Farming Today

• 07/09/24 Farming Today This Week: bluetongue vaccine, seabed recovery, £100m cuts to the farming budget?

  <p>The Government plans to cut the budget for nature friendly farming in England by £100m, according to a report in the Guardian. It claims that civil service sources say the cut is needed to help fill a £22 billion treasury shortfall. The reduced spending could affect the new Sustainable Farming Incentive which replaces the old EU system, paying farmers for environmental benefits produced on their land. Nature and farming groups have reacted with consternation. We ask how significant would a cut of £100m be.</p><p>All this week we are looking at how land use is changing, as public and private investment is brought in to fund environmental schemes. With increasing green finance opportunities, more and more companies are stepping in to broker deals between farmers and investors. Natergall's business model is to deliver ecological restoration on its own land and that of others, and to commercialise the results.</p><p>Rural areas across England are in danger of becoming 'pharmacy deserts', as medicine providers across the country continue to consolidate and close smaller branches. That's according to the National Pharmacy Association, which has published a study showing that over the last two years, nearly nine in ten council areas in England have lost pharmacies. It found that rural areas often rely on fewer providers, so are harder hit by closures.</p><p>A new report has revealed that part of the seabed off Devon which had been trashed by years of trawling and dredging is being revitalised. Research by the University of Plymouth shows that within just 10 years the former shellfish reef has been transformed.</p><p>Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.</p>

• 06/09/24 - Bluetongue, temperate rainforests and Scottish veg

  <p>The government has agreed to the use of 3 vaccines within the UK - subject to licence - to try and stop the spread of bluetongue. It follows of confirmation of the infection on a new premises in Yorkshire. Bluetongue is a virus carried by biting midges blown into the UK from northern Europe - it’s currently widespread in the Netherlands. It is unpleasant for animals that contract it and can result in death. We get the latest from the UK's Chief Vet.</p><p>We visit a temperate rainforest in West Wales, where the trees are thick with ferns, lichens and mosses. The expansion of the forest is being funded by an insurance company - so what part should corporate money play in the future of conservation?</p><p>And if you were looking for a perfect place to grow fruit and veg, the West Highlands of Scotland might not be the first place that springs to mind. But we meet a group of food producers in the Lochaber area, who work together to sell their produce online, and say they’re showing that it is possible to grow an impressive variety of fruit and vegetables in the area, despite poor soil, hilly terrain and a wet and windy climate. Their secret? Composting!</p><p>Presented by Caz Graham Produced by Heather Simons</p>

• 05/09/24 Claims of nature friendly farming budget cuts, commercialising rewilding, hedge cutting

  <p>The Government plans to cut the budget for nature friendly farming in England by £100m, according to a report in the Guardian. It claims that civil service sources say the cut is needed to help fill a £22 billion treasury shortfall. The reduced spending could affect the new Sustainable Farming Incentive which replaces the old EU system, paying farmers for environmental benefits produced on their land. Nature and farming groups have reacted with consternation. We ask how significant would a cut of £100m be.</p><p>All this week we are looking at how land use is changing, as public and private investment is brought in to fund environmental schemes.  With increasing green finance opportunities, more and more companies are stepping in to broker deals between farmers and investors. Natergall's business model is to deliver ecological restoration on its own land and that of others, and to commercialise the results.</p><p>It's that time of the year when tractors are out along countryside roads, cutting back the hedges. Hedge specialists are calling for farmers to cut their hedges less frequently to benefit wildlife.</p><p>Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.</p>

• 04/09/24 - NI water quality, farmer clusters and potato machinery

  <p>Less than a third of Northern Ireland's surface waterways are in good ecological condition, and targets to improve them by 2027 are likely to be missed. That's the conclusion of a damning report by the Office for Environmental Protection, which criticises lack of leadership at the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland. The report says that despite a draft plan to manage waterways being drawn up back in 2021, it still hasn't been finalised, let alone implemented. </p><p>We visit one of the farms that's joined the Environmental Farmers Group, which was set up back in 2022 to bring large groups of farmers together in co-operatives, to bid for public and private finance to fund environmental projects across large areas. Nearly six hundred farmers across England have joined so far.</p><p>And the future of the potato industry in the UK faces many challenges. The crop is expensive to grow, especially as the weather becomes more volatile. It also needs clean land, so a gap of about six years is needed between crops, to avoid the spread of disease. We hear about the latest technological solutions to some of these issues as they go on show at an event in Lincolnshire. Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons</p>

• 03/09/24 - Pharmacy deserts, Biodiversity Net Gain and freeze-dried strawberries

