04/02/25 - UK-EU trade relations, the Rock Review, Breckland soils
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
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.
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01/02/25 - Land Use Framework, inheritance tax, avian flu
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
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29/01/25 - Avian flu in people, housing orders for birds and English farm payments
After the the UK Health Security Agency confirmed a case of avian flu in a person, what does it mean for farmworkers on poultry units?As avian flu outbreaks in farmed poultry continue, we visit a free range egg farm that's under housing orders, with the chickens shut indoors. New rules mean eggs from previously free range birds that now have to be kept inside can still be sold as "free range" for the duration of the housing order. Before, after 16 weeks inside, eggs would have been labelled as "barn eggs".And how is the role of out The Environmental Land Management Scheme going? That's the new system of farm payments that is replacing the old EU payments in England since Brexit. Presented by Anna Hill
Produced by Heather Simons
A patch of commercial forest has been left "flattened" by Storm Eowyn and looking like "a bunch of giants have gone in there and played rugby" according to one farm manager in Scotland. We catch up on how the clear up is going.Since the Budget in October, farmers have been coming to terms with the introduction of inheritance tax on their businesses. Many are now trying to work out how much money they might owe the Government when the changes come into force next year. So what does that mean for the agricultural valuers doing the sums?And we catch up on progress towards the introduction of the Sustainable Farming Scheme - due to start being rolled out across Wales in 2026, after years of negotiation between farmers, environmentalists and the Welsh Government. This is the farming policy and payments that will replace old EU payments: to gain access to the funding under the new rules, farms will have to sign up to 12 so-called universal actions. These range from soil health planning and habitat maintenance, to "continuous professional development". Presented by Anna Hill
Produced by Heather Simons
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