Farming Today
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Farming Today
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
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201 episodes
12/03/2026 Energy price impact on tomatoes, muck spreading, sheep shearing visas
British tomato growers say they may be forced to end their growing season early and import more tomatoes because of the increasing costs of heating. <...
11/03/2026 Inheritance tax for tenant farmers, young farmer training, sewage sludge
It's less than a month before the new inheritance tax comes in for farmers, and the Government's Finance Bill reaching the report stage is a last chan...
10/03/2026 Abattoir charges, EU trade, slurry.
The meat industry say increased charges for Food Standards Agency staff such as abattoir vets and inspectors could threaten some operations. New charg...
09/03/26 Lead shot ban could hamper deer control, fertiliser, new loom for wool mill
The Government's decision to ban lead shot from 2028 will impact the ability to control deer numbers - that's according to the British Association for...
07/03/26 Farming Today This Week: avian influenza vaccine; impact of war in Middle East on fuel and fertiliser; land use.
The first UK trial of a vaccine for avian flu has started. Bird flu costs the government an average of £174 million every year and there have been 95...
06/03/26 Bird flu vaccine cost prohibitive for chickens, data storage in the countryside, AI in farming in Cornwall
British chickens are unlikely to be vaccinated against bird flu because of the cost and concerns about trade. The first UK trial of an avian flu vacci...
05/03/26 Bird flu vaccine, impact of Middle East conflict, water storage.
The government's launching its first field trial of a bird flu vaccine, in turkeys in England. The poultry industry has been calling for an avian flu...
04/03/26 Border checks, solar farms, crops under cover on landfill site
MPs question top civil servants about surveillance at Dover Port and illegal meat. The EFRA Committee said nearly a fifth of consignments directed fro...
03/03/26 British beef in US supermarkets, managing land to prevent flooding, dandelions for rubber
The first shipment of tariff-free UK beef has arrived on shop shelves in the United States. It's part of the UK-US trade deal which allows a reciproca...
02/03/26: Officially enough rain, Mrs Wilmot's Pippin, land use pressure
After a marathon run of torrential rain, floods, and grey skies to start 2026 , the drought warnings from last Autumn seem a world away. Back in Octob...
27/02/26: Mackerel's off, Cromer Crab, Avian Flu update, Cambridge Vet School decision
Mackerel will soon be disappearing from the shelves of Waitrose as the supermarket says it's 'taking a stand against overfishing'. In September last...
26/02/26 The Farming Minister and reaction to the updated environmental farm payment scheme in England; illegal waste dumping
The farming minister says changes announced this week will help make farms more resilient. Angela Eagle speaks to us about the government's biggest en...
25/02/26 National Farmers' Union Conference 2026
The Environment Secretary has revealed more details of the rebooted Sustainable Farming Incentive in England, at the National Farmers Union Conference...
24/02/26 Farming in Ukraine, Wetlands creation
It's four years today since Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine. It's obviously been devastating for the population; and while front line fighters...
England deer management plan, putting venison on more plates, Northern Ireland farm safety
The government's announced a new 10 year plan for controlling deer numbers in England. It estimates that a third of woodlands are damaged by deer and...
21/02/2026 Farming Today This Week: farm vets, sheep shearer visas, 25 years since Foot and Mouth
This week marks the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Foot and Mouth outbreak, which caused devastation to thousands of farms across the country. Around 6....
The 2001 Foot and Mouth Outbreak 25 years on.
Charlotte Smith is in Devon to reflect on the impact of the 2001 Foot and Mouth crisis 25 years on. Highly contagious foot and mouth disease was confi...
19/02/26 Wet weather, Community vets practice
The Environment Agency and Met Office are warning of more rain and unsettled weather continuing into March at least. And that’s going to delay essent...
Record month for illegal meat, independent vet practices, sheep shearers visas
Thirty four tonnes of illegal meat and animal products were intercepted over the course of January, at Dover docks. The Port Health Authority says it'...
Dog attacks on livestock, a cattle vet at work, Hedgerow Heroes
Livestock worrying cost UK farmers nearly two million pounds last year, a ten percent increase on the year before. Farm insurers NFU Mutual, who publi...
