Avsnitt
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The Scottish Government is due to make a statement this week about whether Galloway is to get a new National Park - or not. Galloway, in the south west of Scotland, was chosen from five potential locations and the first round of consultation on the plan was completed earlier this year, with its report now being considered by Scottish ministers. We hear from those in favour and against.
Farmers who supply wheat to Britain’s biggest bioethanol plant have been told it may have to close unless the government intervenes. Bioethanol is added to the E5 and E10 petrol you see at the pumps to reduce its carbon emissions - it's made by fermenting wheat to make alcohol, with the leftovers being used for animal feed. Vivergo Fuels says it will be impossible to compete with subsidised American ethanol, after the recent trade agreement with the US promised to scrap tariffs on imports.
And as tractors get bigger and faster, how safe are they on our roads?
Presented by Caz GrahamProduced by Heather Simons
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All week we're looking at National Parks, last week the Supreme Court ruled that wild camping on Dartmoor is legal. Some areas, however, are dealing with anti-social behaviour and 'fly camping'. We talk to Kevin Bishop CEO of Dartmoor National Park who also sits on National Parks England about the challenges.
The prolonged dry spell has had affected the growth of crops and water levels in rivers and reservoirs, but what about wildlife? We ask the British Trust for Ornithology what impact it's likely to have on wading birds and also discuss their new report which examined the impact of bird flu on wild birds like swans and barnacle geese.
Plastic pollution is contaminating insects at the base of food chains, raising fresh concerns about the long-term impacts on wildlife, according to a new study by the University of Sussex. Researchers have discovered fragments of plastic in a wide range of invertebrates, which are prey for small mammals like hedgehogs. Polyester fibres, commonly shed from clothing, were the most frequently detected type of plastic and scientists think it comes from treated sewage sludge used to fertilise fields. Presenter: Caz GrahamProducer: Rebecca Rooney
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Five years on from Brexit, the Prime Minister has re-set the UK's trade relationship with the EU, with a new, wide-ranging deal. In this programme Caz Graham looks at what it could mean for food, farming and fishing.
The UK and EU will now move towards an agreement which would reduce the paperwork and border checks involved in exporting foods like fish, meat and dairy, and fresh produce like plants and flowers. It also means the export of some products to the EU which has been banned since Brexit - like many farmed mussels and oysters, as well as sausages, burgers and seed potatoes - could now resume.
While many exporters have welcomed the deal, it's also lead to uncertainty over the future of Border Control Posts - facilities set up since Brexit to handle similar checks on imports. A senior civil servant confirmed this week that some such facilities could be decommissioned, and the industry want compensation.
Meanwhile, another part of the deal is focussed on fishing, and allows EU boats access to fish in UK waters until 2038. The Scottish Fishermen's Federation has called the deal "a horror show" - but the DEFRA Secretary told MPs this week that it's "reasonably good" for UK fishing.
Presented by Caz GrahamProduced by Heather Simons
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Veterinary medicine is not part of the agri-trade agreement sketched out between the EU and the UK earlier this week. It's left vets increasingly concerned that some veterinary medicines won’t be available in Northern Ireland after the end of this year when a ‘grace period’ under the Windsor Framework allowing medication from Great Britain to cross the Irish sea and be sold there runs out.
The warming of coastal waters means a change in the species that can thrive in them. Fishermen in the South West of England are reporting an invasion of octopuses turning up in lobster and crab pots. It's good news for some fishermen who are catching and selling the octopuses, but disastrous for others.
And getting bovine TB on a farm can be a huge financial blow and the emotional impact on farmers can be devastating. We visit one dairy farmer in Pembrokeshire who's been working with the Welsh Government to improve their policies on dealing with the disease, and the emotional impact it can have.
Presented by Caz GrahamProduced by Heather Simons
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Border post facilities set up since Brexit to handle import checks could now be scaled down or even dismantled. The UK's new deal with the EU promises progress towards an agreement to reduce the paperwork and border checks involved in trading foods like meat and dairy. It also includes a deal on fishing which would allow EU boats to fish in British waters for a further 12 years. The Scottish Fishermen's Federation has called it "a horror show", but the DEFRA Secretary, Steve Reed, says it's a "reasonably good deal" for UK fishing.
In its manifesto the Labour party promised to end what it described as “the ineffective badger cull". The Government now says it's working on a revised TB eradication strategy, which includes increased badger vaccination and a national wildlife surveillance programme to better understand the disease. So how much difference could that make?
