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Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

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24:53

15/11/25 EFRA questions, report on farming in Wales,...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/15

Eight weeks after taking up her post as DEFRA Secretary of State, Emma Reynolds has faced her first barrage of questions from the cross-party group of MPs at the EFRA select committee. MPs quizzed her about farming profitability, fishing policy, water pollution, border controls and illegal meat. They asked about environmental payments too and she acknowledged that mistakes had been made and lessons learned when the Sustainable Farming Incentive was suddenly suspended earlier this year.A report by

14:04

14/11/25 Drought warnings, farmers at COP 30,...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/14

We hear warnings that unless we see some serious rain, England will be in drought next year. The Environment Agency says there will be widespread impacts on farming as well as nature and describes the current situation as 'precarious'. COP 30, the annual world meeting on tackling climate change is underway in Brazil. This one is notable perhaps for the leaders who've skipped it, neither the Chinese or American presidents are attending, but plenty of farmers are.All this week we are looking at

14:01

13/11/25 MPs call for inheritance tax impact...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/13

A report by the House of Commons’ Welsh Affairs Committee is calling for the Government's inheritance tax on farmers to be halted, because it says the tax will have a detrimental impact on Welsh farming, which is intrinsic to the Welsh economy. How about turning fungi roots into building materials? It may sound a bit strange but its already happening - in laboratories, and in commercial enterprises too.This year's apple harvest has been a bumper one, but with a small orchard on a small landmass, the

13:55

12/11/25 EFRA questions, pig farm planning...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/12

Eight weeks after taking up her post as DEFRA Secretary of State, Emma Reynolds has faced her first barrage of questions from the cross-party group of MPs at the EFRA select committee. Over two hours the MPs quizzed her about farming profitability, environmental payments, fishing policy, water pollution, border controls and illegal meat.One of the UK's biggest meat producers, Cranswick has been refused retrospective planning permission for a site in Norfolk, housing 7000 sows. The buildings, which

13:54

11/11/25 Fishing action plan, Scottish farming fund,...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/11

An all party parliamentary group of MPs is launching what it calls a 'new action plan for fishing.' The group believes that the industry is being challenged by a series of problems including a declining workforce, restrictions at sea because of environmental protection and avoiding windfarms. The former fisheries minister and Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner is writing the report. Farmers and crofters are criticising the Scottish Government over the allocation of grants for the Future Farming Investment

11:59

10/11/2025: Family farms, 'Aginflation', mushroom...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/10

Many farming families are uncertain about their future in the industry, but are we on the cusp of major change with consequences for the fabric of the countryside? Professor Matt Lobley, from Exeter University, has researched the dynamics and economics of family farms for many years and he tells us that this moment feels 'different', citing the phase out of the Basic Payment System in England, rising costs, price volatility, and the hiatus in England's Sustainable Farming Incentive. He says that a

24:35

08/11/25 Farming Today This Week: Bird flu, low...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/08

Poultry Farmers are warned this winter is on course to be among the worst for avian flu. This week all poultry in England and Northern Ireland was ordered inside after a number of new cases. The Pirbright Institute's head of avian virology explains why the H5N1 strain of bird flu has become more able to spread, describing it as 'almost a super strain'.A household name in food processing says it's worried about future supplies of raw materials, because farmers confidence is so poor. Behind the scenes

14:00

07/11/2025: Bird flu warning, Wrinkled Crinkled...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/07

Poultry Farmers are warned this winter is on course to be among the worst for Avian Flu. This week all poultry in England and Northern Ireland was ordered inside after a number of new cases. The Pirbright Institute's head of Avian Virology explains why the H5N1 strain of bird flu has become more able to spread, describing it as 'almost a super strain'.A household name in food processing says it's worried about future supplies of raw materials, because farmers confidence is so poor. McCain is the

13:55

05/11/25 Preparedness for animal disease, bird flu...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/06

As the number of bird flu cases across the country rises, DEFRA has announced bird keepers across England must house all poultry and captive birds if they keep more than 50 birds. Avian influenza is just one of the animal disease threats raised in a new report by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. It says the government would not be ready for a serious national disease outbreak like BSE or foot and mouth because resources have been focused on tackling ongoing outbreaks of avian

13:59

06/11/25 Millennium Seed Bank - how wild seeds can...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/06

As part of our week-long focus on seeds we go behind the scenes at the Millennium Seed Bank in Sussex. It's celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Experts from Kew Royal Botanical Gardens collect, clean and curate wild seeds from around the world. They're stored in giant vaults and safeguarded for the future. This helps protect endangered species of plants, but scientists also germinate the seeds for use in conservation and agriculture.Presenter = Charlotte SmithProducer= Rebecca Rooney

14:00

04/11/25 Seasonal workers, seed merchant, farm...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/04

The government's announced the number of agricultural seasonal workers visas allowed for the UK for next year. 41,000 visas will be made available for horticulture and 1,900 for poultry. It's slightly lower than the current allowance, but the National Farmers Union has welcomed the announcement, saying it has been made in good time, so farms can organise recruitment ahead of next year's harvest. However the NFU says if the horticulture sector is to grow, it will need more workers in the future -

11:59

03/11/2025: Food security, no confidence in DAERA,...

