Farming Today

BBC Radio 4
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Science
  • Updated twice weekly

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

  1. 1 day ago

    12/06/26 Sustainable Farming Incentive, Cereal farming in Cumbria

    The Department for Envrionment Food and Rural Affairs has announced how much money it’s making available to farmers in England through the Sustainable Farming Incentive - or SFI - for 2026. It’s something farmers and environmental organisations have been keenly anticipating. There’s a total budget of £240 million pounds., with the first application opening later this month. The SFI is the DEFRA ‘public money for public goods’ scheme that pays for farming in ways that protect and benefit the environment, support food production and improve productivity. Some farming and conservation groups say the budget isn't big enough. And all this week we’re talking about growing cereals, things like grain and oats. The latest figures just out from the industry body the AHDB, that’s the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, show that UK farmers are growing less barley than they have for the last 16 years, while oilseed rape and wheat have climbed back from last year’s lows. The Eden Valley in Cumbria is possibly better known for its livestock than its crops. But over the past couple of years, father and son Thomas and Harry Ewbank have been bucking that trend. Guided by local agronomist, Steven Gate, they've abandoned ploughing in favour of what’s called ‘one-pass drilling’, and they’ve expanded their range of crops to maximise yields and increase sustainability. Presented by Caz Graham and produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Challoner.

    14 min

  2. 3 days ago

    10/06/26 New bovine TB strategy for England, cereals

    A cattle vaccine to protect livestock from bovine TB could be in use on farms in England by 2030. That's one of the aims outlined in a new strategy for the eradication of bovine TB. The government commissioned it and has just released the details. We hear from the farmer who chairs the Steering Group behind the strategy which aims to get rid of the disease on farm by 2038. This week we are looking at cereals, with the current pressures on cereal farming such as high fertiliser and fuel costs, and an unusually hot and dry spring, finding more hardy and efficient varieties of cereals has become vital. The agricultural research organisation, NIAB, has been running a trial in Norfolk to do exactly this. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

    14 min

  3. 4 days ago

    09/06/26 Flood funding, cattle cull, cereals

    Somerset's to get an extra £50m investment to help the county deal with flooding. The government is giving the money to the county council who will work in partnership with local drainage boards, communities, the Environment Agency and the Somerset Rivers Authority. Farming Minister Angela Eagle says it will enable farmers to better withstand the growing threat of floods. Nearly 300 cattle in Scotland are due to be culled because their identification regulations haven't been followed. The Belted Galloways from Home Farm on the Falkland Estate in Fife cannot enter the food chain because they aren't properly registered. Government inspectors due to oversee the cull say they've faced threats online, and will now not attend. All week we’re delving into the detail of growing cereal crops – wheat, barley and oats. Farmers are used to juggling with the challenges of the weather, but this year there have been several other parts to the tricky equation of making cereal crops profitable. With fertilizer prices rising because of the war in the Middle East, and lower or non-existent support payments following Brexit, where does that leave larger cereal growers, competing in global markets? Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

    14 min

  4. 5 days ago

    08/06/26 Brown or white eggs? The outlook for cereal farmers

    How do you like your eggs? Brown or white? Sainsbury's has announced it's switching to white eggs for environmental reasons. With high prices for energy and fertiliser but not for their crops, and after another dry spring, we ask how arable farmers in the UK are doing. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

    12 min

  5. 6 days ago

    06/06/26 - Farming Today This Week: Dartmoor ponies, water voles and land-based jobs

