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Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

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13:32

20/03/24 - Shellfish deaths, incoming Welsh First...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/20

Fishermen and wildlife are still feeling the impact nearly two and a half years after the mass shellfish deaths on England's North East Coast. After several years of investigations and reviews, the conclusion of an independent expert panel, chaired by DEFRA's Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Gideon Henderson, was that the deaths of crabs, lobsters and other commercially important shellfish, was "as like as not", down to an unknown pathogen. Fishermen had blamed contamination from dredging or the

13:34

19/03/24 Farmer protests and EU concessions; Scampi;...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/19

Spanish farmers in Madrid have held more protests, despite the European Commission announcing a review of its so-called 'green deal' which was designed to help the EU reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Farmers across Europe have voiced their anger at red tape and new environmental rules. Last week the Commission published a raft of proposed changes, which still have to be agreed. It says it'll cut back on red tape, allow individual member states more freedom over new 'greening' rules, and remove the

11:31

18/03/24 Forecast for farm incomes; Scottish land...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/18

The government's farm business incomes forecast for this year makes grim reading: in England dairy farmers are expected to earn 78% less than last year, largely due to falls in the milk price; cereal farmers face a 77% cut, though prices have been high and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs says the fall reflects a return to more normal levels as well as a reduction in the amount of arable crops grown; while mixed farms will see a 49% cut in income. Only those grazing livestock

25:02

16/03/24 Farming Today This Week: Badger culls, food...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/16

Badger culling could continue indefinitely in England under new government proposals which reverse earlier pledges to begin to phase out badger culls from next year. The Government says culls are working in helping to reduce TB in cattle. Now ministers say that in high risk and edge areas, which covers much of southwest and central England, culling could continue until the Chief Veterinary Officer deems that the situation has improved, at which point badger vaccination would be introduced. A

13:32

15/03/24 - Welfare labelling, badger culling, cat gut...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/15

Badger culling could continue indefinitely in England under new Government proposals which reverse earlier pledges to begin to phase out badger culls from next year. The Government says culls are working in helping to reduce TB in cattle - pointing to stats from the first 52 cull areas where there is an average reduction in TB breakdowns in cattle of 56% after 4 years of culling. Now ministers say that in high risk and edge areas, which covers much of southwest and central England, culling could

13:27

14/03/24 Organised gangs and rural crime; Heritage...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/14

The National Rural Crime Network is calling for an overhaul of the way rural crime is dealt with. It's commissioned a new report which says serious organised criminals are increasingly preying on rural communities and highlights hare coursing, the theft of tractors and livestock and fly tipping as having major impacts. The report from Durham University says these crimes are often carried out by 'prolific rural offenders' linked with illegal drugs rather than being opportunistic. Heritage crimes

13:32

13/03/24 Vet shortage, brewing by-product, lamb virus

Farming Today ·

2024/03/13

A shortage of vets is currently affecting services across all aspects of public and private animal health and biosecurity. In 2018 the gap in the veterinary workforce was put at 11%. At a hearing yesterday in Westminster the Chief Vet, Christine Middlemiss, told the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee that that shortage had not improved.All week we're exploring how by-products from farming can be put to use on farm or elsewhere. Today, beer and Marmite.A virus which causes birth

13:41

12/03/24 River pollution from poultry farming;...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/12

The Soil Association, has called for a ban on any new intensive broiler farms being set up in the UK. The organic farming group has published a new report called "Stop Killing Our Rivers" which says it's impossible to manage chicken meat production without harming the environment, especially rivers. The report says the chicken meat sector has been expanding at a rate of one million birds per month, since 2014 and has now reached more than a billion birds per year. All week we're looking into the

11:26

11/03/24 Tree planting and agroforestry; Pesticides...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/11

The writer Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare have long been advocates for helping young people learn more about farming and the countryside, so much so, that they set up Farms for City Children nearly 50 years ago. Young people help run the farm and learn about both farming and nature. For one of their latest projects in Devon, they’ve teamed up with the Woodland Trust to involve primary school children, planting trees inside what they call roundels - a protective barrier, which keeps out

13:34

08/03/24 Farmer protests; Red Tractor / green tractor...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/08

The consultation on the Welsh Government's controversial Sustainable Farming Scheme has now closed. The National Farmers Union Cymru marked the moment by placing 5,500 pairs of wellies on the steps of the Welsh Parliament to highlight the farming jobs which could be lost if the plan is adopted. Farmers across Wales, and some in England, have held tractor convoys and protest meetings over the past few weeks. We look at what's led farmers to take action now.The whole idea of a green tractor standard