Farming Today ·

2025/11/03

A cross party group of MPs are warning that UK food production could drop by almost a third, by 2050. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture also says that by 2050 - assuming all Government targets were met in full - almost a quarter of current UK farmland could be used for other purposes including renewable energy, housing, and nature restoration. The group is publishing a report today calling for the most productive farmland to be protected and for output to

25:03

01/11/2025: Drought, invasive species, waste

Farming Today ·

2025/11/01

The government's Drought Group has warned of ongoing problems in the year ahead unless reservoirs and rivers get enough rain in the next few months. The hot dry summer has pushed many farmers to re-evaluate how they use water. We speak to an expert who works with farmers and landowners to plan and manage water use. This week on Farming Today we've been looking at invasive species - from the Asian hornet which is killing our native honey bees, to Himalayan Balsam which spreads quickly and can choke

14:01

31/10/25: Pumpkin growers' nightmare. Drought to...

Farming Today ·

2025/10/31

Pumpkin growers have had a nightmare year. The crop needs plenty of water and the hot summer made them ripen too early for Halloween. Cost of living pressures have also affected some farms running visitor attractions like Pumpkin patches.Drought could continue into 2026 for some parts of England. The National Drought Group met yesterday and warned that England would need 100% of its average rainfall to ease the situation, but only 2 months so far this year had seen that much rain.After 2 legal

14:01

30/10/25: An uncomfortable transition? The buzz about...

Farming Today ·

2025/10/30

A Government commissioned review of the problems with farm profitability, carried out by Baroness Batters, is due to be delivered to DEFRA soon. It comes at a difficult moment for the arable sector in particular. One of the UK's biggest farming companies, Velcourt, has recently given notice to a fifth of the landowners it works with, that it will either leave or restructure contracts following negotiations. Velcourt's Group Chief Executive, Nick Shorter, tells Charlotte Smith that a painful period

14:22

29/10/25 Scottish Land Reform Bill, bird flu housing...

Farming Today ·

2025/10/29

The Land Reform Bill is being debated at Holyrood and members of the Scottish Parliament will be voting on what’s been described as landmark legislation. If passed, the bill could allow the government to intervene in private land sales and require large estates to be broken up. The proposals are controversial with landowners and some opposition politicians. Defra has announced that an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone will come into effect in the north, central and east of England. Poultry keepers

14:13

28/10/2025 Waste crime inquiry, beaver release, zebra...

Farming Today ·

2025/10/28

Multiple failures from the Environment Agency, a lack interest from police and a ‘woeful lack of successful convictions’. That’s what a House of Lords committee has found in its inquiry into ‘waste crime’. The inquiry from the cross party Environment and Climate Change Committee, says more than 38 million tonnes of illegal waste is being dumped each year often by organised crime groups involved in drugs, firearms, money laundering and modern slavery, and posing a serious environmental risk. Beavers

11:57

27/10/25 Energy costs for salad growers, carrots,...

Farming Today ·

2025/10/27

Salad growers are warning that price increases for electricity will drive people out of the sector. Growers in the Lea Valley on the edge of London say they have large electricity connections for times of heavy use, but often use much less power. Since 2022 they've been charged based not only on what they use, but also on the size of the connection, and they say that from April next year those standing charges will effectively double. They say they should have government support to help meet the

24:59

25/10/25: Beer and cider from land to glass

Farming Today ·

2025/10/25

The raw ingredients to make a pint all begin life on British farms whether malting barley, or cider apples and perry pears, or hops. For barley and hop growers 2025 has been a difficult year. It's been a happier one in cider and perry orchards. We meet a cider apple detective hunting for lost varieties in Somerset, and the award winning team preserving Gloucestershire's perry heritage.A review of environmental governance in Northern Ireland has called for a new independent environmental regulator to

14:00

24/10/2025 Fishing fund and Scottish fishers. DNA of...

Farming Today ·

2025/10/24

"Anger, dismay and sense of betrayal”. That’s how the SNP described the response of Scottish coastal communities to the allocation of money to Scotland from the UK’s new ‘Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund‘ in parliament yesterday. The £360 million pound fund was first announced back in May and aims to modernise Britain's fishing fleet, enhance workforce skills, and revitalise coastal communities. However Scotland says it's getting less than 8 percent of the fund, despite accounting for more than 60%

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