update “in due course”.Back in 2021, we reported on an ambitious project

14:04

03/12/24 - Belfast Lough pollution, neonic legal...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/03

An investigation by BBC Northern Ireland’s Spotlight programme has found that untreated sewage is spilling into Belfast Lough from the Government owned company, Northern Ireland water. That’s having a devastating impact on those who use the lough, particularly its shellfish industry.The Office for Environmental Protection has said it believes DEFRA may have broken environmental laws when allowing the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, in 2023 and 2024. Neonic seed treatments were banned because they

12:11

02/12/24 Feed additives to reduce methane, solar...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/02

Arla, the farmer run dairy cooperative plans to reduce its emissions by 30% per kilo of milk by 2030. They’ve just started trials using a dietary supplement called Bovaer which is added to cow’s feed to reduce methane emissions. The trial involves around 30 farmers and 3 supermarkets who buy their milk. However, even though the feed supplement has been approved by UK and European food safety bodies there’s been a social media storm of protest, some people calling for the boycott of Arla products

24:59

30/11/24 Farming Today This Week: UK farmers'...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/30

The Government 'risks creating a culture of fear and resistance' amongst farmers, according to the Nature Friendly Farmers Network. It's highlighting the suspension of grants which help farmers in England invest in infrastructure to improve the environment. That's things like better slurry storage to protect waterways or planting hedges to reduce soil erosion. Defra says the Capital Grants Scheme has been temporarily closed after unprecedented demand.Farmers and crofters held a rally to lobby the

14:06

29/11/24 Scottish farmers rally over budget, winter...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/29

Scottish farmers are demanding a bigger agriculture budget from the Scottish Government. Hundreds of farmers and crofters joined a rally outside the Scottish Parliament to lobby MSP's ahead of next week's Scottish budget and also to protest against the UK Government's decision to put inheritance tax on farmland. The farming union, NFU Scotland wants the overall agriculture budget to increase by £50 million pounds to £776 million - and for the £46 million which was taken from the agricultural budget

14:07

28/11/24 - Risk of 'fear and resistance' amongst...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/28

13:56

27/11/2024 Countryside Stewardship agri-environment...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/27

Many farmers have been worried about their Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreements, which expire, or partly expire, this year. These cover larger scale agri-environment schemes and capital grants for "the most environmentally important sites", according to DEFRA. DEFRA's now announced that farmers can take up a "mirror agreement" to carry on from their old one. This will last the same time as their original arrangement - 5 or 10 years and will exactly duplicate their existing plan, including

13:54

26/11/24 Sustainable Farming Scheme in Wales, sprouts

Farming Today ·

2024/11/26

The Welsh government has backed down on its policy to insist farmers put ten percent of their land into woodland. The decision came after farmers demonstrated against the government's plans for its Sustainable Farming Scheme, or SFS, which replaces the payments to farmers under the old EU Common Agriculture Policy. The SFS still includes previous ambitions of supporting sustainable food production, rewarding farmers for mitigating climate change and enhancing the environment. The Welsh government

25:02

23/11/24 - Farming Today This Week: Inheritance tax...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/24

In the week when thousands of farmers took to the streets of London to protest over changes to inheritance tax, we dig into the details and ask if the Government will change it's mind.There’s a global trend for farms to scale up and intensify their production and the UK is no different. We ask why it’s happening and the impact it’s having...as well as exploring large scale beef and chicken production.Presented by Caz Graham Produced by Heather Simons

14:02

21/11/24 Hedges, intensive pig farming, sustainable...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/21

England's hedges are in need of urgent revival - that's the conclusion of a survey of hedges, the first in 17 years. The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology has been looking at hedges for Natural England and says that while they are in better condition than 2007, when the last survey was done, the overall length remains largely unchanged. That's bad news for the government which aims to restore or plant 45,000 miles of hedgerow by 2050Over the past few years there has been a lot of pressure on

14:04

20/11/24 Farmers rally in central London

Farming Today ·

2024/11/20

Thousands of people have protested in London over changes to inheritance tax for farmers announced in the budget. Farmers from around the country came to an NFU rally in Church Hall and a big march in Westminster. They're worried about changes which mean that from April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which were previously exempt, will be liable to tax.The government says it understands farmers' concerns but insists the vast majority of farmers won't be affected. Presenter

13:40

19/11/24 Inheritance tax, farmer protests, COP 29 in...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/19

Thousands of farmers plan to gather in London today to voice their concerns about changes introduced in the budget. We examine the detail around agricultural property relief and inheritance tax to work out how many farmers will be affected.It's food and farming day at COP29 in Baku in Azerbaijan. Global warming and agriculture are the focus for discussion. Also, president-elect Donald Trump has chosen climate change sceptic Chris Wright to lead the US Energy Department, what will that mean for work

12:01

18/11/24 - Intensive farming, indoor beef production...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/18

There’s a global trend for farms to scale up and intensify their production and the UK is no different. We ask why it’s happening and what impact it’s having.We visit a beef finishing unit in Yorkshire, which fattens 4,000 cattle a year in pens. The farmer reckons this intensive system can produce beef more efficiently and in half the time of extensively grazed systems.And the Northern Ireland government has launched its first "Food Strategy Framework". Its aims include tackling diet-related health

14:06

15/11/24 - Scotland's Rural Affairs Cabinet...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/15

The budget for agriculture in Scotland comes from the UK Government - but as of two weeks ago, it’s no longer ring fenced. The change has attracted criticism from farming groups. But the DEFRA Secretary, Steve Reed, has defended the decision, saying his Government believes in devolution, and that comes with the power to decide where money is spent. We hear from Scotland's Rural Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Mairi Gougeon.A change to the Suckler Support Scheme in Scotland aims to reduce greenhouse gas

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