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Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

science

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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

14:02

21/01/25 - Farm Assurance Review, sandeel court case...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/21

"Too many farmers feel farm assurance is 'done to them' rather than 'delivered with them'." That's the finding of an independent review into farm assurance, which looked at whether schemes like Red Tractor and RSPCA Assured are working well for farmers and supply chains.A UK decision to ban vessels from catching sandeels in the North Sea is being challenged in court by the EU in the first battle of it's kind since Brexit. Sandeels are small fish which are vital food for protected seabirds like

11:50

20/01/25 - Warnings over the future of the Scottish...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/20

There has been a 'lack of progress' from the Scottish Government in implementing reforms recommended for the salmon farming industry, according to MSPs. Members of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee in the Scottish Parliament warned that such delays could be 'detrimental to the long-term viability' of the sector. Farmer protests against the introduction of inheritance tax are continuing up and down the country, with more planned for the end of the month. But many agree that the row has at

24:44

18/01/25 - Farming Today This Week: LAMMA machinery...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/18

The Climate Change Committee is revising its advice on eating meat. In 2020, the committee - which is the government's advisor on climate change - recommended people cut their intake of beef, lamb and dairy produce by 20% by 2030 and by 35% by 2050, to reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses produced by livestock in the UK. But now that could change, in the light of progress to reduce emissions though things like livestock breeding and new technologies on farm.Farmers are being warned to be vigilant

14:08

17/01/25 - CCC changes advice on eating meat, report...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/17

The Climate Change Committee is revising its advice on eating meat. In 2020 the Committee, which is the Government's advisor on climate change, recommended people cut their intake of beef, lamb and dairy produce by 20% by 2030 and by 35% by 2050, to reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses produced by livestock in the UK. But the Interim Chair Professor Piers Forster tells us that in light of new technologies, this is being looked at again.Farmers have to drive change if we're to meet legally binding

14:06

16/01/25 - The LAMMA 2025 Farm Machinery Show

Farming Today ·

2025/01/16

The LAMMA 2025 farm machinery show is underway at the NEC in Birmingham - but is anyone buying? Charlotte Smith visits the show to check out the latest in farm machinery and innovation. She takes a look at a new sprayer which can target individual weeds, and finds out why farmers want to play a farming computer game.She also hears how many farmers are feeling less able to invest in new kit after a difficult year for farming: wet weather hit harvests and incomes, and then October’s Budget saw a

14:05

15/01/2025 - UK bans imports of German meat following...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/15

The UK closes its borders to imports of German meat, as the authorities there tackle an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Farmers here are told to be vigilant.Each of devolved nations is designing a new post-Brexit farm payment scheme, to replace the old EU system. They're all moving towards rewarding farmers not for the land they farm, but for providing better habitats for wildlife, flood mitigation, improving soils and carbon at the Oxford Farming Conference.This week we're taking a look at

13:54

14/01/2025 - Trade with the EU, gene editing, robotic...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/14

As England is now the one part of the UK allowed to grow gene edited crops, what does that mean for trade with partners like the EU? We discuss the latest promises on legislation with Northern Ireland's Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs...and a farmer who's growing precision bred crops.Twenty years ago the idea of robotic milking for cows may have seemed far-fetched, but today it's not uncommon, with an estimated 10% of UK dairy farms using automated systems. We visit a farm in

24:56

11/01/25 Farming Today This Week: the farming...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/11

Farming Today This Week comes from Oxford where two big conferences have been taking place: the Oxford Farming Conference and the Oxford Real Farming Conference. The first is traditionally seen as attended by the established and larger farms, and the Real Farming Conference has wider scope with more smaller farms, organic producers and artisan food producers. Both together represent UK farming as a whole.A convoy of tractors and farmers with placards staged a protest in Oxford City Centre as Defra

13:44

10/01/25 The Defra Secretary at the Oxford Farming...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/10

With tractors protesting outside the Oxford Farming Conference, what will the Defra Secretary say to farmers? Inheritance tax wasn't the focus of Steve Reed's speech, instead he promised a Plan for Change. He told delegates this must have three things: food production at its core, diversification of income, and restoration of nature as part of farming. He also announced speeding up the planning process for farm buildings. In contrast to the more established OFC which has been representing the

14:03

09/01/24 - Day one at the Oxford Farming Conferences

Farming Today ·

2025/01/09

Anna Hill is in Oxford for two major conferences: the Oxford Farming Conference and the Oxford Real Farming Conference. The first is traditionally seen as attended by the established and larger farms, and the Real Farming Conference has wider scope with more smaller farms, organic producers and artisan food producers. Both together represent UK farming as a whole. The theme at the OFC this year is 'facing change, finding opportunity'. With farmers under pressure with new farm payment schemes,

