Farming Today

The worst ever recorded infestation of aphids has made 85% of the UK's salad crops unusable, according to the British Leafy Salads Association. Milder winters mean the aphids aren't being destroyed and larger and larger so-called 'blooms' are being experienced. It's meant turning to European imports earlier in the year. Government plans to phase out cages for laying hens could put British producers at a disadvantage if the UK continues to allow imports of eggs from caged birds. That's one of the conclusions of a new report from the Animal Welfare Committee which advises government. It warns that while cage free systems are better for hens, the transition to barn eggs, where hens are free to move about but not go outside, could be costly, complex and disruptive without careful management. This week we've been looking at the pests that farmers have to deal with - from moles to mice to grey squirrels. In Surrey a vineyard has brought in a laser deterrent to try and saver its grapes. And we meet a rat catcher in Scotland. The Wildlife Trusts have managed to raise the money to buy the entire nine and a half thousand acre Rothbury Estate in Northumberland. The Trusts say they aim to deliver nature recovery at a grand scale. There are 12 farms on the estate and some in the local farming community have expressed concern about the impact the new owners will have on those farming businesses. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

Government plans to phase out cages for laying hens could put British producers at a disadvantage, if the UK continues to allow imports of eggs from caged birds. That's one of the conclusions of a new report from the Animal Welfare Committee which advises government. It warns that while cage free systems are better for hens, the transition to barn eggs, where hens are free to move about but not to go outside, could be costly, complex and disruptive without careful management. The Wildlife Trusts have bought the entire 9,500-acre Rothbury Estate in Northumberland. The money has come from individuals, organisations, the National Lottery, what the Trusts describe as 'a low interest loan', and controversially last week, £2m from the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The Tenant Farmers' Association has called it 'an inappropriate use of public funding'. All week we’re tracking down the animals that many farmers view as pests. Today we’re out with a molecatcher. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Commercial salad farmers have seen record numbers of aphids in 2026, not just here in the UK but in all of Europe’s major salad growing areas too. Up to 85% of the UK crop has been affected, leading to more being imported from Europe, earlier in the season. This week we're looking at pest control on farms. Birds cause substantial damage, including taking fruit crops. We meet a vineyard owner who's employing a laser bird scarer to keep them off his grapes. And we get reaction to the government's budget. The NFU says it was a 'missed opportunity', offering nothing to ease the dire cash flow problems facing farms, and no support for food production. We hear the verdict of the Country Land and Business Association. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Sally Challoner.

We hear from the president of the National Farmers Union on what farmers would like in today's budget. Tom Bradshaw calls for scrapping Inheritance Tax for farms, and adequately investing in a resilient food and farming sector. We also hear from the Farming Minister Stephen Morgan who faced questions from the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee. He promised to improve the system for farmers applying for the government's support scheme, after what's been described as a shambles this year with thousands missing out. And all the week we're looking at farm pests. Today it's the grey squirrel - a non-native invasive species that's massively impacted the UK's native red squirrel population. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

The government should suspend the consultation it launched yesterday on phasing out the use of carbon dioxide in the slaughter of pigs, according to AIMS - the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers. It's written to the Secretary of State warning that the move could put British producers at a disadvantage, as other countries - including the EU where the vast majority of pig meat imported into the uk is from - will continue to use co2. It wants the consultation process paused while discussions with the EU on closer alignment of the rules continue. This week we're looking at pests on farm - and how to safely, humanely and legally get rid of them. Today, rats on a farm in Scotland, and the controller on why they're becoming more of a problem. And the solar powered weeding robot that's a cousin of the ExoMars rover heading to Mars. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

A consultation on phasing out the use of carbon dioxide in the slaughtering process for pigs is launched today. The vast majority of pigs in the UK are stunned using CO2 but last year the government announced plans to move away from using the gas, following an independent report which said that the practice causes pain, respiratory distress and fear in conscious pigs and should be replaced. The National Pig Association tells us the industry accepts that CO2 is on the way out, but wants a realistic timeline. This week we're going to tackle rats, mice, moles and more: those animals which when found in the wrong place, like a farm, are pests. It's not a new problem but changing legislation and the changing climate are bringing new challenges, as the British Pest Control Association explains. We hear from the Farmers' Choir Northern Ireland who've just won a national music award, recognised for 'bringing farmers and rural communities together through music, friendship and mutual support'. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Wildfires have been on the political menu this week with a report from MPs criticising the lack of a National Wildfire Strategy, followed by wildfire summits in England and Wales, and an announcement from the Prime Minister of ‘initial steps to improve our response’. Andy Burnham announced £45 million of extra funding to better equip firefighters and said military aircraft would be available to help tackle wildfires. Earlier this week MPs on the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee published a report saying the UK was not ready for the next fire season. At its summit the Welsh Government said it would bring in international expertise, and create a register for farmers and landowners are able to help fight fires. The scramble online for funding under the Sustainable Farming Incentive or SFI left thousands of farmers with nothing. Some had technical problems, others were too late. SFI funding pays farmers for improving the environment. Those who weren't successful will have to decide whether to stop managing their land for the environment or carry on without payments. The Secretary of State tells us she's working with farmers to avoid a repeat of this year's funding application chaos. We visit a Herefordshire farmer who was seriously considering grubbing up her 22 acre intensive orchard. Instead she thinned out the trees and introduced an agroforestry system. UK strawberries at Christmas? It doesn't seem likely, but one Worcestershire farmer says his growing season now stretches to December. He's worried that fruit will be wasted as supermarkets aren't used to local supplies being available so late in the year. We meet a farmer who's growing pumpkins - not for Halloween but for seeds. Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

