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Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

science

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24:56

28/12/24 The bogs of the Flow Country - a peatland...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/28

The biggest peat bog in Europe, in Caithness and Sutherland, has become a UNESCO World Heritage site, putting it on a par with Tanzania's Serengeti and the Eiffel Tower. It's the first such designation for a peatland site, and is expected to have an impact on the local economy, boosting tourism and peatland restoration work. What is so interesting and important about this vast wet desert of undulating brown hills in the UK's far north? Is the new tag helping the region, or as some fear, hindering

14:02

27/12/24 Lake District Barn Rescue

Farming Today ·

2024/12/27

Twenty historic barns across the Lake District are enjoying some long overdue tender loving care, thanks to £3.2 million pounds worth of funding from DEFRA and other sources. The oldest of these barns dates back to the 15th century. Some are traditional cruck barns with ancient timber frames and others are remote stone shelters for sheep from the 18th century.As Caz Graham discovers, they’re part of the UK’s rural cultural heritage and tell the story of farming over the centuries. For modern-day

13:44

26/12/24 - Solomon the government bull

Farming Today ·

2024/12/26

Solomon is just one of the bulls owned by the Scottish Government and welcomed by crofters as part of a unique livestock improvement scheme.Small scale crofters in the Highlands and Islands can choose a mate for their beef herds from a select stud of bulls owned by the Scottish Government. Groups of crofters band together to order an animal which spends a few weeks with each herd of cows before being returned to base near Inverness. The visiting animal is known across the Crofting Counties as The

13:58

25/12/24 - Farming and star gazing in an...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/25

Cranborne Chase National Landscape is an area of outstanding national beauty, which spans the chalk hills of Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset. It's also an International Dark Sky Reserve, the first UK landscape to get this status back in 2019.We visit Marshwood Farm in Dinton which attracts visitors who want a bit of "astro tourism": campers come to stay there because it's a place perfect for star gazing. It's not just astronomers who benefit from darker skies, artificial lighting can be

13:48

24/12/24 - Powerless: the rural community getting...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/24

For 50 years the people living in the Upper Coquet Valley in Northumberland have campaigned to get mains electricity.Living off-grid in one of the most remote areas of England means relying on expensive, dirty diesel generators which often break down and are easily overloaded. But now, a stroke of good fortune means it is finally happening.A cable is being laid up the valley to connect three emergency phone masts to the national grid which means 16 properties, most of them farms, can be connected

12:07

23/12/24 - 'Difficult' Stormont budget for...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/23

The Northern Ireland Executive has published its draft budget for 2025-26 and it’s now open for public consultation. Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs is set to receive just over £715 million pounds, an increase of 3%. But no specific funding has been allocated to address serious pollution in Lough Neagh and Andrew Muir, the environment minister, says his department has only been awarded around a third of what he’d requested for day to day spending. He describes it as ‘a difficult

25:08

21/12/24 - Inheritance tax row, poinsettia troubles...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/21

Carrot and sprout discount wars are in full swing as the supermarkets vie to be the best value for Christmas. While growers acknowledge what's becoming an annual pricing competition can be helpful for hard-up shoppers, they're worried that this sends the wrong messages to consumers.As many as 7.5 million poinsettias are sold in the UK every year, and 4.5 million of them are grown here. But UK poinsettia growers say next year's crop could be under threat from what they call "disproportionate" plant

13:52

20/12/24 - Rural councils warn of tax rises, surplus...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/20

Rural councils are warning that council tax will have to rise and there will be cuts in services, because they say the Government has prioritised urban communities in the recent funding agreement. The County Councils' Network which represents 23 county councils and 13 county unitary authorities says ministers are 'cherry picking' by using a formula based on deprivation, which is targeted towards city and town councils. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told us the overall

13:51

19/12/24 Christmas veg price wars, woolly crafts,...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/19

Carrot and sprout discount wars are in full swing as the supermarkets vie to be the best value for Christmas. While growers acknowledge what's becoming an annual pricing competition can be helpful for hard-up shoppers, they're worried that this sends the wrong messages to consumers.At this time of year knitters and crocheters are making gifts and natural wool from local sheep is in demand.All this week we are looking at the challenges facing rural pubs and their importance to local communities.

13:52

18/12/24 - Inheritance tax figures, anglers' pub,...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/18

The figures being used by the Treasury to estimate how many farmers will be impacted by changes to inheritance tax could be inaccurate, because of historical advice given by HMRC. That's according to the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers. The Government has introduced 20% inheritance tax on farm assets worth more than a million pounds. Farmers say the change will affect as many as three quarters of them, but the Treasury says data from previous claims for inheritance tax relief suggest

14:09

17/12/24 - Poinsettia troubles, hop farm pub, local...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/17

As many as 7.5 million poinsettias are sold in the UK every year, and 4.5 million of them are grown here. But UK poinsettia growers say next year's crop could be under threat from what they call "disproportionate" plant hygiene rules, which mean crops are being destroyed unnecessarily. They want Government action.We visit a pop-up-pub based on a hop farm, which sells beer made from the hops grown there.And a new Government white paper proposes fundamental changes, with every region of England to get

12:05

16/12/24 TB testing device, rural pubs and community...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/16

Scientists at Cardiff and Aberystwyth Universities have won more than a million pounds worth of funding for a trial which they hope will create a real-time test for bovine TB. The project will use hand-held microwave technology to remove DNA from cattle and badger pooh samples, which will then be tested for bovine TB on the spot. If it works, it'll be a massive boost for farmers across the country, where the disease costs the government alone £150m a year.All week we're looking at rural pubs, it's

24:57

14/12/24 Farming Today This Week: Farmer protests,...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/14

Farmer protests over the Government's proposed changes to inheritance tax have continued this week, with rallies around the country and around 600 tractors making their way into central London on Wednesday. They arrived just as MPs were discussing the issues at the House of Commons' Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which was looking at inheritance tax as part of a wider inquiry into the future of farming. Fruit and veg importers say a shortage of government inspectors at ports is

14:04

13/12/2024: Farmers market; environmental impact of...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/13

A traditional farmers' market in the run-up to Christmas where customers can learn tips on how to cook the food that is on offer from the stalls.Using lasers and drones to help measure the impact of farming on the environment; and a prison teaching inmates the basics of agriculture to equip them for a career after custody.Presented by Caz GrahamProduced by Alun Beach

13:47

12/12/24 Farmer protests, Efra inquiry into the...

Farming Today ·

2024/12/12

The chancellor has 'refused to engage' over concerns about the proposed change to inheritance tax on farms - so says the president of the National Farmers Union who was appearing before MPs, just as hundreds of farmers drove their tractors into London to protest about the tax. Farmers gathered in central London and in towns and cities across the country in another protest about changes announced in the autumn budget. The House of Commons Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee opened an

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

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