PODCAST

Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

science

All Episodes

13:52

14/08/2024: Organic oilseed rape; Thatched buildings;...

Farming Today ·

2024/08/14

Farmers this year are growing less oilseed rape than they have for the last 30 years. That is partly due to the expense of growing it, the dreadful wet weather preventing crops getting established, and the fact that it succumbs to the Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle. A group in Scotland however are growing it organically - so how do they do it?Thatched buildings are a common sight in many rural areas, but a shortage of seasonal labour, materials and outdated machinery are some of the modern-day challenges

14:00

13/08/2024: UK border rules; traditional craft...

Farming Today ·

2024/08/13

Plant breeders are worried that UK border rules mean new seed varieties, which need to be trialled in fields in England, are being delayed.The Shropshire and Herefordshire countryside is peppered with traditional farmhouses and cottages dating back hundreds of years, and homeowners are being taught the skills to maintain them for the future.Farmers across the UK are still counting the cost of the long wet winter as they start to bring in a record low harvest of grain.Presented by Anna HillProduced

12:03

12/08/24 Grouse shooting; Berry glut; Rural skills

Farming Today ·

2024/08/12

The Moorland Association says the wet weather this year means it will be the worst grouse season for decades. Some shoots won't have a single day's shooting because there aren't enough birds. High rainfall during the nesting period means has had a big impact on red grouse. In turn, the association says there'll be far fewer seasonal jobs, and it'll have a big impact on local businesses which rely on the income shooting brings. Fruit farmers in Kent are facing a glut of strawberries. The crop's all

25:02

10/08/2024: Mental health; Bovine TB; Timber and...

Farming Today ·

2024/08/10

A BBC Local Radio 24 hour farming event to encourage young farmers to support each other with their mental health.Farmer led badger vaccination could be a way forward in eradicating TB in cattle, a study of a four year pilot programme in Cornwall says that it has seen the percentage of badgers testing positive for TB drop from 16% to zero. Timber is an issue here in the UK, we import more than 80% of the wood we use and there are calls for far more of that to be home grown. In the south of Scotland

14:17

09/08/2024 Woodland report, Rewilding forests, Donkey...

Farming Today ·

2024/08/08

The latest comprehensive survey of woodland across Scotland, Wales and England has just been published. The Bunce report first carried out woodland surveys across 103 woods, back in 1971. They were revisited in 2001, and the third and last survey of the same sites in 2021, has now been published by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Some of the things that have changed: there are now fewer larger trees, but diseases like ash dieback and Dutch elm disease have created gaps in the canopy;

14:05

08/08/2024: 24 hours of farming; First combine ride;...

Farming Today ·

2024/08/08

BBC Local Radio holds a special 24 hour farming event to encourage young farmers to support each other with their mental health.A man from Essex has a childhood dream come true - experiencing harvest from inside a combine’s cab.And when it comes to the physical felling of trees or carrying out pruning at great heights, it’s a potentially dangerous job - so comprehensive training is essential.Presented by Anna HillProduced by Alun Beach

13:41

07/08/2024: Oilseed rape, Sea lettuce in Jersey, Timber

Farming Today ·

2024/08/07

This year the UK is growing less oilseed rape than it has for 30 years, it has become too expensive and risky for many farmers to use it as a crop.Clearing up a green, smelly carpet of seaweed known as sea lettuce from the beaches of Jersey.And we import more than 80% of the wood we use in this country, and there are calls for far more of that to be home grown.Presented by Charlotte SmithProduced by Alun Beach

13:56

06/08/2024: Bovine TB vaccine trial; Storm damage;...

Farming Today ·

2024/08/06

The results of a farmer led badger vaccination trial against Bovine TB which are being released today show promising results.A clear up campaign from the damage caused to forests in Scotland by a storm in 2021 continues to this day.And a pilot project in Wales which aims to get more Welsh vegetables into schools, the plan is to grow the horticulture sector and provide children with locally grown healthy food. Presented by Charlotte SmithProduced by Alun Beach

12:09

05/08/2024 Farmer confidence; Lough Neagh pollution;...

Farming Today ·

2024/08/05

A third of farmed land in England and Wales is rented, and there are warnings that tenant farmers are facing more challenges than those who own the land they work. A government survey carried out in April this year and published last week found that when asked if they were very confident that changes to the post-Brexit payment schemes in England will lead to a successful future for farming, none of 130 tenant farmers questioned said that they were. Meanwhile the Tenant Farmers Association says it's

24:37

03/08/2024: Crime in the Countryside; Renewable...

Farming Today ·

2024/08/03

Many rural people are feeling 'vulnerable and intimidated' because of crime according to the National Farmers Union. Figures out this week from the insurers NFU Mutual put the cost at just under £53 million last year - up from 50 million in 2022.The new Labour government is putting renewable energy at the heart of its plans - it wants to double the power from onshore wind farms and triple solar power - both on buildings and in fields.One farm is benefitting from the rain we've endured over recent

14:04

02/08/24 Planning and the green belt; Battery storage...