And a new set of targets to tackle climate change have been recommended to Scottish Government ministers, replacing those scrapped last year. A report from the Climate Change Committee suggests effectively delaying short term progress by six years, but keeping Scotland on track to meet its long-term goal of net zero emissions by 2045.
Presented by Anna HillProduced by Heather Simons
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The Prime Minister has re-set the trade relationship between the UK and the EU, with a new, and extremely wide-ranging deal. In this programme Anna Hill digs into the impact of changes around fishing and a new agreement around Sanitary and Phytosanitary rules that govern safety and hygiene.
Bovine TB costs the tax payer at least a hundred million pounds a year - in compensation for culled cattle, and measures to control the spread. But it also costs farmers - financially as well as emotionally. We visit one farmer in South Gloucestershire how has just been declared TB-free.
Presented by Anna HillProduced by Heather Simons
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Sir Keir Starmer welcomes EU leaders to London today for a summit to improve cooperation and "re-set" relations in a post Brexit world. Fishing quotas are being talked about as a possible deal breaker. Leaving the EU has had a huge impact on some UK fishing businesses which is why industry leaders are adamant their interests shouldn’t be bartered away as part of a deal. We hear from Cornish fishermen who say the summit comes too late for their businesses.
All week we're talking about bovine TB. Each year more than 40,000 cattle are slaughtered across the UK as part of an effort to eradicate the disease, and the wider bovine TB eradication programmes cost UK taxpayers around £150 million per year, with more costs falling to the cattle industry. The different parts of the UK are taking different approaches to tackling the disease. In England, there has been a decade-long programme of enhanced cattle testing, increased biosecurity and culling badgers - which can also catch and pass on bovine TB. Now, after promising to "end the ineffective badger cull" in their manifesto, the Government says it's "working at pace" on a revised TB eradication strategy for England. We speak to Professor James Wood, a veterinary epidemiologist and government advisor about the overall rates of the disease in cattle and whether they're coming down because of the badger cull.
Presenter = Caz GrahamProducer = Rebecca Rooney
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The first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the UK is Brooke Rollins, his Agriculture Secretary. Secretary Rollins told journalists the 'historic' trade deal would create billions of dollars in opportunity for U.S. export markets and more choice for British consumers. She also described their notorious 'chlorinated chicken' as a myth. Is it? We look for some clarity.
MPs have written to the Government calling for a year’s delay to the inheritance tax changes on farms.
It’s agricultural show season. This week we visit the Balmoral Show in Northern Ireland.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
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A special programme from The Balmoral Show outside Lisburn in Northern Ireland.
Helen Mark meets farmers showing rare breed pigs, as well as talking politics.
Earlier this month, a consultation was launched by Northern Ireland's Farming Minister on a new Nutrients Action Programme or NAP - rules for farmers to help reduce water pollution. It includes a limit on the amount of excess phosphorus produced by intensively stocked livestock farms. The Ulster Farmers Union says it's the wrong approach, but DAERA says it's needed to reduce the impact of excess nutrients on waterbodies like Lough Neagh.
Presented by Helen MarkProduced by Heather Simons
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So-called ‘chlorinated chicken’ has been a major sticking point in US-UK trade talks, one of the red lines British farmers say the Government cannot cross. But US Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, says we’ve got the wrong end of the stick about how their chicken is produced nowadays. So is chlorine washed chicken merely a “myth to dispel”? We look for some clarity.
It’s been obligatory to keep all poultry and captive birds indoors in some parts of England under the Government’s mandatory housing restriction order to help prevent the spread of bird flu. That order has been lifted this morning because the risk of avian flu has reduced.
As part of our week looking at grass, today we visit a turf farm. There’s a big market for turf from gardeners, golf courses and for sports pitches and parks, and it’s not just for the pristine tightly-mown grass, you can even buy specialist turfs for green roofs, and species-rich and wild-flower turfs too.
The Government’s Farming in Protected Landscapes programme has funded river re-wiggling, school visits to farms and even the creation of Lake District tweed since it began in 2021, and now it’s making life easier for rock climbers with disabilities in the Peak District.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
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The US Agriculture Secretary has been in the UK to discuss trade deals with importers and exporters. Brooke Rollins said the 'historic' trade deal announced by Donald Trump and Keir Starmer would create billions of dollars in opportunity for U.S. export markets and more choice for British consumers. She also said she would like to see the UK and US more aligned on food standards regulations. We speak to the NFU for their response.