24:52

02/03/24 Welsh farmers' protest; UK rivers' health

Farming Today ·

2024/03/07

Thousands of discontented farmers gathered outside the seat of the Welsh Government, the Senedd, in Cardiff Bay, this week in what was probably the biggest farmer protest seen in the UK in recent years. They’re unhappy about various aspects of agricultural policy including the new Welsh Sustainable Farming Scheme, which is heading into its final week of consultation. The scheme is to replace the system of subsidies that operated under the EU’s common agricultural policy, and to claim it farmers need

13:28

07/03/24 Spring budget and farming communities: Lambing

Farming Today ·

2024/03/07

The government's spring budget is getting a lukewarm response from many in rural communities - with more discussion of what wasn't in it, than what was. The NFU said it didn't go far enough to offer stability for agricultural businesses, growth in food production and decarbonising the sector. Friends of the Earth described it as: 'yet another missed opportunity to properly invest in building a strong, clean and prosperous future.' The Tenant Farmers Association said it was 'bitterly disappointed'

13:44

06/03/24 - Hedgerow rules, neonics and lambing

Farming Today ·

2024/03/06

The Government has promised that hedgerows will continue to be protected, even though there’s been a gap in regulations after EU rules lapsed at the end of last year. DEFRA has confirmed that legislation will include plans to maintain cutting bans on hedges and 2 metre protective buffer strips. But farmers will also be allowed to apply for an exemption to cut or trim hedges in August, if they are sowing oilseed rape or temporary grass. Conservation groups have welcomed the protections but some,

13:41

05/03/24 - Fertilising by drone, heritage wheat...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/05

In between the rain, farmers have planted crops many of which are now battling for growth in saturated ground. Waterlogged soil is a poor growing medium, and it also means farmers can’t bring machinery onto their land to give the plants fertilisers or pesticides to help them grow. Some are now turning to drones to deliver preparations instead, so at least the soil is not disturbed. But, if the ground is still draining, does that mean more danger of pollution from nutrient rich water running off the

11:32

04/03/24 Local food for public sector; Rural crime;...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/04

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, Wiltshire, Dorset and Cornwall are among the latest local authorities which have voted to buy from local farmers when procuring meat, dairy, fruit and veg for council-organised events. Both the government and the Labour Party are aiming for 50% of spending on public sector food to go on local and sustainable produce. We ask Professor Tom MacMillan from the Royal Agricultural University, how significant that could be for farmers. Farms with expensive

13:22

01/03/24 AI Weather forecasts six weeks in advance;...

Farming Today ·

2024/03/01

A new 15 year, £30 million partnership between Reading University, the Met Office and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is going to be harnessing AI to produce more accurate forecasts that could predict the weather for up to six weeks in advance. As climate change brings longer droughts and more flooding, what benefits could better forecasting have for farmers? We speak to the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading. The cleaner the river, the better it is for the

13:33

29/02/24 Welsh farmers protest at Senedd; Natural...

Farming Today ·

2024/02/29

Thousands of Welsh farmers have protested outside the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, in Cardiff. They are angry at plans for a new Welsh system of subsidies: The Sustainable Farming Scheme. They say proposals to use 10% of their land for growing trees and a further 10% for wildlife habitats are unworkable. The Welsh Government insists it is listening to their concerns and the scheme is under consultation. Many farmers say the scheme would jeopardise their businesses and feel the government isn’t

13:49

27/02/24 Pollack fishermen criticise government...

Farming Today ·

2024/02/27

Pollack fishermen are selling their boats after quotas for pollack were cut to zero. Defra says it's to safeguard fish stocks and have announced a £6 million scheme to help. However fishermen and the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation say the government announcements won't make any difference to fishing families who are losing their livelihoods.All this week we’re talking about rivers. The River Wye has been badly polluted over the years. In 2020 phosphorous pollution from large-scale chicken farms

11:36

26/02/24 Welsh farmers welcoming a greener farming...

Farming Today ·

2024/02/26

The BBC has been told that farmers in Wales who support overhauling their subsidies to help the environment feel "intimidated" and afraid to speak out. It comes as some farmers are staging protests across Wales over plans for a greener post-Brexit funding scheme for agriculture, which farming unions say is unworkable. But the Nature Friendly Farming Network, representing around 500 farmers in Wales, told BBC Wales that sticking to "business as usual" would not help the industry succeed in the long

13:25

23/02/24 Farmer protests in Wales: Lesley Griffiths;...

Farming Today ·

2024/02/23

As farmer protests continue in Wales the Rural Affairs Minister tells us she is listening.We've spent all week talking about farming's next generation and as with most family businesses, many farmers hope at least one of their children will want to take over. But if you’ve got three kids who all want to stay, it might prove hard for all of them to make a living.Anna Hill meets Minette Batters who stood down this week as President of the National Farmers' Union. Having been the most influential woman

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