  <p>Rural areas across England are in danger of becoming 'pharmacy deserts', as medicine providers across the country continue to consolidate and close smaller branches. That's according to the National Pharmacy Association, which has published a study showing that over the last two years, nearly nine in ten council areas in England have lost pharmacies. It found that rural areas often rely on fewer providers, so are harder hit by closures.</p><p>We visit a farm in Essex which has signed up to a 32 year Biodiversity Net Gain agreement. Under BNG rules, the environmental impact caused by new developments has to be offset by creating equivalent nature enhancements, either around the site, or elsewhere. A one hectare plot at Spain’s Hall Estate will now be taken out of food production and managed for nature to compensate for the construction of a new battery storage facility elsewhere in the district, with the work funded by the electricity company.</p><p>And the waste campaign group WRAP estimates that 9% of the UK strawberry crop is thrown out every year. We visit a farm in Hampshire where they've invested £2million pounds in a freeze-drying facility to turn strawberries that don't meet supermarket grades into a snack product.</p><p>Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons</p>

• 02/09/24 Super resistant potatoes, mussel farming, green finance

  <p>Scientists have made a major breakthrough which could save the Scottish potato industry from collapse.  They've identified varieties which are both palatable to consumers and resistant to a pest which is spreading across the country. </p><p>A new report has revealed that part of the seabed off Devon which had been trashed by years of trawling and dredging is being revitalised. Research by the University of Plymouth shows that within just 10 years the former shellfish reef has been transformed.</p><p>All this week on Farming Today we're looking at 'green finance', getting money to pay for things which improve nature or reduce harmful emissions. Today we hear from Dr Ben Caldecott, director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, who says the challenge is to work out which schemes offer value for money.</p><p>Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.</p>

• 31/08/2024: TB controls; flood relief for farmers; harvest; cattle numbers; saskatoons

  <p>The government unveils its new approach to controlling TB in cattle which includes ending badger culls in the future.</p><p>Thousands of farmers who were promised financial help after the devastating floods of last winter have still not been paid.</p><p>This year’s harvest has been anything but straightforward, not just wet weather but high fertiliser costs and infection from fungus have all caused difficulties. Which means many arable farmers are facing poorer yields than normal and so less financial reward.</p><p>The number of cattle being raised for beef across the UK is falling, so could it mean a good future for artificial protein sources?</p><p>And it looks like a blueberry but isn't, it's a saskatoon, a new fruit grown in Scotland.</p><p>Presented by Charlotte Smith</p><p>Produced by Alun Beach</p>

• 30/08/2024 Bluetongue outbreaks, tea harvest, oilseed rape oil, Food and Farming Award finalists

  <p>Four cases of bluetongue have now been confirmed in sheep on farms in Norfolk and Suffolk. The virus, which is spread by biting midges blown into the UK from northern Europe, is currently widespread in the Netherlands with further cases in Germany and Belgium. As well as sheep, it affects cattle, goats, deer and camelids but not humans, nor does it pose any risk to the food chain. </p><p>Harvest is in full swing for many farmers and we’ve been seeing how it’s going all week. In Cornwall on the Tregothnan Estate they're harvesting tea with a solar-powered robotic tea picker.</p><p>Oilseed rape can be high risk: pests like cabbage stem flea beetle can wipe out a crop, and some pesticides which growers once relied on are now banned. We hear from a farmer in the Cotswolds who, in spite of the challenges, has created a booming business selling cold pressed rapeseed oil as a British alternative to imported oils. </p><p>We announce our Farming Today finalists in the 2024 BBC Food &amp; Farming Awards.</p><p>Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.</p>

• 23/08/2024: Brian May and his bTB film; Seaweed and shellfish business

  <p>An interview with the global rock star and animal welfare campaigner Sir Brian May who is presenting a programme on BBC 2 about Bovine TB and badgers: ‘Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me’.</p><p>Car y Mor is a community owned seaweed and shellfish business, which is providing year round work in an area where most jobs are seasonal.</p><p>Presented by Caz Graham</p><p>Produced by Alun Beach</p>

• 29/08/2024: Nature in Scotland; a saskatoon berry; pea harvest

  <p>Ministers in the Holyrood Parliament are being urged to introduce legislation which sets legally binding targets to protect and restore Scotland's nature. </p><p>A new variety of fruit the saskatoon, a small purple-blue coloured berry that is native to Canada, has been hailed as a super-berry. It is high in antioxidants, fibre and Vitamin C as well as low in sugar, and now is grown in Scotland. </p><p>Growers have just two and a half hours to get their peas from the field to the freezer to stop them from losing quality, so the frozen peas in the shops have been bagged at peak freshness. </p><p>Presented by Caz Graham</p><p>Produced by Alun Beach</p>