Farming Today
932 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 51 ratingsThe latest news about food, farming and the countryside
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Episodes
02/12/19: Conservative farming manifesto; Scottish women in agriculture; Marina Gibson, fishing influencer
December 02, 2019 06:02 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBA new report commissioned by the Scottish government says fundamental change is needed to ensure Scottish women in farming are valued, but Gemma Cooper from the National Farmers Union in Scotland tells Charlotte Smith that despite having no women in any of the twenty-three senior roles in the Union they are already well-ahead of the curve. It's manifesto week on Farming Today and to start, Theresa Villiers shares the Conservatives' plan for farming and the rural economy with Caz Graham. Mar...
Farming Today This Week: Energy
November 30, 2019 07:02 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBCharlotte Smith visits a farm in Wiltshire, to find out about using farmland to produce energy. East Farm at Codford near Warminster has an anaerobic digester, a biomass boiler, and several acres of solar panels. Charlotte hears how 100,000 tonnes a year of food waste can be turned into electricity, with fertiliser produced as a by-product. We also hear about the controversy surrounding the decision by some farmers to burn straw as an energy source. Producer: Emma Campbell
29/11/19 Trade talks and food and farming, rural voters in Scotland, anaerobic digestion plant
November 29, 2019 06:02 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBSecret government papers documenting talks on trade between Britain and the USA have been thrust into the spotlight, and food and farming are a key area - especially things like food standards, and rules regarding chemical washes to kill germs in meat. Caroline Drummond, chief executive of LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming), an organisation which promotes more sustainable food and farming, fears that post-Brexit trade deals with the US could lead to a lowering of food and environmental st...
28/11/19: Bovine TB vaccine; Welsh election opinions; Solar farms
November 28, 2019 10:06 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBDeveloping a vaccine against TB which can be used in cattle has been the holy grail of livestock farming. Vaccines currently available aren't legal for use in cattle, as it isn't possible to distinguish vaccinated animals from ones infected with the disease. Now scientists at the University of Surrey have developed a new prototype vaccine. Animals injected with it do not test positive for TB, so it's clear which animals have been vaccinated and which have the disease. Charlotte Smith asks whe...
27/11/19 Election issues for Northern Irish farmers, straw-power, weevil research
November 27, 2019 06:00 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBToday we continue our pre-election coverage and ask what farming issues are being discussed in Northern Ireland. As part of our week on farm energy, we hear about straw-powered power stations. And how researchers are trying to use smell to stop the damage caused by vine weevils. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
26/11/19 Election special on immigration
November 26, 2019 06:00 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBOur election special on immigration comes from Boston in Lincolnshire, in the heart of the UK horticulture industry. Boston had the strongest 'leave' vote in the country in the referendum, with 75.6% of voters in favour of leaving the EU. We often hear from farmers worried about a lack of migrant workers, but here in Boston concerns are focused on an influx of migrants putting pressure on local schools and hospitals. The population has gone from 10% non-British a decade ago to 31% by last ye...
25/11/19: Producing energy on farm, The farm counting its carbon, Scottish milk
November 25, 2019 06:02 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBTo begin farm energy week Charlotte Smith speaks to Peter Tyldesley from the Centre for Alternative Technology in Powys about the ways farmers can produce energy to use on-farm and also to sell back to the National Grid. He also explains that with battery storage increasing and new schemes to link-up farmers producing energy with housing projects mean that farming could play a crucial role in the future. Whilst many farmers are increasingly concerned about their carbon footprint on this wee...
22/11/19: American beef and the U.K.
November 22, 2019 06:02 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBAll this week Farming Today has been looking at beef production and today Anna Hill asks whether American beef will be appearing on our supermarket shelves in the future. Don Close from Rabobank tells Anna Jones that the UK is an attractive market both in its own right but as a potential stepping-stone into the European Union, and Lyle Perlman who farms beef in South Dakota says that as hormone-free, antibiotic-free or grass-fed beef is available for sale in the States there's no reason wh...
