Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

3.8 (16)
SCIENCE
UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

3 HRS AGO

11/05/26: Cage eggs ban call, University vineyard, Environment watchdog on NI water quality

The UK's environment watchdog has warned that regulations designed to reduce water pollution from agricultural sources in Northern Ireland, urgently need to be strengthened. The Office for Environmental Protection, or OEP, has examined Northern Ireland's Nutrients Action Programme and says its measures haven't done enough to improve water quality. Many students of farming get the opportunity to experience hands-on learning, with dairy, beef and arable. At Harper Adams University in Shropshire students not only get to learn how to tend a vineyard, but now they're able to drink their own wine, made with grapes from the University's vines. The first wines have just been released. Vets' organisations are calling for a ban on imports of eggs produced by caged hens, alongside a phasing out of the 'enriched colony' cages currently legal in the UK. The British Veterinary Association and British Veterinary Poultry Association are supporting the Government's plan to end the use of cage systems here - out for consultation earlier this year. The National Farmers Union warned the move would drive more imports, some produced using methods already illegal in the UK. Presenter: Anna Hill Producer: Sarah Swadling

12 min
2D AGO

09/05/26 Wool prices, Sounds from above and below the ground

The price of British wool has gone up. But does it even cover the cost of shearing? Below ground, we listen to new research on the sounds from worms and other creatures living in the soil. Above ground, we're out in the woodland listening to the dawn chorus. And we enjoy a medley of countryside sounds sent in by listeners.

25 min
4D AGO

07/05/26 Wool prices, bluebells, dawn chorus

The price of wool from British sheep is at a ten year high - on average farmers will see a 70 per cent increase on last year. However that will still only just cover the cost of shearing the sheep. The price is set by British Wool, which is owned by around 30,000 UK sheep farmers, and collects, grades, sells and promotes wool. It says the price rise is down to increased demand, and a worldwide fall in the number of sheep. Well if you've been out and about in the countryside in the last few weeks you may have seen the glorious displays of bluebells. Not all of them are native - and there's concern that the invasive Spanish variety is spreading, and could threaten our more delicate blooms. Bluebells are protected - it is illegal to pick them - and in some parts of the UK, land owners are doing more to preserve the native species. And all this week we're listening to the countryside - the sounds we hear beyond, say, a tractor, or cows mooing. So far we've heard bats, worms in the soil and babbling brooks. Today we're joining an organised dawn chorus walk - It's one of the most popular events at Bere Farm in Dorset, run by the Countryside Regeneration Trust. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

14 min
5D AGO

06/05/26 Weedkiller glyphosate and its use on crops. Sounds of the soil.

The use of the herbicide glyphosate has been long debated, and it’s going to come under intense scrutiny in the coming months. This summer, the Health and Safety Executive will launch a two-month public consultation on whether approval for the use of glyphosates should be renewed. In the EU, a decision was made in 2023 to renew glyphosate approval for 10 years, though with restrictions on how it can be used to dry off crops before harvesting. Here, the NFU and other farming organisations support the continued use of glyphosate-based weedkillers – including as a pre-harvest desiccant in cereals and oilseed rape. They say it reduces the need for other herbicides, helps protect soil, and cuts greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the need for ploughing. However the Soil Association, along with a number of other environmental groups, are launching a petition calling for glyphosate to be banned as a pre-harvest desiccant. The sounds of the countryside can be every bit as evocative as its sights - the dawn chorus, or the burbling of a stream can conjure up a mood, or a special place. So this week on Farming Today we're exploring the landscape of the UK through sound. One soil scientist is using microphones to eavesdrop on life below the surface, especially earthworms. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

14 min
6D AGO

05/05/26 Ash tree propagation, clinical waste on beach, DIY bat monitoring

A new propagation technique could help restore the ash tree to our landscapes. Scientists across the UK have been working to propagate saplings from resistant trees, but currently that takes between 2 and 5 years. Now researchers at the John Innes Centre have developed a speedier system, which they hope everyone could use, even at home, with the help of household bleach. Campaigners are calling for a full-scale clean-up of beaches on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent following the discovery of a large quantity of illegally dumped clinical waste. The University of Suffolk and a local group have been monitoring bats using bioacoustics to track their ultrasonic calls as they visit people's gardens. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

14 min
MAY 4

04/05/26 Neolithic Farming and Feasting

Neolithic peoples made the transition from being nomadic hunter-gatherers to crop-growing farmers, and their diets are the subject of numerous studies. Archaeological evidence informs us about the farming and foraging activities of these ancient peoples, but it's unusual to get a first hand taste of how it might have been to forage on the shore and land! On the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, the arts organisation, Haar, facilitated an opportunity to sit down to an interpretation of a Stone Age feast - albeit with considerable artistic and culinary licence! The event was centered around the 5000-year-old Calanais standing stone circle. Nancy Nicolson joined the foragers to find out about the farming and feasting habits of our ancestors, and met one of the crofters whose sheep today graze the machair, the strip of flower and herb-rich land that borders the sea and which it is believed contributed to the flavours and nutrition of the food Neolithic people ate. Produced and presented by Nancy Nicolson.

12 min
MAY 2

02/05/26 Dry April, Agroforestry, Giant greenhouse

Farmers are hoping for more rain in May after an unusually dry and windy April in many part of the UK. The East of England had between 2 and 4 per cent of the expected rainfall last month. We hear from a farmer struggling to plant his crops. This week we look at agroforestry - that's farming with trees in the mix. We visit farms using trees for different reasons - including providing shade for livestock, adding nutrients to soil, and providing habitats for useful insect predators. And the UK's second largest greenhouse - which could replace 7 per cent of the tomatoes the UK imports - has been given the go ahead. Rivenhall Greenhouse near Braintree in Essex will cover 40 hectares and use power from a domestic waste incinerator - burning all the black bag waste from the county. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

25 min
MAY 1

01/05/2026 Farmers hoping for rain, English council elections, hedgerows

Farmers are hoping that a dry April will be followed by a wet few weeks. Some parts of the country, notably in the East of England, have had between 2% and 4% of the expected rainfall last month. This feels a lot like last year when the dry spring led to a loss of yields and even failed crops and that hit the bottom lines of farming businesses. Some farmers are warning that without rain soon we could see the same again this year. Less than a week to go now before elections across the UK. We've talked about the issues rural voters in Wales and Scotland are considering as they vote for their national governments who control agricultural policy, today we're turning our attention to the council elections in England. We've been talking all week about agro-forestry: planting trees alongside crops or livestock grazing. Today we hear how hedgerows can benefit farms. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

14 min

See All (27)

Anna Hill

Host
Anna Jones

Host
Caz Graham

Host
Sybil Ruscoe

Host
Charlotte Smith

Host
Timika Downes

Guest
Stuart Oates

Guest
Hilary Cottam

Guest

3.8

out of 5

16 Ratings

Canadian perspectives

2011-12-31

Uncle putz

Love to hear about another way of farming. Also, the challenges facing everyone of us in this quest to produce food for an ever growing population.
Mr

2012-10-29

Adelz1

Beautiful down to earth program, can get dirty at time and we love it.
Great Start to the Day

2011-03-05

Danielwest

I start every day listening to the farming news from across the pond. I always enjoy getting the news of what's happening in Britain and Europe in the world of farming.