PODCAST

Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

science

All Episodes

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

13:57

14/11/24 Regenerative agriculture and advertising...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/14

The Advertising Standards Authority has issued guidance to advertisers to make sure consumers aren't misled about the term "regenerative agriculture".Scotland's first minister John Swinney says inheritance tax changes in the budget are causing unacceptable levels of stress among farmers in Scotland.We’re discussing farming in Scotland all this week. The new agriculture act now requires every farmer and crofter to complete an annual whole farm plan in order to claim their basic support payments. The

14:13

13/11/24 - Seafood carbon emission, Crofters Bill and...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/13

A new tool is being used by the seafood sector to collate carbon emissions data from all along the supply chain - from farming catching the fish in the wild, all the way through to processing and packing.The Scottish Government is consulting on a new Crofting Bill, aimed at making it easier for people to get into crofting and to support things like peatland restoration and environmental work on crofts. We ask crofters on the Western Isles what they make of it.And a 'sheep industry task force' has

13:57

12/11/24 - Avian flu in American cows, Scottish...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/12

Bird flu is back in the UK. Two years ago a strain of the virus called H5N1 caused outbreaks across the world, killing millions of birds, on poultry farms and in the wild. In America, that same strain has infected dairy cows on nearly 500 different farms, and in some cases also been passed on to humans. The UK has just seen its first avian flu outbreak of the winter in a commercial poultry flock in the East Riding of Yorkshire, but this time the strain's been identified as H5N5. What difference does

24:58

09/11/24 Farming Today This Week: Saltmarshes,...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/09

On the programme this week, we investigate concerns over plans for new saltmarshes near the Hinkley C nuclear power plant. Upland sheep farmers tell us why they're struggling with the phasing out of the Basic Payment Scheme. We visit the islands of Lewis and Harris to look at a new approach to treating sheep disease. And there's further reaction to the Budget: farmers explain their opposition to new inheritance tax plans and the Secretary of State, Steve Reed, responds. And farming tax

14:00

07/11/24 - Inheritance tax details, mobile sheep dips...

Farming Today ·

2024/11/07

Many farming families are extremely concerned about the future of their farms, after the Government introduced inheritance tax on farmland in the Budget. But there’s a lot of confusion about how much inheritance tax farmers will have to pay. We invite a tax expert to dig into the details.One of the sheep industry's most enduring health and welfare challenges is scab - an itchy condition caused by mites. It’s controlled by either injecting a dose of medicine or the traditional dipping of sheep. But

646 results

Farming Today

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Classic Radio Science Fiction

solgoodmedia.com

Mission to Mars

Inception Point Ai

The 365 Days of Astronomy

365DaysOfAstronomy.org

Creek Devil

william Jevning

UFO Chronicles Podcast

Nik Hunter