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Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

science

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11:48

110825: environmental payments, meat carcass use

Farming Today ·

2025/08/11

Farmers say they may have to plough up land currently managed for nature as the scheme that pays them isn't working. Thousands of countryside stewardship agreements come to an end this year, and applications for the replacement haven't opened yet. The Nature Friendly Farming Network is asking the government to roll over the current schemes to give farmers some certainty.All this week we're looking at 'carcass balance' - using more of the animal's carcass to avoid waste. In the past the consumers in

24:52

09/08/25 Harvest 2025 - from barley and peas, to...

Farming Today ·

2025/08/09

Harvest is the highlight of the farming calendar but this summer's harvest is one of contrasts. It's a good year for some crops like oil seed rape but for others yields are down. We take stock of the crops - from barley and peas to cherries and sweetcorn.Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

14:08

08/08/25 Heather burning and wildfires, cherry...

Farming Today ·

2025/08/08

Scottish gamekeepers may refuse to help tackle wildfires in a dispute over licences for muirburn. Muirburn is the controlled burning of heather and other vegetation to encourage new growth, mostly to raise game birds for shooting. It takes place from autumn to spring, but from January next year it will be licensed and it will be an offence to carry out any burning without a licence. Gamekeepers say controlled burning reduces the amount of dead vegetation which fuels wildfires and if they can't do

14:03

07/08/25 Farmwatch: a celebration of farming across...

Farming Today ·

2025/08/07

Farmwatch will see farms take over BBC local radio in England today. It's a celebration of farming and a chance to hear from rural communities across the country. It's happening at one of the busiest times of the year for many farmers - harvest, and as part of our week-long focus on harvest we speak to a farmer in Lincolnshire who's growing corn on the cob.Presenter = Charlotte SmithProducer = Rebecca Rooney

13:56

06/08/25 Parasite control, barn owls, pea harvest

Farming Today ·

2025/08/06

The British Veterinary Association is urging farmers to avoid treating livestock for parasites unnecessarily. The say blanket treatments of worming medicines can lead to resistance and have an impact on the environment.Conservationists in the south east are reporting a drop in the number of barn owl chicks being raised, they say it's the worst breeding season they've seen for decades. All week we're following the harvest around the country, pea producers say this year's crop is down by a quarter

13:48

05/08/25 Egg imports and salmonella concerns, plum...

Farming Today ·

2025/08/05

The egg industry is calling for better labelling of products using imported eggs, and for all imports of eggs and egg products to be checked at the border. The British Egg Industry Council says there's been a rise in imports and they're concerned that eggs contaminated with salmonella are not being picked up. Plums used to be a big crop for British farms back in the 1960s, but over the decades the amount grown here has fallen dramatically. However, one farm in Kent believes the tide is turning. WB

11:43

04/08/25 Harvest and the impact of this year's dry...

Farming Today ·

2025/08/04

It's been a tricky year for many farmers this year with extremes of drought and rain at various times - usually the wrong times. All week we'll see how harvest 2025 is shaping up. We start with barley in East Anglia and a dairy farm in Wiltshire, and find out from a cereals analyst how crops are looking across the board.Presenter = Charlotte SmithProducer = Rebecca Rooney

24:47

02/08/25: Coping With Downpour And Drought,...

Farming Today ·

2025/08/02

Farmers are having to cope with too much water, or too little, more and more often due to the effects of climate change. This week Charlotte Smith explores how farmers can strike a balance on their land, with competing pressures for water including crops, homes, and wildlife. And, campaigners against Government plans to reintroduce Inheritance Tax on farms worth over £1 million found an unlikely ally in President Trump this week. But with the Government showing no sign of changing course, how

14:06

01/08/25 Impact of war on Ukraine farmland, river...

Farming Today ·

2025/08/01

Half a million pounds is going from the UK Government to a project aiming to improve soils in Ukraine. The ongoing research, being run by the Royal Agricultural University, has identified significant damage to soils from the war there - things like heavy metal contamination from bombardments. The new money will help set up soil labs. We speak to the professor leading it and a farmer in Ukraine.Small changes in the way a river catchment is managed can have a big impact - reconnecting floodplains,

14:01

31/07/25 Bioethanol, managing water in the Norfolk...

Farming Today ·

2025/07/31

The bioethanol company Vivergo says it will take in its last consignment of grain tomorrow, before it stops production at its plant near Hull - unless the UK government steps into help. It says this is because of the US UK trade deal which came into force last month, allowing up to 1.4 billion litres of tax-free bioethanol from the States.How's water managed in the Norfolk Broads? We look at the system of pumping stations and drainage ditches which helps balance the competing demands of water of

14:05

30/07/25: Climate Threat to Fruit and Veg Imports,...

