Farming Today

BBC Radio 4

5,0 (1)
WETENSCHAP
MAANDELIJKS BIJGEWERKT

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

10 UUR GELEDEN

30/11/24 Farming Today This Week: UK farmers' concerns about farm policy and budgets; sniffer dog to detect tree pests, broccoli

The Government 'risks creating a culture of fear and resistance' amongst farmers, according to the Nature Friendly Farmers Network. It's highlighting the suspension of grants which help farmers in England invest in infrastructure to improve the environment. That's things like better slurry storage to protect waterways or planting hedges to reduce soil erosion. Defra says the Capital Grants Scheme has been temporarily closed after unprecedented demand. Farmers and crofters held a rally to lobby the Scottish Government ahead of next week's Scottish budget. They want more money for agriculture, and a guarantee that it's ringfenced. The Welsh Government has backed down on its policy to insist farmers put 10% of their land into woodland. The decision came after farmers demonstrated against the Government's plans for its Sustainable Farming Scheme, which replaces the payments to farmers under the old EU Common Agricultural Policy. All week on Farming Today we've been digging into winter veg. Parsnips, carrots and sprouts are all firm favourites but today we visit a farm growing a relative newcomer, tenderstem broccoli. For farmers who grow it, it's labour intensive but high value. And we hear how Ivor, a detection dog, is sniffing out disease in trees. It’s hoped Ivor and other sniffer dogs could play a key role in maintaining UK biosecurity and reduce the threat of serious pests and diseases that damage woodlands and commercial forestry. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

25 min
1 DAG GELEDEN

29/11/24 Scottish farmers rally over budget, winter veg, inter-cropping

Scottish farmers are demanding a bigger agriculture budget from the Scottish Government. Hundreds of farmers and crofters joined a rally outside the Scottish Parliament to lobby MSP's ahead of next week's Scottish budget and also to protest against the UK Government's decision to put inheritance tax on farmland. The farming union, NFU Scotland wants the overall agriculture budget to increase by £50 million pounds to £776 million - and for the £46 million which was taken from the agricultural budget in 2022-2023 to fund other priorities to be returned. Cumbria may not be the first place you think of when thinking about growing veg here in the UK, but this week as we focus on winter veg we've come across a network of farmers and growers there feeding an increasing appetite for local, sustainably produced vegetables. . Growing in fields and polytunnels the Home Grown Here co-operative sells at farmers' markets and delivers hundreds of weekly veg boxes to doorsteps around the county. We visit the last of our three finalists in our Farming for the Future category of the BBC Food and Farming Awards. Andy Howard is a regenerative farmer who's invited scientists, conservationists and agri-tech businesses onto his arable farm in Kent to try out theories in a multitude of on-farm trials. He's tested out drones that use AI to analyse crop nutrition, experimented with adding compost extract to his soils when planting seeds and in the same field, grown lentils with other crops. Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

14 min
2 DGN GELEDEN

28/11/24 - Risk of 'fear and resistance' amongst farmers, parsnip harvest, wildfire management

The Government 'risks creating a culture of fear and resistance' amongst farmers, according to the Nature Friendly Farmers Network. It's highlighting the suspension of grants which help farmers in England invest in infrastructure to improve the environment. That's things like better slurry storage to protect waterways or planting hedges to reduce soil erosion. Defra says the Capital Grants Scheme has been temporarily closed after unprecedented demand. Scotland's fire service says rural communities need to prepare for bigger and more wildfires in the years ahead. The service is spending £1.6m on new equipment as changing land use and the warming climate increase the risk posed by wildfires. All week we're taking a closer look at winter veg, and today it's parsnips. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

14 min
3 DGN GELEDEN

27/11/2024 Countryside Stewardship agri-environment schemes, seed breeding, Tenderstem broccoli