21/11/19 Getting out of beef and into dairy, alternative mulches, farm recycling, rural transport
November 21, 2019 06:02 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBA farmer in Northern Ireland is selling off his beef cattle to set up a dairy herd instead. Ian Smith and his son from County Down believe the margins will be better in dairy and say it's getting increasingly difficult to make money from beef. Farmers and scientists are developing alternatives to plastic sheeting used to control weeds. Coventry University and the Innovative Farmers group are testing out alternative mulches in field trials. A new scheme wants more farmers to recycle their wa...
20/11/19 Wet weather consequences, Grass-fed beef, Cheese training course
November 20, 2019 06:00 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBFarmers across the country are having to change their cropping plans because of the wet weather. There are warnings that many could be facing financial hardship for several years to come. Throughout this week we're looking at all sorts of beef farming, intensive, extensive, specialist and commercial. Today we focus on organic, grass fed beef. Cheese producers, the Quicke family, have invited students onto their own farm to learn about cheese making. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Bea...
19/11/2019 Rural services, Intensive beef production
November 19, 2019 06:00 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBAs part of our election coverage, this morning we focus on rural services and especially on health care. Charlotte Smith visits a GP surgery in the Surrey Hills to hear from Dr Emma Watts and patients about what they're hoping to hear from politicians in the election manifestos. This week we are comparing the environmental impact of different production methods of beef. Today we visit Ian Willison's 200 acre farm in Nottinghamshire. To help us through this period of electioneering, we've set...
18/11/19: The environmental impact of beef, Orkney ferries and livestock transport, Worms and plastic
November 18, 2019 06:02 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBThe beef industry is under pressure. Prices are low for British farmers and beef is facing a back-lash from environmental campaigners. To begin Farming Today's week about beef Sybil speaks to Professor Don Broome from the University of Cambridge who says that the environmental impact of beef comes down to how it's produced and why the effects of methane have been slightly over-stated. Laura French who farms on the island of Rousay in the Orkneys tells Sybil that some her lambs may starve a...
Farming Today This Week: Fish Farming
November 16, 2019 07:02 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBAquaculture has grown enormously in the UK since the first fish farms were established nearly fifty years ago. So is farming the sea a sensible way to feed a growing population, or do concerns over sustainability cast too much doubt over its environmental viability? In this programme, Sybil Ruscoe talks to a panel of experts, including a fish vet from one of the UK's biggest salmon producers, a spokesman from the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and a professor of aquaculture. Producer: Emma Campbell
15/11/19: Fishing policy and the General Election, Seaweed farming, Policing Dartmoor
November 15, 2019 06:02 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBDr Bryce Stewart from University of York tells Caz Graham why the environment may take priority over the fishing industry in the upcoming General Election. For the final installment of Farming Today's 'farming the seas' week Rachel Lovell has been to a trial seaweed farm that's been set up off the coast of Cornwall. Fiona Clampin has been out with the police and representatives from Dartmoor National Park who have joined forces to curb illegal activity in the Park. Presenter: Caz Graham ...
14/11/19 Flooding, mussels, election special from a livestock market
November 14, 2019 08:33 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBAs communities across South Yorkshire, the East Midlands and Lincolnshire deal with widespread floods, one farmer says more could have been done to prevent them. Henry Ward's arable farm has been under water since the River Varlings Eau in Lincolnshire burst its banks last weekend. He believes dredging rivers would have made a big difference. However hydrologist Professor Hannah Cloke from the University of Reading says dredging's not always the answer. She says storing water on farmland, th...
13/09/19 Salmon farming, ash dieback, election and environment
November 13, 2019 14:02 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBAll week we're looking at farming the sea. Salmon is the UK's biggest aquaculture industry, and the biggest company operating in Scottish waters is Mowi, formerly known as Marine Harvest. Nancy Nicolson visits one of their salmon farms off The Isle of Rum. The industry may be providing affordable fish for consumers but it is coming under increasing fire for the impact it is having on the marine environment, its use of chemicals to control parasites and disease, and its impact on wild salmo...