Farming Today ·

2025/07/30

The UK is heavily reliant on fruit and vegetables grown overseas. But a new report predicts that, by 2050, around half of fruit and veg imports to the UK will be affected by climate change risks including rising temperatures and diminishing water supplies. Water management is such a burning topic at the moment that the NFU has just held its first Water Summit on a Yorkshire farm. And, how do you incentivise reintroduced Beavers to shape rivers the way you intend?Presenter: Anna HillProducer: Sarah

14:04

29/07/25 Water management, agricultural chaplain,...

Farming Today ·

2025/07/29

As the NFU hosts an on-farm water summit, we find out more about an innovative project in Shropshire to manage water. It aims to prevent excess run-off from urban areas which floods farmland and destroys crops.Out and about with the Agricultural Chaplain for Suffolk who's helping farmers cope with the pressures of running a farm business. He says they're especially concerned about changes to inheritance tax reform.Scientists are working with farmers to find a high-tech way of tackling one of the

11:58

28/07/2025: Inheritance tax fight goes on, Lough...

Farming Today ·

2025/07/28

The National Farmers Union says the fight over inheritance tax on farms is not over, despite the publication of draft legislation which shows that the government isn't backing down. Campaigners against the re-impostion of the tax, which will be levied at 20 per cent on assets over a million pounds from April next year had hoped that the government would, at least, change aspects of the policy. The Government argues that its a fair tax which the majority of farm businesses either won't be liable for,

13:53

25/07/25: Don't pack foot and mouth, Blackcurrant...

Farming Today ·

2025/07/25

The UK's Chief Vet is urging travellers not to run the risk of bringing foot and mouth disease back from European holidays, in banned personal imports of meat and dairy. Caz Graham hears why a warm, dry summer in many fruit growing areas has led to a bumper crop of high quality blackcurrants. All farmers tend to the needs of their livestock, but few creatures are as needy as leeches. We visit the UK's only medical Leech farm and find out how sensitive the blood suckers really are, to everything from

14:02

24/07/25 The Royal Welsh Show - the sustainable...

Farming Today ·

2025/07/24

Farming Today joins the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells - the week after the Welsh Government announced its new system of payments: the sustainable farming scheme. This annual celebration of farming, food and rural Wales attracts around 200,000 visitors but this year the number of cattle on show is down by a third because of bluetongue disease. Presenter = Charlotte SmithProducer = Rebecca Rooney

13:46

23/07/25: battery storage, farmer wellbeing, plastic...

Farming Today ·

2025/07/23

The move to build battery storage sites on farmland is increasing: it can be a money-spinner for the landowner and can play an important role in the transition to a low carbon energy system, storing green energy collected through wind or solar power generation. But there are concerns at the lack of specific health and safety standards for the sector. We're looking at farmers' welbeing this week. Today, a virtual reality headset is being shown at the Royal Welsh Show. It's the latest offering from a

14:03

22/07/2025: water pollution, farmers' wellbeing

Farming Today ·

2025/07/22

The head of a team carrying out water quality monitoring on livestock farms across the UK says their evidence shows the majority of farms tested so far are breaking rules which are supposed to protect rivers from pollution. The evidence backs up the findings in Sir Jon Cunliffe's report from the Independent Water Commission, which was published yesterday. It found that the 'Farming Rules For Water' weren't being complied with, and enforcement should be improved. And all this week we're looking at

12:04

21/07/2025: shellfish report, rural wellbeing,...

Farming Today ·

2025/07/21

The final report into the devastating mass deaths of shellfish along the north east coast says the incident was 'catastrophic' to the industry. We speak to one of the fishers affected.Throughout this week we're going to be looking at into health, mental health and wellbeing in rural Britain. Today we go to the Peak District to meet a group of women farmers who've set up their own support group. And new rules come in tomorrow allowing poultry farmers to legally pick up birds under a certain weight

24:39

19/07/2025 Farming Today This Week: Wales's new...

Farming Today ·

2025/07/19

Has the National Food Strategy for England been watered down? We hear reports that a Food White Paper expected in the spring has been dropped. The Welsh Government announces its new Sustainable Farming Scheme. Some environmental groups are calling it a missed opportunity. We hear from the Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs on what's being described as a 'once in a generation' event.And plant breeders in Scotland have unveiled a UK-bred blueberry. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by

14:06

17/07/25 National Food Strategy, rural affordable...

Farming Today ·

2025/07/17

Has the Government’s Food Strategy been watered down? It wasn’t launched with a huge fanfare, but Defra has published its Food Strategy for England. It aims to create what it calls a Good Food Cycle, a framework to make food production more sustainable, radically overhaul our relationship with food and prepare farmers and food producers for future challenges. The National Farmers' Union has welcomed the document though says it needs to be backed up by “joined-up and pragmatic policy measures”.

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