Farming Today

How practical would it be to grow our food underground? It’s a question being investigated by researchers at the University of Shefffield who are growing crops more than a kilometre below ground-level in a working mine near Whitby. The Environment Agency has produced its first ever annual report into agriculture and water in England. Taking data from the last five years, it assesses the impact of...

Calls for wider bans on fishing with heavy gear that drags along the seabed to protect dolphins and porpoises. We visit Hugh Lowe Farms in Kent, who have been providing strawberries to Wimbledon for over 25 years. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

How practical would it be to grow our food underground? It’s a question being investigated by researchers at the University of Shefffield who are growing crops more than a kilometre below ground-level in a working mine near Whitby. They’re collaborating with Farm Urban, a company that specialises in vertical farming, but usually going up vertically rather than down; and they reckon this is the wor...

The Environment Agency has produced its first ever annual report into agriculture and water in England. It takes data from the last five years, to assess the impact of agricultural pollution from farms, and how water availability is being managed. Over the last five years there've been 19,018 inspections and 49 serious category one pollution incidents caused by farming. Non-Compliance with water r...

It seems we might have started a particular conversation about the very dry harvest in parts of the country. We spoke to a farmer, whose feed barley was a third drier than it should be. As a result, his crop was going to weigh less which means he'd get less money for it. Now he is considering adding moisture to the grain, after it leaves storage. We ask an arable expert whether that's something we...

Farmers who graze their livestock on what’s called Common Land in England were being excluded from the government’s new farming environmental support schemes - not because they didn't qualify, but because the Rural Payments Agency's computer system wasn’t up to the job of processing their applications. However, campaigners say that the system's being changed and commoners will now be able to apply...

Ten years of the regenerative farming festival Groundswell - we talk to farmers who were at the first event about how it's changed the way the farm. Chris van Tulleken says farmers and doctors want the same thing, for people to want to buy more real, unprocessed food. What will the Government's new 25 year Farming Roadmap mean for farmers? We ask the Secretary of State. Presented by Anna Hill and...

Ten years of the regenerative farming festival Groundswell - we talk to farmers who were at the first event about how it's changed the way the farm. Chris van Tulleken says farmers and doctors want the same thing, for people to want to buy more real, unprocessed food. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

We speak to the Environment Secretary about the government's new farming roadmap for England. It's 25 year plan and ministers say it'll give farmers the long-term clarity they need and access to the tools, technology,  skills and supply chains 'to innovate, invest and grow with confidence for generations to come.' We find out what farmers at the regenerative farming event Groundswell think of it,...

A new code of practice for the controlled burning of moorland in Scotland, which was due to be published on 1st July is being delayed, amid protests from gamekeepers that it won't work. Muirburn, as the controlled burning is known, is used by many gamekeepers to manage sensitive moorland to enable habitat for grouse, for shooting on many estates. Gamekeepers say it also reduces the vegetative load...

The organic certification body, the Soil Association, is warning it may withdraw from the farmed salmon sector unless higher standards are met. The organisation says while current standards are being satisfied, that's not driving the improvments in the industry that they want to see. They cite high fish mortality, unacceptable levels of sea lice, and the use of harmful chemical treatments. The ind...

Calls for more government action to protect water supplies for farming. A series of workshops are taking place across Wales this year to collect hyper-local place names, particularly in rural areas. Later this week we'll be at Groundswell, the regenerative agriculture festival now in its 10th year. Regen ag puts an emphasis on soil, so this week here on Farming Today it's all about earth. Presente...

This week farmers have coped with heavy thundery rain and record breaking temperatures. We hear from a pig farmer keeping his stock cool, a livestock auctioneer who's had to cancel sales due to the heat, and a major potato and beetroot grower contemplating an irrigation bill of £3 million this year. But for winemakers the sunshine has come at just the right moment. The Government has invested in s...

Northern Ireland is 'largely' missing the targets in its own Environmental Improvement Plan. A report from the environment watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection, says of 38 targets, just two are likely to be met and that ministers must now move from 'planning and strategies into delivery'. The heatwave isn't a problem for everyone - it's mostly welcome in vineyards. Some had a difficul...

'The most significant moment for English agriculture since the Second World War'; that's the Government's claim for their Farming Roadmap which has just been released. We hear reaction to the long awaited 25 year vision for agriculture. The Climate Change Committee's annual report on the UK's greenhouse gas emissions says while agriculture is moving in the right direction, emissions aren't falling...

Aberdeen is hosting the first global agritourism conference. It's the brainchild of Caroline Millar who runs an agritourism business from her family farm in Scotland. Delegates from around the world have been exploring how producers can make more money by opening up their farms to visitors. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

The Met Office has issued a rare red 'extreme heat’ warning for parts of southern England, the Midlands and southern Wales for tomorrow and Thursday with amber warnings already in place more widely in England and Wales. Some fire services are warning of a increased risk of wildfires as temperatures are set to reach the high 30s. It comes just as the government’s announced a one hundred million pou...

Why more farmers are opening their gates to the public - all week we're looking at agri-tourism. Scientists across the world are investigating ways to reduce the climate change gas methane produced by livestock, using feed supplements made of synthetic chemicals, tannins, fats and even seaweed. Asparagopsis is a red seaweed that reacts with enzymes in the final stages of digestion and stops methan...

The Royal Highland Show hopes to welcome 200,000 visitors across four days. In this programme we report from the show, hearing farmers' views on the Scottish Government's plan for a supermarket price cap on essential food items, speaking to the new Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs and hearing about the hardest job on the showground... ice cream tasting! Meanwhile in the south...

An emergency by-law has been passed in Cornwall, to restrict the number of boats coming in to take advantage of the ongoing bloom of octopus on the south coast. It's been described as a 'gold rush' as huge sums are being made - Brixham fish market recently experienced a record catch of 103 tonnes - worth £400,000. But the octopus are also causing problems - eating crab and lobster and devastating...

Around 200,000 visitors will be visiting The Royal Highland Show this week. Farmers and growers will be showcasing their produce at the Royal Highland Centre on the edge of Edinburgh. There are around 6000 entries, with trophies for everything from cattle, sheep and pigs to horses, honey and gelato. The Scottish Government made some announcements at the show too: they've brought forward plans for...

After Farming Minister Angela Eagle’s reshuffling out of DEFRA, we hear why the farming industry really doesn’t like ministerial churn. We're looking at Scottish agricultural policy all week. There’s a debate around whether land that’s used for grazing, rather than growing other crops, should be targeted to produce more environmental benefits. Precision farming techniques and automation are gettin...

The owner of one of the last remaining abattoirs in the south east of England has said he's furious after a court ruled that the food regulator has been over charging for its hygiene and animal welfare checks. A number of abattoirs have been forced to close recently due to rising financial pressures. Earlier this month, a High Court judge said some of these costs, enforced by the Food Standards Ag...

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) says three rare heathland birds are starting to recover. Its heathland bird survey - the first for 20 years - shows populations and spread of the nightjar, the Dartford warbler and the woodlark are improving. They looked into whether active management within specially protected areas was helping. Beetles can be both welcome and unwelcome visitors to farmland...

The budget for the scheme which pays England's farmers for environmental work is revealed - but is it enough? With production costs rising following the war in the Middle East, the National Farmers' Union is calling for government support with the price of fertiliser. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.