    Dartmoor is famous for its semi-wild hill ponies that roam across the moorland. But concerns have been raised by the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association that new agri-environment schemes will require such a steep drop in the numbers of grazing livestock in the area that up to 93 percent of the ponies will be lost. We hear from the association's Secretary, Joss Hibbs. Next year will be the last that farmers in England receive direct subsidy payments, based on how much land they farm. Direct payments have been particularly important for upland farmers in areas like the Lake District, where they are now being replaced by environmental schemes. Caz Graham speaks to two generations of a Lake District farming family about the continued viability of upland farming. The Government has published fresh guidance this week for farmers and food businesses to help them prepare for the new sanitary and phytosanitary - or SPS - agreement between the UK and the European Union, which is expected to be brought in in around a year's time. The Government says the SPS agreement will make it easier for British farmers to sell into the EU, but it could also mean a change in the agro-chemicals farmers can legally use on their crops, and if the rules change suddenly, there are concerns farmers could be left with crops grown under the old rules, which they could no longer sell under the new rules. UK peatlands - an important habitat for wildlife and a major carbon sink - are facing pressure from development, intensive land use and a changing climate, with around 80% believed to be degraded. In Wales however, the National Peatland Action Programme has completed over three and half thousand hectares of restoration work since 2020. In the Cambrian Mountains the project has been so successful that water voles have arrived in the area. A study out this week from Lantra - a charity which provides training and qualifications in land-based industries - says that there are jobs in farming, fishing and forestry that are not being filled because of a so-called 'skills squeeze'. This comes a week after a much-discussed report, commissioned by the government, which found that job opportunities for young people are shrinking, with one million classed as NEETS - not in education, employment or training. We ask if land-based work is part of the solution. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Jo Peacey. A BBC Audio Bristol production.

    25 min

  6. 5 Jun

    05/06/26 Dartmoor ponies, upland economics, Open Farm Sunday

    Concerns have been raised that new agri-environment schemes will require such a steep drop in the numbers of grazing livestock that 90% of Dartmoor ponies will be lost. We’re talking about upland farming all this week, and this morning we hear how the phasing out of the old EU farm payments are affecting English hill farmers, with two generations of a Lake District farming family. It’s twenty years ago this summer that a group of farmers put their heads together and decided to set aside a particular day when they’d all open up their farms to the general public. It was a fairly radical idea at the time, driven by a desire to address the disconnect between urban populations and farming, and inspired by a similar project in Denmark. That was the very first Open Farm Sunday which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

    14 min

  7. 4 Jun

    04/06/26 High Court rules the Food Standards Agency overcharged abattoirs, hydropower funding, upland farmer groups

    A judgement from the High Court yesterday ruled that the Food Standards Agency has been 'unlawfully' charging abattoirs too much and that it wasn’t transparent enough about what it was charging for. The ruling comes after a legal challenge by the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers. Developers of small-scale hydro-energy projects say the industry’s missing out on investment because of a heavy focus on wind and solar. Scotland in particular has long been a pioneer of cheap hydro-electricity, but companies say the current contracts to supply power are squeezing them out of the market. All week we’re hearing about the current challenges facing upland farmers right across the UK and how they’re dealing with them. Farming in the hills can be an isolated, even lonely, business. But a group of farmers scattered across the uplands of Shropshire have joined forces to pool ideas. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton. With thanks to British Pathé Archive.

    14 min

  8. 3 Jun

    03/06/26 EU trade agreement, peat restoration and water voles, Scottish uplands

    The government has published fresh guidance for farmers and food businesses to help them prepare for the new sanitary and phytosanitary - or SPS - agreement between the UK and the EU. It's expected to take effect in a year's time. It's supposed to make trade easier, with fewer checks and less paperwork, but there are still many points in the agreement to iron out. Peatlands are one of the most valuable sources of carbon storage and they provide important habitats for wildlife and plants too. Across Wales the National Peatland Action Programme is working to improve these precious sites. In the Cambrian Mountains the project has been so successful that water voles have now populated the area. All week we're assessing the state of upland farming across the UK. In Scotland, 70% of agricultural land is classed as uplands. Most of those farms have sheep, many also have beef cattle and forestry is also a big part of Scottish farming. Agriculture is devolved and the Scottish government has, until now, held onto the direct payments which existed under the pre-Brexit EU system. That's being phased out, and upland farmers are concerned that under the new rules they could lose out. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

    14 min
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The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

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  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2007 - 2026
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    Farming Today

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