11/11/19 Cley Marshes, oysters, chalk streams, flooded farmers
November 12, 2019 06:00 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBAnna Hill visits Norfolk Wildlife Trust's visitor centre at Cley Marshes to focus on environmental issues in the run up to the election. We hear about oyster farming in North Northumberland and the plight of the UK's dried up chalk streams. And how potato farmers in Lincolnshire have been hard hit by the extreme wet weather this autumn. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
12/11/19 Cley Marshes, oysters, chalk streams, flooded farmers
November 12, 2019 06:00 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBAnna Hill visits Norfolk Wildlife Trust's visitor centre at Cley Marshes to focus on environmental issues in the run up to the election. We hear about oyster farming in North Northumberland and the plight of the UK's dried up chalk streams. And how potato farmers in Lincolnshire have been hard hit by the extreme wet weather this autumn. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
11/11/19: Farming and flooding, Fly-tipping on farms, Farming the seas overview
November 11, 2019 06:02 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBFarmer Peter Gadd tells Charlotte Smith how he's been affected by the current floods and why to reflect the situation the government should relax some of its rules around the Basic Payments Scheme which requires certain 'greening' requirements to be met, which is impossible when your land is under water. Fly-tipping is on the rise - new figures from DEFRA show incidents have increased by eight percent across England year on year. The figures cover rubbish left on public land and farmers po...
Mushrooms
November 09, 2019 07:00 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBMushrooms are one of the most valuable crops a farmer can produce. But they're also one of the most complicated. They're grown inside in strictly controlled environmental conditions on a variety of substrates. In the UK, we grow 45% of the mushrooms we eat. The rest are imported, mainly from Ireland and Poland. In this programme, Charlotte Smith explores various methods of mushroom production, and visits a farm small enough in a large farmhouse kitchen! Presented by Charlotte Smith Produce...
08/11/19: General Election priorities, Protecting birds of prey, Mushroom safari
November 08, 2019 06:02 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBCharlotte Smith visits Shipbourne Farmers' Market in Kent to ask stallholders what their priorities are in the upcoming General Election. She hears concerns over provision of rural services, availability of migrant agricultural labour, securing the U.K's fishing rights and yes, you've guessed it, Brexit. It's also mushroom week on Farming Today and Mariclare Carey Jones has been out with a forager in Llandrindod Wells to find out what the do's and don't's are when picking your own. A ten y...
07/11/19 Designer cows, Blue fin tuna, Truffle-hunting
November 07, 2019 06:02 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBA study from international agricultural specialists Rabobank says rapid advances in breeding technologies and genetics are transforming the way dairy farmers are running their businesses. Could designer cows be just around the corner? Farming Today continues its week-long focus on mushrooms, with a look at truffles. We meet the farmer trying to cultivate them in Wiltshire, and go out hunting for wild ones with the help of his labrador. Blue fin tuna have returned to UK waters. A project off...
06/11/19 Election campaign day zero, large scale mushroom farm, river restoration
November 06, 2019 06:00 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBAs the election campaign begins, we'll be consulting an expert panel to keep us up to date with every twist and turn. Today we hear from the Chief Executive of LEAF, Caroline Drummond. As part of our week looking at mushrooms, Anna Hill visits one of the country's biggest growers of button and closed-cup mushrooms, G's in Littleport, East Cambridgeshire. On the Holnicote Estate in Somerset a tributary to the River Aller is being encouraged to spread-out across multiple channels and pools in...
05/11/19 Price of Milk, Mushrooms, Devil's Pulpit
November 05, 2019 06:00 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBMany of you tell us you're willing to pay more for your milk - but will that make any difference to dairy farmers? We heard how farmers and processors are under pressure, describing the price of milk as being too low for too long. The British Retail consortium represents the major supermarkets. We ask their spokesperson, Andrew Opie, if retailers should put their prices up. As a cooking ingredient, the variety of mushrooms available has grown rapidly. Livesey Brothers mushroom farm near the ...
