Farming Today

14:08

20/08/26 Salmonella in eggs, bees in drought,...

Farming Today ·

2026/08/20

The UK Health Security Agency is investigating the outbreak of salmonella that’s led to confirmed cases in more than 200 people, and the death of one person. Initial findings suggest it could be linked to imported eggs. Salmonella is extremely rare in UK produced eggs - all laying hens have to be vaccinated against it, and there’s a ‘passport’ system ensuring that all hens, eggs and feed are fully traceable. Although the vast majority of eggs we buy to cook with at home are British, eggs and egg

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13:57

19/08/2026 Village agricultural show

Farming Today ·

2026/08/19

Caz Graham is at the Hawkshead Show in the Lake District, to see why local shows like this are so important to rural areas. All over the UK, through the summer months, communities come together for village shows. There are hundreds of them, each reflecting the distinct flavour of the farming, food, local customs and the people of the villages and towns they’re held in. Produced by Sally Challoner.

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13:56

18/08/2026 Bluetongue, solar farm row, vineyards

Farming Today ·

2026/08/18

Supplies of the vaccine for the livestock disease Bluetongue are in short supply after a large outbreak in the south west of the UK. A mild winter, hot dry summer, and the midges - which cause the disease - moving into densley populated livestock areas, have all contributed to the worst ever outbreak, which has now affected Wales and Scotland too. We speak to the president of the Sheep Veterinary Society about when we can expect more vaccines.All this week we're looking at solar farms. Today we're

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11:49

17/08/2026 Drought aid, Solar farms

Farming Today ·

2026/08/17

The Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a package of measures to help drought-hit farmers in England, saying food production is national security. It will give more flexibility for farmers in environmental schemes, and easier access to water. More details will also be announced today about plans to help farmers build reservoirs on farm. The NFU says it's a start, but action needs to be taken now to make the UK more resilient to future floods and drought. All this week we're looking at the

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24:47

Farming Today This Week: New drought package for...

Farming Today ·

2026/08/15

The Prime Minister's due to announce a package of support to help farmers in England cope with the drought. The measures will include putting an extra £50 million of Defra's budget towards this year's Sustainable Farming Incentive and offering up to £15 million for on-farm reservoirs, to enable farmers to store water in the winter which they can use in the summer. As well as drought and heat, livestock farmers are staving off an outbreak of bluetongue - it’s a disease which affects cattle and sheep,

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14:19

14/08/2026 Brassicas, cherries, salad

Farming Today ·

2026/08/14

Brassica growers are warning their crops are in crisis after the relentless heat has left them stunted or dying in the ground. The British Growers Assocation says crops including cauliflower and broccoli are half the size they should be, putting prices up.We meet growers at Tebay services on the M6 in Cumbria. The company has been working with the horticulture and mental health charity Growing Well, and have established a kitchen garden to keep their cafe and farm-shop stocked with the freshest

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14:13

13/08/26 Bluetongue in sheep, growing more UK fruit...

Farming Today ·

2026/08/13

Bluetongue, the livestock disease that is transmitted by midges, is spreading, especially in the south west. It affects farm animals including sheep and cattle. It doesn’t affect people, but it can be very painful and fatal to livestock. Annual bluetongue statistics are counted from July to June, the so-called bluetongue season. Since the end of June this year, there have already been more cases than in the whole of the previous season. Hundreds of farmers in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset are coping

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14:01

12/08/2026 Controversial cattle cull, impact of...

Farming Today ·

2026/08/12

Feelings are running high amongst farmers in Northern Ireland over a cull of 51 cattle. It was carried out in June by a humane slaughter team from the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs in County Tyrone. The government said it was a final resort after a court ordered that the farmer who owned them should be ‘deprived of the ownership of all farmed animals’ because of a previous animal welfare conviction. The cull has proved extremely controversial. It’s claimed it was visible

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14:09

11/08/2026 Impact of bluetongue on farmers, harvest...

Farming Today ·

2026/08/11

Livestock farmers in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset are at the centre of the current outbreak of bluetongue and cases are rising rapidly. Bluetongue can be fatal to animals like sheep and cattle but doesn’t affect humans, it’s spread by midges, and makes animals lethargic and lame as well as causing birth defects or spontaneous abortions. The Farming Community Network has a 24 hour help line: we ask them about the impact the disease is having on farmers in the South West of England. As England and

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11:49

10/08/2026 Financial planning, farming in drought, salad

Farming Today ·

2026/08/10

The finances of farming in and after a heatwave.And salad - endless sunshine and no rain isn't ideal for many crops, so prices are up as UK supplies tighten and some companies are even importing.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

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25:04

Farming Today This Week: Bluetongue cases continue to...

