06/10/2022 Calls for more visas to pick veg, log bank, potatoes

The Home Secretary says farmers should work harder to find local pickers. The vast majority of pickers on UK farms come from abroad via the seasonal workers scheme. It was expanded earlier this year to allow 30,000 people to come for 6 months to work on farms and in poultry processing, with an extra 10,000 visas available if needed. Farmers say they really need 70,000 people, allowed to come for 9 months, and that they need to know how many visas will be available as soon as possible.

We've been talking about the cost of heating oil over the past few weeks. For many in rural areas who can't connect to gas, solid fuel heating systems are what they rely on. The Government has said it will provide extra support to those consumers but the cost of heating oil has more than doubled in the last couple of years. Not surprising then that demand for the Northumberland Log Bank is also rising.

A new body is being launched this week to represent potato growers and the whole supply chain.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.