Farming Today

Feb 04 2025 23 ep. 15 mins 21.8k

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The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

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05/02/25 - Illegal meat imports, council farms and plant nutrients

Feb 04 2025 13 mins

Animal products from Germany were still getting into the UK days after the Government banned imports in response to cases of Foot and Mouth there. That's according to evidence given to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee of MPs as they started a new enquiry into animal and plant diseases. We have the latest from the first session.The future of councils farms in

04/02/25 - UK-EU trade relations, the Rock Review, Breckland soils

Feb 03 2025 13 mins

The Prime Minister has been with EU Leaders in Brussels intending to 're-set' the UK's position with the EU. The Government is seeking a veterinary agreement with the EU to free up trade in food and animal products - something some farmers and food businesses have been calling for.We visit the author of the Rock Review into Tenant Farming - Baroness Kate Rock is herself a tenant, f

03/02/25 - Tenant farmers, silage competition, slow fashion

Feb 02 2025 11 mins

Silage is the preserved chopped grass or other crops that farmers feed to livestock through the winter. The more good-quality silage you can harvest and store yourself, the less money you need to spend on bought in feed. There’s also a real pride in producing a great crop of silage. The Westmorland Agricultural Society runs an annual hotly contested silage competition. The entrie

01/02/25 - Land Use Framework, inheritance tax, avian flu

Jan 31 2025 24 mins

There are a lot of different things we want land to deliver - growing food, producing green energy, supporting wildlife and supplying space for new homes. The Government has released a new Land Use Framework to help decide what should go where. A new analysis of the planned inheritance tax on farm businesses suggests over 75% of commercial farms in England and Scotland could be imp

29/01/25 - Avian flu in people, housing orders for birds and English farm payments

Jan 28 2025 14 mins

After the the UK Health Security Agency confirmed a case of avian flu in a person, what does it mean for farmworkers on poultry units?As avian flu outbreaks in farmed poultry continue, we visit a free range egg farm that's under housing orders, with the chickens shut indoors. New rules mean eggs from previously free range birds that now have to be kept inside can still be sold as "

28/01/25 - Storm clear-up, agricultural valuers and Welsh farm policy update

Jan 27 2025 14 mins

A patch of commercial forest has been left "flattened" by Storm Eowyn and looking like "a bunch of giants have gone in there and played rugby" according to one farm manager in Scotland. We catch up on how the clear up is going.Since the Budget in October, farmers have been coming to terms with the introduction of inheritance tax on their businesses. Many are now trying to work out

27/01/25 - Crops in a new climate, International Barley Hub and agricultural transition

Jan 26 2025 12 mins

As the climate warms, UK farmers may be able to start growing new crops - from oranges to okra. That's according to a new study from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the University of East Anglia which looks at the future suitability of more than 160 existing and new food crops in a warming climate.We visit the new International Barley Hub in Dundee, where scientists are

25/01/25 - Farming Today This Week: Inheritance tax, sheep scanning, neonics and US undocumented farmworkers

Jan 24 2025 24 mins

This week, the Government has refused emergency use of pesticides shown to harm pollinators for the first time.What’s the future for US agriculture if farm workers with no documents are deported?And will the collective voice of the supermarkets make a difference on inheritance tax for farmers?Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

24/01/25 - Inheritance tax, sheep scanning, neonics and stolen Ukrainian grain

Jan 23 2025 14 mins

The dispute over the proposed inheritance tax on farms continues, with the UK's farming unions planning what they call a "Day of Unity" to demonstrate their opposition to the plans. Meanwhile, the supermarkets have added their voice to the argument, with many big players asking the Government to reconsider the tax. DEFRA Secretary, Steve Reed, argues "stable finances are the founda

23/01/25 Climate change impact on Scottish marine life, muck spreading and the rules around it.

Jan 22 2025 13 mins

Climate change is altering the number, variety and distribution of plants and animals around the coast of Scotland according to a new report from NatureScot. It’s good news for some sea-snails and barnacles, but not so good for blue mussels and the wildlife that feeds on them. Scientists have been surveying changes in 50 species at 167 locations around the Scottish coast to asses