A wildfire summit is being held today in Westminster, bringing together government departments and agencies to work out plans to address future fires. We announce the winner of the BBC Food and Farming Awards' Farming for the Future winner, Bronagh O’Kane. And picking plums by rowing boat: the Tregothnan estate in Cornwall has a very unusual micro climate on the Fal estuary, allowing a rare variety of plum to grow. The Kea plum is small and similar to a damson and very unusually grows so close to the waterside that some trees are harvested from the water. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Farmers in Scotland have been taking part in a four year scheme to get more arable farmers to have sheep on their land. Instead of leaving fields bare over winter, cereal growers have been planting cover crops, things like oats or turnips. They then invite a shepherd to graze sheep on the fields. The sheep farmer gains extra grazing, and for the arable farmer, the sheep help fertilise the soil, keep down the weeds, and get rid of the cover crop by the end of the season. All week we're taking a closer look at the top fruit harvest - that means apples, pears and plums. Keeping an orchard profitable can be difficult at the best of times. We visit a Herefordshire farmer who was seriously considering grubbing up her 22 acre intensive orchard. Instead she thinned out the trees and introduced an agroforestry system. We celebrate some of the winners in this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

A report by MPs says this year's wildfires exposed severe weaknesses in our ability to tackle them, and that immediate action must be taken to ensure an effective response next year. The Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee heard more than 1,300 wildfires broke out this year - the highest number on record. It says the government needs a national strategy. This week we are looking at top fruit. It has been a tough year for many growers, a difficult spring followed by an extremely hot and dry summer has affected harvests – but there has been a silver lining. British pear growers say all that sunshine has meant some of the sweetest fruit they have ever grown. However, in spite of the quality of this year's crop, there are concerns about the future of British pear orchards. More than half of pear orchards are more than 21 years old, and the number of new trees being planted has fallen dramatically. The scramble for online for funding under the Sustainable Farming Incentive or SFI, left thousands of farmers with nothing. Some had technical problems, others were too late. SFI funding pays farmers for carrying out environmental actions which improve their land, and the wider habitat on their farms. Those left with no funding will now have to decide whether to stop managing their land for the environment or carry on without payments. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

The decline in abattoirs across the UK has been an issue for many years. A new coalition of more than 150 organisations, has sent a letter to the Prime Minister calling for urgent government action. The Sustainable Food Trust, Soil Association, Rare Breeds Survival Trust and other groups claim the UK’s abattoir network has fallen to around 200, from roughly 2,500 in the 1970s. In Scotland crofters are about to benefit from a new initiative which could solve some of the problems: a moveable abattoir which will come to the farm. UK strawberries at Christmas? It doesn't seem likely but such a warm summer means a Worcestershire farmer says his growing season now stretches to December. However he's concerned his crops could go to waste because retailers are taking in imported fruit instead. This week, we're taking the pick of the top fruit harvest, that's apples, pears and plums - everything grown on trees. Apples are the biggest business, but this year the weather's challenged the orchards with frost, hail, extreme heat and drought. We speak to British Apples and Pears to find out how drought and heat have affected the harvest. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Over the next nine years the government would like to see the amount of land farmed organically in England treble, from 3.4% now to 10% by 2036. It's part of the new Organic Action Plan for England which the government says will 'open up opportunities across the sector'. Demand for organic food is growing, the UK market is worth £3.9 billion a year and ministers aim to reduce the amount of imported organic food. While the ambition in the strategy has been welcomed, it's been already been criticised for a lack of funding. The Sustainable Farming Incentive, England's biggest farm environmental scheme which pays farmers for things like planting hedges and also supports those moving into organic production, opened and closed in a single day last month as it had run out of money. We speak to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Angela Eagle. All week on Farming Today you'll find us in the apple and pear orchards of the UK. Harvest is in full swing after an early start but it hasn't been an easy year for growers. Apples, like so many other crops, have struggled with the very wet and then very dry conditions thrown at them in the last growing season. We visit a cider orchard in Somerset, where the quality is good, but the yield is down. Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

As The Archers marks its 75th anniversary, Farming Today is looking ahead to the next 75 years of British farming. All week we’ll be imagining how agriculture could change, from how land is used to what crops we grow, using what technology and how the identity of farming itself could shift. We hear from Jeremy Clarkson, Sir James Dyson and Helen Browning, amongst others. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

