Farming Today
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Farming Today
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
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158 episodes
20/01/26 Water sector reforms and farming, forage shortage, glyphosate
The government is promising a complete overhaul of the water system, which it says will protect households from disrupted water supplies and bring in...
19/01/26 Mercosur trade deal between Europe and South America, winter feed.
After 25 years of negotiations, the European Union has signed the Mercosur trade deal. Farmers across Europe have been out on the streets protesting a...
Environmental Regulation, Cheese, Storm Goretti
This week two watchdogs published reports on the Government's performance on the environment. The Office for Environmental Protection warned that, unl...
16/01/2026 Cambridge University vet school, artisan cheese, barrister farmer
Students and staff are campaigning against recommendations to end vet training at the University of Cambridge. The recommendation comes from the Scho...
Spending watchdog on environmental regulation, NI agri environment, cheddar in Somerset
The National Audit Office, the public spending watchdog, has published a report looking at efficiency and effectiveness in England's environmental reg...
12/01/26 New approach to upland farming, vintage Land Rovers, cheese
A new approach to working with England's upland communities has been announced by the Government, starting with Dartmoor and then Cumbria.
Clubs...
14/01/26 Sustainable Farming Scheme in Wales, cheese exports, Lamma machinery show.
The Welsh government has implemented its Sustainable Farming Scheme or SFS. There are three levels for farmers to join: first, Universal Actions which...
13/01/26 Environmental targets, Scottish agricultural policy, goat's cheese.
Wildlife and environment groups say this government could become the first to break the law by missing targets to restore nature. The Office for Envir...
Farming Today This Week 10/01/26: The Oxford farming conferences
Thousands of people have descended on Oxford this week for two farming conferences. We report from The Oxford Farming Conference, where the Defra Secr...
09/01/26 Politics, protests and Charlotte Church at the Oxford Farming Conferences
The Defra Secretary of State spoke at the Oxford Farming Conference with new announcements for England's environmental farm payments, while protesting...
The opening of Oxford Farming Conference 2026
At the opening of the Oxford Farming Conference 2026, Charlotte Smith previews the government's latest announcement on England's largest environmental...
07/01/26 Cereals, solar farms, farmer wellbeing.
Uncertainty about whether a farm will break even, let alone make a profit, is concerning arable farmers, according to Dame Minette Batter's recent rep...
06/01/26 Welsh Sustainable Farming Scheme, row over Scottish agri-environment policy, climate resilience.
The Welsh Government's Sustainable Farming Scheme has come into force. It replaces the Basic Payment Scheme which has been phased out since the UK lef...
05/01/26 Growing resilience and transforming our farming system, raw milk vending
Growing resilience and transforming our food and farming system, the two themes of the two farming conferences happening in Oxford this week. We will...
03/01/26 Farming Today This Week: Farms for City Children at 50, horse-powered pints, mart tradition, 18th century farmer diary
A round up of seasonal offerings from Farming Today.
The charity Farms for City Children turns 50 this year. Set up by writer Michael Morpurgo a...
02/01/26 Wildlife or Pest? The Wild Goats of Langholm Moor
Controlling wild goats is proving tricky in Scotland's border country. While herds can damage trees and outgrow their food supply, these fierce yet en...
01/01/26 Isaac Fletcher's Farming Diaries
Historians in Cumbria are publishing extracts from the diary of an 18th century yeoman farmer.
The writings of Isaac Fletcher, who farmed at Mo...
31/12/25 Cider Apple DNA
Sarah Swadling finds out about a quest to save our hidden cider orchard heritage using DNA testing.
Work is being carried out in orchards to DNA...
30/12/25 The Luck Penny
Farmers at Rathfriland market in County Down still practise an old tradition when livestock changes hands. Farmers selling their animals hand money ba...
The Longhorns of Salisbury Plain
Elise Sutton is a new entrant to farming, but the herd of Longhorn cattle she looks after have a blood line that goes back 85 years. The Stoke herd, w...