Many farmers have been worried about their Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreements, which expire, or partly expire, this year. These cover larger scale agri-environment schemes and capital grants for "the most environmentally important sites", according to DEFRA. DEFRA's now announced that farmers can take up a "mirror agreement" to carry on from their old one. This will last the same time as their original arrangement - 5 or 10 years and will exactly duplicate their existing plan, including the money they get for it. We speak to Dr Julia Aglionby from The Foundation for Common Land who's concerned that it leaves some farmers, especially commoners and those in the uplands, in a difficult position. As part of our focus on winter veg, we visit a farm in Worcestershire which grows Tenderstem broccoli. The crop's a registered trade mark, high in value but costly to grow, the seeds are closely controlled and it's labour intensive to pick. We also speak to a big commercial seed company about what's involved in creating new varieties of veg and what qualities plant breeders are looking for when they develop them. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

14 min
4 DGN GELEDEN

26/11/24 Sustainable Farming Scheme in Wales, sprouts

The Welsh government has backed down on its policy to insist farmers put ten percent of their land into woodland. The decision came after farmers demonstrated against the government's plans for its Sustainable Farming Scheme, or SFS, which replaces the payments to farmers under the old EU Common Agriculture Policy. The SFS still includes previous ambitions of supporting sustainable food production, rewarding farmers for mitigating climate change and enhancing the environment. The Welsh government hopes the changes will encourage more farmers to join in. We speak to Deputy first Minister Huw Irranca-Davies, who is also Secretary for Climate and Rural Affairs in Wales, and get reaction to the changes. All this week we're looking at winter vegetables. Some winter veg has to be harvested by hand which is labour intensive and costly. That used to be the case with Brussels sprouts - but over the last decade that's changed and now some farms have invested in self-propelled machinery to carry out the harvest. We visit a grower in Perthshire to see how it's done. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

14 min
6 DGN GELEDEN

23/11/24 - Farming Today This Week: Inheritance tax protests and intensive farming

In the week when thousands of farmers took to the streets of London to protest over changes to inheritance tax, we dig into the details and ask if the Government will change it's mind. There’s a global trend for farms to scale up and intensify their production and the UK is no different. We ask why it’s happening and the impact it’s having...as well as exploring large scale beef and chicken production. Presented by Caz Graham Produced by Heather Simons

25 min
21 NOV.

21/11/24 Hedges, intensive pig farming, sustainable food systems

England's hedges are in need of urgent revival - that's the conclusion of a survey of hedges, the first in 17 years. The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology has been looking at hedges for Natural England and says that while they are in better condition than 2007, when the last survey was done, the overall length remains largely unchanged. That's bad news for the government which aims to restore or plant 45,000 miles of hedgerow by 2050 Over the past few years there has been a lot of pressure on pig producers and that's meant change. According to the levy board ADHB , just five abattoirs now control 88% of the throughput of pigs, with three big companies now owning around half of the sows in England. The UK has a reputation for higher welfare standards: 50% of piglets are born outside not in farrowing crates, and more than 70% of pigs are fattened indoors on straw. We visit a pig farm in Lincolnshire that produces 800 pigs a week for a large processor as well as local butchers and the farm's own shop. The campaign group Sustain wants food produced to high welfare standards and in a way that protects nature and tackles climate change as well as providing good jobs. They don't believe intensive farming is the best way of achieving that. Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

14 min
20 NOV.

20/11/24 Farmers rally in central London

Thousands of people have protested in London over changes to inheritance tax for farmers announced in the budget. Farmers from around the country came to an NFU rally in Church Hall and a big march in Westminster. They're worried about changes which mean that from April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which were previously exempt, will be liable to tax. The government says it understands farmers' concerns but insists the vast majority of farmers won't be affected. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

14 min

Bekijk alles (23)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

Maker

BBC Radio 4
Jaren actief

2007 - 2024
Afleveringen

23
Beoordeling

Veilig
Website van aflevering

Farming Today
Provider

BBC Studios Distribution Limited heeft zich geïdentificeerd als een handelaar van deze podcast en heeft bevestigd dat dit product of deze dienst voldoet aan de wetgeving van de Europese Unie. Adres 1 Television Centre 101 Wood Lane London London W12 7FA Verenigd Koninkrijk Telefoonnummer +44 7590176301 E-mail greg.styger@bbc.com