All week we're taking a closer look at grassland - vital to livestock farmers for their animal feed. Improving the soil under the pasture is key and helps the farm become more sustainable by sequestering more carbon. We visit a farm in Herefordshire which has been improving soil health and bio-diversity with a system of rotational grazing.
Presenter = Anna HillProducer = Rebecca Rooney
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DEFRA says an "error was made" when closing the Sustainable Farming Incentive to new applications earlier this year, and people who had applications in progress when it was shut, could now be allowed to submit them. The Sustainable Farming Incentive - or SFI - is part of the new system of farm payments in England, replacing the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. It pays people to do things like grow cover crops, plant flowers for pollinators, and manage hedgerows on their land. But in March this year, the Government announced, with no warning, that the SFI would be closed to new applications.
We visit one farmer who could be affected by the change: dairy farmer, Sarah Godwin, had planned plant a mixture of grasses, enriched with legumes and other species - called a herbal ley - paid for by the SFI...but the scheme was abruptly closed in March before her application was complete. She says the farm had spent more than a thousand pounds on agents' fees to help with the forms.
And testing top soils is often done to measure nutrients and organic matter - but recording what lies at a much lower depth could be key to enhancing soil health, and help achieve agriculture's net zero targets. We visit CAFRE, Northern Ireland's College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise, where a major, deep soil carbon-coring project has been underway.
Presented by Anna HillProduced by Heather Simons
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The tree disease ash dieback has been less devastating than initially feared. 2500 trees that show signs of resistance to ash dieback have been planted at a tree archive site in Scotland. It's part of ongoing Government research that suggests there are more tolerant trees than at first expected, and those left in the wild are regenerating naturally.
We visit a vineyard in Norfolk at a crucial time of year for viticulture. As the vines come into flower, growers are hoping for no late frosts, which could damage their prospects for a good crop of grapes.
And spring is usually a time of rapid grass growth, but this year's dry weather has left some farmers with less of it than they’d like. For livestock farmers grass is a critically important crop, providing fresh feed in the fields through spring and summer and a relatively low-cost source of fodder for the winter.
Presented by Caz GrahamProduced by Heather Simons
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Farmers have welcomed a new UK trade deal with India, with tariff reductions for whisky, salmon and lamb. And the UK Prime Minister and the US President announced a trade arrangement between the two countries, with UK tariffs removed on imports of American ethanol, and a reciprocal agreement on beef. But the UK ban on American chlorine washed chicken and hormone treated beef continues.
To mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we hear from one of the 'land girls', who ploughed crops, milked cows and drove tractors on British farms during WII.
And as part of our week digging into spuds, we hear how Scottish seed potato growers are trying to resume trade with the EU.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
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The UK and the US have announced a trade deal between the two countries. President Trump hailed it as an agreement which will 'dramatically increase' access to UK markets for American farmers involving he said billions of dollars and singling out ethanol - where the UK tariff on American imports will be removed, and beef, where a reciprocal agreement has been made. The UK ban on American chlorine washed chicken and hormone treated beef continues. The UK government says it opens up a new market for British farmers while keeping up welfare and environmental standards on imports.
Presenter = Charlotte SmithProducer = Rebecca Rooney
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A former Government trade advisor says the new trade deal with India could be good news for UK farmers. The deal comes after three years of negotiations and includes reduced tariffs on exports of products including whisky, lamb and salmon.
Many potatoes end up getting wasted because of bruising and discoloration. We hear from a potato producing company in Lincolnshire where they're hoping gene editing can produce a bruise-resistant spud.
And a select committee of MPs is urging the Government to do more to encourage private investment in schemes which restore nature. A report from the Environmental Audit Select Committee says new regulations should be introduced to enable landowners to realise their natural capital while protecting the farmers' ability to grow food.
Presented by Anna HillProduced by Heather Simons
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Scottish farmers are being warned to prepare for a possible summer drought. SEPA, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued a water scarcity alert as 17 river catchments are so low. In England the Environment Agency says two thirds of rivers are below normal or lower for the time of year.