04/11/19 Scottish milk, mushrooms
November 04, 2019 11:20 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBThe dairy processor Muller is ending its contracts with farmers in the North East of Scotland - describing the current situation as 'unviable'. Muller says it has too much milk - its farmers now produce 25% more than five years ago - and so it will no longer collect from 14 farms which it says are harder to reach. It's given those affected a year's notice. The company wants to reduce the amount of milk it's processing and it's also introducing ' a 'transport charge' which will be highest for...
02/11/19 Farming Today This Week: Root veg
November 02, 2019 13:15 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBParsnips. Swedes. Carrots. This is a mere snapshot of the vegetables grown by Phil Collins on his farm near Calne in Wiltshire. To conclude Farming Today's week on root veg Phil shows Charlotte around his fields and explains how when he started in the 70s cauliflowers were selling for a £1, and now forty years on they're still only two for £2.50. By selling direct he can guarantee freshness for his customers but how does he find it competing with the supermarkets which suppress prices an...
01/11/19 Floods, dung beetles and root veg
November 01, 2019 10:28 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBAround 30 farmers in Yorkshire are still clearing up after floods that washed away stone walls and contaminated their land three months ago. The Association of Drainage Authorities has published a seven point plan for preventing floods in the future. They say co-operation and long term investment are going to be needed to manage water more effectively. A farmer from Wiltshire has created a haven for insects on the family arable farm. Sally-Ann Spence is a leading expert on dung beetles. She ...
31/10/19: Farming unions call for government intervention on beef prices
October 31, 2019 06:02 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MBBeef farmers are in crisis according to the British farming unions and they're calling on the government to intervene. Farmer James Lee says he could be getting as much as £250 less per head. Charlotte Smith asks Jimmy Ireland from the National Farmers Union, Scotland if demand for beef is falling shouldn't they just react to this change in the market. It's Halloween and whether you're out trick-or-treating or watching classic John Carpenter films from behind the sofa it's likely your surr...
30/10/19 Game shoots, farm waste, backdated subsidies for Scottish farms
October 30, 2019 06:00 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBYour responses to the RSPB's review into game shooting. We've had comments from both sides. We hear from Caroline Bedell from the British Association for Shooting and Conservation. As part of our root veg week, Sarah Falkingham has been to see one of the largest carrot growers in the country. They've spent more than £2m pounds on a machine to tackle waste. Scottish upland and marginal farmers will benefit most from the £160m of backdated subsidy for the agriculture sector. Presented by Anna...
29/10/19: RSPB reviews its position on game shooting, 5g drones, heritage potatoes
October 29, 2019 06:00 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBThe RSPB could start campaigning against game shoots, as it claims releasing millions of pheasant and partridge into the wild is having a detrimental impact on the environment. We hear from RSPB's Global Conservation Director, Martin Harper. One of the world's first trials of drones using a 5G network in a rural area is taking place in the north Pennines. Our reporter Sarah Falkingham went to see it. And we hear about the huge range of heritage potatoes grown in the UK in varying colours and ...
28/10/19: What young people think about their food, the tupping point, root veg
October 28, 2019 06:02 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBA new survey into people's attitudes towards farming and food production finds that animal welfare appears to be something that we care about more as we get older, and that younger people may not be as hostile to genetically modified crops and gene-editing as older people. Anna Jones asks Dr Gillian Hopkinson from Lancaster University what she makes of this survey and whether price is still the primary imperative when consumers are making their choices. To kick off Farming Today's week on ro...
09/10/19 Payment by results for farmers, badger behaviour in cull areas, fortified wine
October 09, 2019 05:00 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBIf farmers are given the chance to take control of wildlife schemes on their land, they work harder at it, and achieve better results. That's the conclusion of a report published today by the government, following a two year pilot in Yorkshire and East Anglia. Badgers at the centre of culling areas could be spreading bovine tuberculosis further afield than expected, according to a study by scientists at the Zoological Society of London and Imperial College. And we visit a vineyard growing gr...