As part of a special week marking the 75th anniversary of The Archers and exploring the next 75 years of farming, we visit Harper Adams University's farm to meet the next generation looking to build a future in the industry, and ask: what will it mean to be a farmer in the decades ahead. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Over the past 75 years, the pattern of land ownership in the UK has changed dramatically. Farm businesses have grown larger, more farmers now own at least some of the land they work, and those who rent it are often doing so on shorter-term agreements. At the same time, there's growing interest from corporations, investors and lifestyle buyers, all competing for a stake in the countryside. As part of a special week marking the 75th anniversary of The Archers and exploring the next 75 years of farming, today we're asking: who will own and run the farms of 2101? We visit Eastbrook Farm in Wiltshire, home to Helen Browning, Chief Executive of the Soil Association. Despite farming there for decades, she doesn't own the land. We'll explore the succession challenges facing farming families in Ambridge and beyond, and ask whether the family farm will still be a recognisable feature of the British countryside 75 years from now. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Climate change is already reshaping the way farmers think. Wetter winters, hotter summers, and new pests and diseases are creating fresh challenges. At the same time, global instability, from conflict to trade disputes, has highlighted the fragility of food supplies. As part of our special week exploring the next 75 years of farming, today we're asking: what should Britain be growing in the future? We visit the John Innes Centre in Norfolk, one of the world's leading plant science institutes, where researchers are developing crops that could thrive in a very different climate. We'll hear from Professor Tim Lang on how the UK can feed itself in an increasingly uncertain world, and from Scotland, where a warming climate may open the door to crops traditionally grown much further south, even as it brings new risks and pressures of its own. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

As part of a special week marking the 75th anniversary of The Archers and exploring what the next 75 years could hold for farming, today we look at how technology and AI could transform the way food is produced. At Place UK, one of the country's biggest soft-fruit growers, automation and robotic harvesting are already being trialled, to help cope with labour shortages and rising costs. We hear from Sir James Dyson, a major investor in farm robotics and AI, and from farmers in Northern Ireland who are already putting those technologies to work, using artificial intelligence to monitor livestock and automate everyday jobs. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

As The Archers marks its 75th anniversary, Farming Today is looking ahead to the next 75 years of British farming. All week we’ll be imagining how agriculture could change, from how land is used to what crops we grow, using what technology and how the identity of farming itself could shift. Today we’re in Inkberrow in Worcestershire, the village which inspired Ambridge and asking: what will we be doing with the land we currently farm over the next 75 years? We hear from Jeremy Clarkson on how he sees the future of Diddly Squat Farm, from The Archers’ farming and countryside advisor Sybil Ruscoe, and from Wales, where how land is used is increasingly under debate. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

The official estimates for England's harvest 2026 are in, and the figures from the governnment show that its the smallest harvest of both barley and oats since 2012. Wheat saw a small increase with losses in the South and East offset by a better harvest further North, and oil seed rape had a better year with a 6 per cent increase in yield. We hear from farmers who suffered in the droughts. This week we've been exploring farm boundaries - from hedges and stone walls to barbed wire. We hear from people restoring ancient boundaries, and learn about the history of barbed wire from the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma. The first cases of highly pathogenic avian flu in kept poultry have arrived in the UK - and as migratory wild birds start to arrive to overwinter here, poultry farmers are being urged to improve biosecurity. The case was reported in a backyard flock on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. Last winter free range flocks had to be kept inside to try to protect them from infection, and the UK Chief Vet says anyone farming poultry must now review and improve their biosecurity. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

The official estimates for England's harvest 2026 are in, and they don't make happy reading. Provisional figures from the government show that it's the smallest harvest of both barley and oats since 2012. Wheat saw a small increase with losses in the south and east offset by a better harvest further north, and oilseed rape had a better year with a 6% increase in yield. All week we're talking about boundaries, the fences and walls which define farms and fields. Traditional Cornish hedges are an earth bank sandwiched between two stone walls - not what you might expect from the word 'hedge'. Many of these hedges were lost to make fields bigger during the mid-twentieth century push for food production. Others have collapsed into disrepair, but there’s now a push to restore and appreciate Cornish hedges anew. The Scottish National Party insists that its plan to introduce a price cap on some essential foods will go ahead; the initiative has been described as 'a potty gimmick' and criticised by retailers, farmers and food and drink manufacturers. The SNP holds its annual conference in Aberdeen next week. The minister for agriculture, marine and the islands Jim Fairlie says capping food prices won't impact farmers. Artificial intelligence which is beginning to transform many aspects of our lives - so what's its potential for farmers? Producers are facing more challenges than ever, from drought and heatwaves to labour shortages and the spiralling price of fuel and fertiliser. We visited a robotic dairy on the Somerset/Devon border to ask if AI will bring the fourth agricultural revolution. Presenter: Charlotte Smith Producer: Rebecca Rooney