13:42

08/01/25 - Money for farming, Bake-Off Farmer and...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/08

A stronger vision for farming and more money - that's the call from the Wildlife Trusts in a new report which makes the case for investment in nature to protect the UK's food security. It says that at a time when climate change impacts are starting to bite, the restoration of nature is critical to feeding the country.Mike Wilkins is an arable farmer from Wiltshire - and was also a contestant on the latest season of The Great British Bake Off. We've been to meet him and try one of his latest

13:58

07/01/25 - Wet weather, HS2 limbo and innovative food...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/07

It's been a frozen and wet start to 2025 with widespread snow and flooding. For many farmers it's all a bit too much like last winter - the wettest on record - which saw crops drowned and delayed much planting simply because the land was too wet to get onto it.We hear from farmers along the cancelled northern leg of HS2, who say they still face uncertainty. The high speed railway line from Birmingham to Manchester was cancelled in October 2023 - but land remains set aside for major

11:55

06/01/25 Bird numbers down around Lough Neagh,...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/06

Bird counts reveal a drop in numbers around Lough Neagh - could the algal blooms be to blame?Whisky distilleries and producers are becoming more alive to the fact that every stage of the whisky-making process is being affected by the climate Scotland is experiencing. Robot dogs sound like they are the stuff of science fiction, but they are starting to be used in the countryside right now.Presented by Helen Mark and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

25:07

04/01/2025 Farming Today This Week: Restoring ancient...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/04

20 ancient barns in the Lake District are being restored thanks to a fund of just over 3 million pounds. Caz Graham joins an architect and a farmer to find out how the work is being done. Solomon is a Shorthorn bull, and he’s a bull with a job title. He’s the Department Bull. Owned by the Scottish Government, Solomon is one of a number of bulls available to small-scale crofters in the Highlands and Islands who want to choose a mate for their beef herds. We visit the Isle of Lewis to find out

13:50

03/01/25 Breeding dairy cows for methane reduction,...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/03

How Hilda, a newborn dairy calf, has been bred to help tackle climate change.Experts in animal behaviour and welfare are conducting experiments at Scotland's Rural College pig research unit aimed at finding practical solutions to some of the biggest challenges faced by the pig industry. And the efforts being made to turn the tide of salt marsh decline. Presented by Helen Mark and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

13:59

02/01/25 - Gene edited indoor tomatoes, rural crime,...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/02

Cleaning and disinfecting dairy milking equipment, whether robotic or manual, uses large amounts of energy and significant quantities of chemicals. It’s a necessary but expensive process. So farmers are watching with interest the team developing a system that claims to do away with both those things. Scientists at the UK Agri-Tech Centre are collaborating with a company called Oxitech on a method that uses electricity and oxygen instead. Theft of machinery, fly tipping, cattle rustling, hare

13:39

01/01/25 Crofters and the ancient Calanais Standing...

Farming Today ·

2025/01/01

The Calanais Standing Stones on the west side of the Isle of Lewis date back 5000 years, and predate Stonehenge. The Neolithic monument, which was used for rituals and astronomical observation, stands on raised land above a crofting township and attracts an ever-growing number of visitors.A new £10 million visitor centre is in construction, but it won't be complete in time for the additional crowds who are expected to arrive in 2025 to view a lunar standstill over the stones, a phenomenon that

13:52

31/12/24 - The Derby Tup

Farming Today ·

2024/12/31

The Derby Tup is a traditional Derbyshire agricultural folk song, performed at Christmas. It tells the story of a farmer, his wife (Our Owd Lass), their son and a giant tup - the ram used for breeding. The sheep's reared, sheared and eventually butchered. We hear from a group of performers who've kept this old "mumming play" tradition alive. Matthew Headley Stoppard is a Leeds-based folk poet who performs it every year with his wife and sons. Its exact date of origin is unknown, but it was performed

11:39

30/12/24 - The Otter Estuary

Farming Today ·

2024/12/30

Sarah Swadling is on the Otter estuary in Devon where the clock has been turned back 200 years to tackle climate change challenges of the present, and of the future. The sea has been allowed back onto farmland that had been reclaimed during the Napoleonic war era. The result is a new salt marsh and mudflat nature reserve. It's hoped letting the estuary return to its natural course will reduce the risk of flooding for homes and businesses. As Sarah hears, the ambitious project also meant raising a

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