27/12/26: Anna Hill's 30 years on Farming Today
This year, Anna Hill marked her 30th anniversary as a presenter of Farming Today. Talking to her fellow presenter Charlotte Smith, Anna reflects on t...
Horse-powered Pint
Britain’s pubs and bars will be busy with Boxing Day drinkers enjoying a seasonal pint or two today. But how many will give a thought to the way the b...
25/12/25 Farms for City Children - 50 years of Michael & Clare Morpurgo's charity.
Farms for City Children was set up by the writer Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare 50 years ago. They were both young teachers and wanted to help ch...
24/12/25 The Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses
With a military pipe band and trumpet fanfares, Caz Graham joins pensioners at the Royal Hospital Chelsea for their Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses,...
Trail hunting ban, Christmas trees, Combating rural loneliness at Christmas
We hear from both sides of the hunting divide about the Government's plan to ban trail hunting in England and Wales. Trail hunting was introduced afte...
22/12/25 Government animal welfare reforms, reaction to the Farm Profitability Review
Colony cages for hens and pig's farrowing crates are to be phased out as part of the Government's animal welfare strategy which is launched today. Tra...
20/12/25 Farming review, cheap veg, historic buildings
The Batters Review into Farm Profitability in England was finally published this week. It was put together by Baroness Batters, former president of th...
19/12/25 Farm profitability review, charcuterie, mill stones
The major changes needed to make farming profitable - we hear from Baroness Batters on her long awaited review.
Charcuterie is often a favourite...
18/12/25 Loss leaders, small ducks, historic houses
We ask why veg is always a loss leader at this time of year, and whether farmers suffer as a result. For the price of a first class stamp you could bu...
17/12/2025 Planning reforms and the environment, rural churches.
Village churches are as much a part of our rural landscape as trees and hedgerows. However according to a recent survey by the National Churches Trust...
16/12/2025 MPs challenge prime minister about inheritance tax, planning and green belt, restoring rural buildings
The Prime Minister has told a select committee he is aware of the pressure farmers are facing because of the government's plan to reimpose inheritance...
EU tractor protest, hill farm nature reserve, heritage buildings in the countryside
Caz Graham talks to the President of the Irish Farmers Association, Francie Gorman, about the journey he's embarking upon from Dublin to Brussels by t...
13/12/25 Farming Today This Week: turkeys; rural roads; off-grid communities; African swine fever; rare breed pigs.
Despite the impact of avian flu, which has been devastating for some turkey farmers, the industry says there will not be a shortage this Christmas. Po...
12/12/25 Abattoirs, Farm sitters, Welsh rare breeds
The Food Standards Agency has agreed to a public consultation on the fees it takes from abattoirs. They are charged by the FSA for their official vets...
11/12/25 Colorado Beetle, fairness in arable supply chain, aid for US farmers, rare breed pigs
The Colorado Beetle which is a major threat to potato crops has been officially eradicated from the UK. It was last identified on a farm in Kent in 2...
10/12/25 Swine fever, Turkeys, Rare breeds
The Spanish region of Catalonia is still coping with the arrival of African Swine Fever, which was first diagnosed in wild boar on November 28th. Ther...
09/12/25 Off grid communities, rural road deaths, drought, Lincoln Longwool sheep.
Thousands of people are still not connected to the National Grid and rely on generators for power, according to the energy regulator. Ofgem estimates...
08/12/25 Rare breeds, sprout harvest, vets encouraging farmers to visit the doctor
The Governments of the UK need to do more to support native farm animal breeds. That's the view of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust which says that whi...
06/12/25 Farming Today This Week: rural traditions supply chain adjudicator, drought, bluetongue, swine fever, winter jobs
Rural traditions, from morris dancing to dry stone walling and tartan weaving, could be internationally protected by UNESCO. The government has launch...
05/12/25 Rural traditions, Adjudicator, Livestock
Rural traditions - from morris dancing, to dry stone walling to tartan weaving - could be internationally protected by UNESCO. The government has laun...