This week we're digging into the world of potato production - none of which would be possible, of course, without healthy, disease-free seed to get the crop started. Growing seed potatoes is a high-value, tightly regulated, specialist sector, and in the UK it's largely concentrated in Scotland where the disease risks are lower thanks to a cooler climate. Europe was a key market for Scottish seed, but Brexit changed all that. The EU's plant protection rules mean the trade is no longer allowed. However growers haven't given up on resuming exports and efforts continue.
The asparagus season is underway, traditionally, the spears of this tender crop are only picked from 23rd April, St George’s Day, to 21st June, the longest day of the year. It’s crucial for growers to have their best produce ready at the right time. Not only that, getting it to market and making sure it’s quality is perfect can pay real dividends when supplying top end restaurants and catering. We join one grower who welcomed the whole supply chain to his farm to see how the asparagus they buy from him, is grown.
Presenter = Charlotte SmithProducer = Rebecca Rooney
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A challenge to Britain's ban on commercial fishing for sandeels in the North Sea has been partially upheld. The ban was introduced by both the English and Scottish governments in March last year because of concerns that so many sandeels were being fished that seabirds along the UK's East coastline were losing out. But Danish commercial sandeel boats said it threatened their future, and that claimed the move was discriminatory and disproportionate. They then took the case to the EU's Permanent Court of Arbitration, which upheld the ban in Scottish waters, but not the English one.
The British Veterinary Association and the Pig Veterinary Society have issued a new joint statement calling for farrowing crates to be banned. Farrowing crates are the small pens that 60% of sows in the UK are kept in around the time they give birth to ensure they don't roll on and crush their piglets.
New research published this week suggests that a spray, which boosts the equivalent of a plant's blood sugar, could improve wheat yields by 12%.
Conservation groups in Scotland are urging ministers to reject plans for an offshore windfarm which the developer predicts will kill tens of thousands of seabirds.
We grow some pulses in the UK and most go into animal feed for the high protein, things like beans and peas and even lupins. There is a drive to grow more pulses for feed here in the UK to replace imported soya, and research into the best options for British farmers is underway.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
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Gene-editing technology which makes pigs immune to a highly infectious virus, developed at Edinburgh University’s Roslin Institute, has been approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration. The virus causes a disease called PRRS or Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, which causes premature births in pigs as well as other painful symptoms and costs the pig industry billions. Current legislation doesn't permit its use in the UK. We speak to one of the scientists who's been working on the project for more than seven years.
All week we’ve been taking a closer look at pulses, the dried seeds of crops like beans, lentils and peas, for both human and animal food. In the UK the peas we eat are generally frozen or fresh but dried peas are a major source of protein to millions of people around the world. Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have been working with researchers in China, the USA and France to uncover the genome of 700 different varieties of pea, from many different countries, to help develop better commercial varieties.
The sudden suspension of England's biggest environmental scheme, the Sustainable Farming Incentive, earlier this year was met with horror and disbelief by farmers and environmentalists alike - we preview a special documentary which charts the transition of agricultural policy from the old EU farm subsidy system and the Common Agricultural Policy to the new 'public money for public goods' approach that we have in England today.
Presenter = Caz GrahamProducer = Rebecca Rooney
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The British Veterinary Association and the Pig Veterinary Society have issued a new joint statement calling for farrowing crates to be banned. They say they should be phased out over the next 15 years to give the industry a chance to adapt. Farrowing crates are the small pens that 60% of sows in the UK are kept in around the time they give birth, to ensure the safety of their piglets. Animal welfare campaigners have been saying they should be banned for years, but farmers have concerns that replacing them with alternative systems will not only endanger the lives of piglets but also be costly and will put them at a disadvantage to farmers in other countries where the crates aren’t banned.
Conservation groups are urging ministers in Scotland to reject plans for an offshore windfarm which the developer predicts will kill tens of thousands of seabirds. Five charities, led by RSPB Scotland, have written to the first minister to argue that approving Berwick Bank in the Firth of Forth would undermine efforts to protect nature. SSE says it has already amended its designs to minimise any potential risks to Scottish seabirds.
All week we've been discussing pulses, the dried seeds from plants like beans, lentils and peas all this week. Most of the pulses we buy in the shops are grown overseas. They’re a valuable source of protein and there’s a growing market for protein rich products in groups including runners, gym-goers as well as vegans So could UK farmers cash in? We visit a company which processes home-grown and imported pulses.
Presenter = Caz GrahamProducer = Rebecca Rooney
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