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BBC Radio 4


The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


Farming Today

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 impacted. Farmers are being urged to seek advice.

And 5 years since the UK left the EU we assess the progress towards new farm payments systems in each part of the UK.

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Heather Simons

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

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 entries are lab analysed and the best four farms in each category get a personal visit from the judge. We visit a prize winner.

All this week we'll be looking at the current state of tenant farming. 14% of farms are rented, and many of those who own their own land also rent some, so about 30% of farmed land in England is tenanted. The Rock Revie, commissioned by the last government, made a number of recommendations to improve things for farmers who rent, from more protection from landlords wanting to take land back, to the appointment of a commissioner, a recommendation accepted by this government. 

The fashion industry has come under scrutiny in recent years for the impact it has on the environment. Here in the UK, some textile producers are now turning to so-called 'slow fashion', which aims to ensure full traceability in textile supply chains.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

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

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, farming 450 hectares of arable and a small beef herd with her father in Dorset.

And under the new system of farm payments in England, farmers can be paid for improving their soils. But how to do it depends on local geology. We visit a farm in the Brecklands on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, where growing crops in the sandy, stony soils can be difficult at the best of times.

Presented by Anna Hill
Produced by Heather Simons

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

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 England is being thrown into uncertainty by the proposed reorganisation of local authorities - according to one Devon councillor. It comes after many rural councils facing financial problems have chosen to sell some, or all, of their farms. 

And scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have discovered a special genetic signal, which allows crops to take up more nutrients from soil, without needing so much chemical fertiliser.

Presented by Anna Hill
Produced by Heather Simons

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

Egg producers want the Government to order all free range chickens inside to protect them from bird flu. The British Free Range Egg Producers Association has told Farming Today that with rising numbers of cases of the virus, it's time to protect the national flock. 

In Scotland, tenant farmers are concerned about inheritance tax because of the way their farm lease system works.

A new report gives a 'critical' warning about the UK's ability to feed us all, given pressures like climate change and global political instability. The report published today by the National Preparedness Commission, an independent body which describes its aim as being to make the country better prepared to withstand major shocks, warns that food supply chains are fragile and the UK 'complacent'. 

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

06/02/25 - Call for countrywide bird flu housing order, inheritance tax uncertainty for Scottish farm tenants, food preparedness

Scottish farming leaders have been told they need to be more effective in calling out sexist, racist and homophobic language. An internal report presented to the NFU Scotland conference says inappropriate comments are going unchallenged. 

We hear about the would-be farmers competing for a tenancy on national TV.

And we speak to The Crown Estate about its new rural strategy. It's one of the country's biggest landlords, with over 300 tenant farmers across over 200,000 acres. As part of the estate's new approach, tenants are being offered 'environmental farm business tenancies' or green leases.

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Heather Simons

07/02/2025

MPs are told that animal products from Germany continued to enter the UK after an import ban was put in place because of the foot and mouth outbreak there.

Egg producers want their chickens ordered inside to protect them from bird flu.

A new report finds farming leaders in Scotland must do more to call out racist, misogynistic and homophobic language from union members.

We visit a prize winner of the Westmorland Agricultural Society's annual hotly contested silage competition. 

And we speak to The Crown Estate about its new rural strategy, offering tenants 'environmental farm business tenancies' or green leases.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

08/02/25 Farming Today This Week: illegal meat imports, call for bird flu housing order, NFUS report on inappropriate language

Should meat be allowed in some animal feed? Measures brought in to control BSE banned feeding animal protein to farmed animals, but the Government says those rules no longer reflect the scientific evidence and is consulting on various proposals to use processed animal protein in feeds.

Gangs of hare coursers have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to farm land and infrastructure after about 25 vehicles swept through fields in Cambridgeshire in a single weekend. We hear from one of the farmers affected.

And as part of a week long feature, we're hearing from rural community champions - the unsung heroes who are making a real difference in their villages and towns. In this episode, we visit the coastal village of Solva in Pembrokeshire where 86-year-old Fran Barker joined a handful of other villagers to set up and run a unique support system looking after the most vulnerable people in the village.

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Heather Simons

10/02/25 - Animal protein in livestock feed, hare coursing and community care

As many as one and half thousand tractors have converged on Westminster as farmers continue their protest over the Government's plan to re-introduce inheritance tax on farm business assets from next year. The Government says imposing the tax on farms worth more than a million pounds is fair, and will raise much needed public funds. But some farmers argue the move could see family farms put out of business.

And as part of a week long feature, we're hearing from rural community champions - the unsung heroes who are making a real difference in their villages and towns. In this episode, we hear from Andy and Lynda Eadon, who started campaigning for better awareness of mental health in agriculture after their son, Leonard, took his own life three years ago. He was 22 and had just finished his agriculture degree. 

Presented by Anna Hill
Produced by Heather Simons

11/02/25 - Inheritance tax protest and farming mental health

Farmers have vowed to continue protesting at the government's decision to implement inheritance tax on their businesses. The rate at which they are taxed is half that of other businesses, 20 percent, but farmers still say many of them will have to sell up, to pay it. We speak to the farm minister Daniel Zeichner who took questions at the Norfolk farming conference. He said the money raised from inheritance tax was necessary to support public funds. He said the government was trying to help farmers become more profitable, and that they must take up new opportunities to secure their businesses.

All this week we’re looking at rural community champions, the people who make a difference to the communities where they live. Today we meet a pair who run a food bank which helps people in rural Essex.

Wild deer are often considered by landowners as something of a pest. They eat new growth and damage young trees and mature woodland. However, scientists at Bangor University studied fallow deer in North Wales and by analysing the DNA in the deer droppings, found the animals were browsing more brambles than young trees.

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

07/02/2025

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