Fields of yellow, vets and artificial intelligence, vet shortage
There'll be a bigger splash of bright yellow across the countryside later in the spring, at least compared to last year. Signs are that, after a 40 ye...
14/02/26 Farming Today This Week: Flooding on farms, landscape recovery projects, AI in dairy
After what was the wettest January on record for some, more rain means more problems for farmers, from flooding and waterlogged fields to worries abou...
Somerset floods update, slurry conundrum, drones v weeds, a pivot point for farms?
James Winslade's fields started to flood nearly three weeks ago. They're still under water, and the floods are creeping closer to his farm buildings....
12/02/26 Natural flood management, AI pest control, Oatly Supreme Court defeat
With some farms underwater we hear from the Environment Agency boss on building resilience though natural flood management.
The plant based drin...
Aberdeenshire inundated, Big Brother is watching moo, Welsh suckler beef in decline
Eastern Scotland is usually relatively dry but so far this year it's experienced record-breaking rainfall. Aberdeen last saw sunshine on 19th of Janua...
Flooding, alternatives to farrowing crates, crops through the 'eyes' of AI
The Country Land and Business Association, CLA, says winter flooding is putting pressure on farm finances, coming after summer drought and during a pe...
09/02/26 Farmer protests, Defra farm training, AI in agriculture
Over the past few weeks farmers have been protesting, at ports and around supermarket distribution centres. Why? They say it's a combination of things...
Farming Today This Week: electric shock collars, taking carbon out of agriculture, UK-EU reset, new entrants, Wagyu beef
Electronic Collars are to be banned under new rules for the RSPCA's Assured scheme for dairy cows. The collars are used instead of fencing, and make n...
06/02/2026 National Farmers' Union of Scotland Annual Conference, seed production, new tenant farmers
The National Farmers' Union of Scotland holds its annual conference and calls for more funding to improve profitability.
All this week we've bee...
05/02/26 EFRA Committee report on EU/UK agri-food trade deal, seed science, starting out in agriculture
MPs are calling on the Government to have a ‘national conversation’ on the new EU/UK agri-food trade agreement, so farmers don't end up disadvantaged....
04/02/26 The cost of decarbonising agriculture, young farmers in Northern Ireland, new entrant crofters
A new report published by the think tank The Resolution Foundation says the government's goal of 'net zero' across the UK, could force less profitable...
03/02/26 Ban of electric shock collars for cows, grey squirrels, new egg business
The RSPCA is updating its welfare standards for dairy cattle under its RSPCA Assured scheme. The changes come into operation this April and include: m...
02/02/26 Scottish Environment Bill, Ramblers report, new entrants.
Scotland has introduced legislation to set legal targets on nature restoration and halt the loss of biodiversity. The Scottish Government says this wi...
31/01/26 Farming Today This Week: Sustainable Foods 2026, extreme weather and rural resilience, octopus bloom
Sustainable Foods 2026: a conference in London which brings together big food companies, supermarkets, producers and scientists in a drive to transfor...
30/01/26 Extreme weather and rural resilience, biochar, rare breed cattle
The weather has dominated life for many this month, from storms and flooding in South West England to snow and rain in parts of Scotland, flooding i...
29/01/26 Sustainable food and what that means for farming
Sustainable Foods 2026 - a conference in London which brings together big food companies, supermarkets, producers and scientists in a drive to transfo...
28/01/26 Octopus, gene-edited oilseed rape, sheep dog training
Warmer waters have brought large number of octopus to coastal waters around the South West over the past year. Now, the University of Plymouth has pub...
27/01/2026 Heating rural homes, vertical farm, cost of nature-friendly farming
The Government's new Warm Homes plan has been set up to help people switch to eco-friendly heating systems for their homes, such as air source heat pu...
26/01/26 Timber security, feoijas, basic income for farmers.
Forestry experts are warning that the UK needs to plant more trees for timber. We import around 80% of the timber we use, but there are fears of a sho...
Milk prices, farm profits, winter feed
UK dairy farmers are living through what's been called the sharpest milk price drop in history. We look at the causes with dairy analyst Chris Walkl...