Farming Today ·

2024/08/02

County councils are concerned about how rural areas will cope with new housing targets set by the Labour government. It plans to build one and a half million homes by 2029 and is setting mandatory targets for councils. Many of those new homes are to be built on bits of the green belt which will be reclassified as grey belt - what does this mean for rural England? The County Councils Network says planning needs to be strategic, and that infrastructure like local roads and health services need to be

13:45

01/08/2024: Rural crime; Anaerobic digestion; Dairy...

Farming Today ·

2024/08/01

The latest figures out today from the insurers NFU Mutual put the cost of rural crime at just under 53 million pounds last year - up from 50 million in 2022. The renewable energy options open to farmers are various, and the one that would seem to be tailor made for agriculture is anaerobic digestion - or AD.This is the process where silage and slurry are processed in a sealed tank to produce gas that is then used as a fuel to power the farm and possibly put energy back into the grid.And according to

13:45

31/07/2024: Farming widow speaks; Sheep farming;...

Farming Today ·

2024/07/31

The family of a famer who took his own life say they believe a farm inspection which found he had used the wrong sort of ear tag on just 18 sheep contributed to his death. The National Sheep Association welcomed the new farming minister Daniel Zeichner to its biennial show.And a farmer saves on his electricity bills using the power of water on his farm.Presented by Caz GrahamProduced by Alun Beach

13:59

30/07/2024: Rural broadband, Weather and the harvest,...

Farming Today ·

2024/07/30

A survey by the NFU has shown that while there has been some improvement in the provision of superfast broadband, only 34% of farmers who responded have a fibre connection. A farmer in the depths of his harvest has his fingers crossed that this spell of hot sunny weather will continue.Solar farms built on farmland are an increasingly controversial topic, one farmer is looking to expand his by over 80 acres.Presented by Caz GrahamProduced by Alun Beach

11:55

29/07/2024: River pollution, Rural energy, New game...

Farming Today ·

2024/07/29

Campaigners are calling on the Welsh Government to do more to clean up the River Wye, after people were warned not to swim in a section of the river - which was only recently named the first official river bathing area in Wales.An expert outlines the challenges of providing rural renewable energy infrastructure without upsetting the people who live there.And a game processing facility in Berkshire, reported to be the first butchery to open in 40 years, is about to process its first venison.Presented

25:07

27/07/24 Farming Today This Week: what next for...

Farming Today ·

2024/07/27

A special panel programme recorded in front of an audience at the Royal Welsh Show. Charlotte Smith discusses the future of agriculture in Wales with Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies, deputy president of NFU Cymru, Abi Reader and Rachel Sharp, director of Wildlife Trusts Wales.Produced by Beatrice Fenton.

14:06

26/07/2024: Illegal fishing in Wales; sheep shearing;...

Farming Today ·

2024/07/26

Angling groups have warned that illegal fishing is an "out of control" problem on rivers in Wales with serious impacts for endangered species like salmon, and physical danger for anglers.Mobile sheep shearers are hard at work on a farm near Edinburgh, before the head woman Una Cameron tries to break the world record for shearing in a few weeks' time.A Cumbrian flower nursery specialises in wildflowers, and growing them can be a far more complex business than garden varieties.And the farm dog with a

14:02

25/07/24 - The Royal Welsh Show 2024

Farming Today ·

2024/07/25

This programme comes from the 120th Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells. 250,000 people are expected to attend across 4 days, with 7000 livestock entries.It comes during an eventful week in Welsh politics, with the Cabinet Secretary of Climate Change and Rural Affairs in the Welsh Government set to become the new Deputy First Minister. So what does it all mean for future farming policy?Presented by Charlotte SmithProduced by Heather Simons

13:58

24/07/2024: NAO report into farming; A tree nursery;...

Farming Today ·

2024/07/24

A report by the National Audit Office into farming published today shows much room for improvement.A tree nursery in Fife has been working hard to become better for the environment, and is now pushing to become carbon-negative. The longest running scientific study into the impact of cereal farming on invertebrates, the Sussex Study which is run by the Game and Conservation Trust, has just published a new paper analysing 50 years’ worth of data.Presented by Caz GrahamProduced by Alun Beach

14:05

23/07/2024: Agriculture budget; Scottish national...

Farming Today ·

2024/07/23

Three conservation groups say farming budgets need to rise substantially to meet legally binding targets on nature and climate.Scotland is to have a new national park and Galloway, in the south west of the country, has been chosen as the preferred location. Not everyone is happy, a local farmer gives his views.Avon and Somerset Police have confirmed it will switch officers from their rural crime team to other roles for the next few months because staffing is so stretched.UK households spent around

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