Farming Today ·

2026/08/08

Farmers are being 'strongly urged' to vaccinate sheep and cattle to protect them from the rapid spread of bluetongue. The UK's chief vet says vaccination is the only way to deal with the disease. There are now more than 200 farms with cases in the UK, more than double the number this time last week. The vast majority are in England, with most in the South West. In Wales there've been five. There are none in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The disease is spread by midges and this year's heatwave

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13:52

07/08/2026 Resilient crops for a changing climate,...

Farming Today ·

2026/08/07

In the light of this summer’s dismal harvest, we hear of work to make the UK’s arable crops more resilient in a changing climate.With the hot dry weather continuing in much of the country, not to mention the situation in the Strait of Hormuz making diesel and fertiliser prices volatile, some farmers are already scratching their heads about what best to grow for next year’s harvest. And a beautiful native breed cow, so rare it was declared extinct in the 1930s, now making a surprising comeback thanks

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14:03

06/08/26 Bluetongue cases on the rise, vaccination...

Farming Today ·

2026/08/06

Farmers are being 'strongly urged' to vaccinate sheep and cattle to protect them from the rapid spread of bluetongue. The UK's chief vet says vaccination is the only way to deal with the disease. There are now 130 cases, more than double the number this time last week. The vast majority are in England, with most in the South West. Wales has four cases, there are none in Scotland or Northern Ireland, and here cases means farms affected rather than individual animals with the disease. Bluetongue can

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13:43

05/08/26 Scottish first minister on farming...

Farming Today ·

2026/08/05

Scotland's first minister John Swinney has been speaking about the future for Scottish farmers and crofters while touring the country visiting summer agricultural shows. This hot dry summer hasn't hit farmers in Scotland quite as hard as southern England, but some areas are now considered to be in what Scotland terms 'water scarcity'. We speak to him about support for farmers and the government's future plans to tackle wildfires.A new report estimates farmers could lose as much as £390 million in

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13:50

04/08/26 Wheat harvest, waste whey, sheep farmers at...

Farming Today ·

2026/08/04

Official figures show the harvest this summer is the earliest in England for 20 years. All week we're following farmers around the country as they bring in their crops. We visit a farmer in Northamptonshire who thinks this year's harvest will put him in the red.When cheese is made, it produces curds and whey. There are two types of whey, sweet and salty. The sweet is often used for protein ingredients but the salty whey is difficult to dispose of and can be hazardous to the environment. Now

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11:56

03/08/26 Wildlife in drought, harvest 2026

Farming Today ·

2026/08/03

The drought is hitting nature; the Wildlife Trusts warn that rivers, lakes and wetlands are under immense strain, leaving animals struggling to survive. Harvest 2026 has been the earliest in England for at least 20 years and yields have suffered from the heat and a lack of water, leaving farmers counting the cost. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

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24:39

Farming Today This Week 01/08/26 Drought, water...

Farming Today ·

2026/08/01

The whole of Wales and half of England are now officially in drought. For farmers the impacts are huge. There are concerns about a shortage of feed for livestock and cereal yields are down. The Environment Agency in England says it will step up controls on how much water can be taken from rivers and groundwater. The National Farmers Union has called for a more modern abstraction system, saying we're still using regulations which are 50 years old. The environmental charity River Action says too many

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14:02

29/07/26: Cairngorms wildfire two weeks in, South...

Farming Today ·

2026/07/31

The fourth heatwave of the year in the UK is still making the daily farming jobs a struggle for many. But this year the dry weather and heat have also created the conditions for significant wildfires across the country. In Scotland a wildfire started 2 weeks ago in the Cairngorms National Park. It's thought to have damaged around 25 square kilometres of natural forest and hillsides, although the exact extent isn't yet known. The surface fire has diminished but it's still burning deep in the peat

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13:46

31/07/26 Calls for a food system change, the reality...

Farming Today ·

2026/07/31

As drought spreads across the UK we hear calls for our water and food systems to change. The lack of water, the miserable harvest and an unpredictable geo-political situation add up to expose the fragility of the UK's food system according to a cross section of supermarkets, food producers and campaigners who've written to the new Prime Minister. They want Andy Burnham to introduce a Good Food Bill for England.The environmental charity, River Action, says too many businesses are taking water from

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14:03

30/07/26 Drought, food inflation, bluetongue

Farming Today ·

2026/07/30

Half of England is now officially in drought. The Environment Agency says it will enhance its monitoring of water levels and crucially for many farmers, step up controls on how much water can be taken from rivers and groundwater. The BBC's local radio stations have been devoting the day to agriculture and as part of this Farmwatch the BBC has been looking at the price of food and how much of what we pay goes to farmers. According to the Consumer Price Index from May this year, families are paying

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