By BBC Radio 4
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
Farmer confidence is at an all time low: that's according to a new survey published this week by the National Farmers' Union. It says the wet weather has had an impact, but farmers also point to worries about the...
The Government’s announcement that the seasonal worker visa scheme is being extended for five years has been welcomed by farming organisations. It comes as part of DEFRA's response to an independent review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain...
The boss of Waitrose has told Farming Today that the value of food needs reappraising and that in some cases higher prices should be considered. It comes as the supermarket announces that from 2035, it’s UK produced meat, milk, eggs...
The King Charles III England Coast Path was named to celebrate the coronation last year - and the plan was to make 2,700 miles of coastal path available to walkers. But, on the Isle of Wight, the Ramblers Association says...
The RSPB says it is "vital" that a UK ban on fishing for sandeels in the North Sea remains in place. The ban, which stops sandeel trawlers fishing in English and Scottish sections of the North Sea, came into...
Just what happens when a foreign billionaire buys a vast tract of the Scottish Highlands and sets about changing it? Does Scotland’s biggest landowner Anders Holch Povlsen dictate everything that happens on his 80,000 acres of the Cairngorm National Park?...
New physical checks have been brought in on some imports of food and plants from the EU. Products deemed high or medium risk now have to be inspected - including live animals, meat and some plant products. We report from...
The latest figures from Defra show nearly 20,000 badgers were killed across England last year, as part of the Government's policy to tackle TB in cattle. Badger campaigners say that the continued culling is leading to local extinctions. Defra...
An investigation is under way into a case of large-scale illegal waste dumping in Kent. According to a House of Lords committee report, up to a third of veterinary medicines currently used in Northern Ireland could cease to be...
New physical checks have been brought in on some imports of food and plants from the EU. Products deemed high or medium risk now have to be inspected - including live animals, meat and some plant products. Inspections can be...
New border checks for imports of food and plants coming into the UK from the EU, start 30th April 2024. Some farming groups have been calling for these checks for some time - saying they will give producers here more...
Illegal fishing on rivers and watercourses is on up according to the police, who are stepping up patrols with other agencies. Angling clubs pay thousands of pounds every year to stock rivers with fish for members and taking fish...
The National Sheep Association says it has no confidence in the Red Tractor assurance scheme's executive. MP's have highlighted the impact of the changes in welfare payments on farmers, who historically claim tax credits to boost low incomes. A tree...
Fishing is a very popular pastime. In England alone, the Environment Agency issued more than 900,000 fishing licenses between March 2022 and April 2023. But illegal fishing on rivers and watercourses is on the up, according to the police,...
The Labour Party has launched a Rural Crime Strategy, saying crime is rising faster in rural than urban areas. Research commissioned by the party, and based on information from the House of Commons Library, shows rural crime has risen by...
Around 38 million acres of Ukrainian farmland has now been rendered too dangerous to farm by Russian mines. According to the charity the "Mines Advisory Group", there have been more than a thousand mine accidents in Ukraine since 2022 -...
Today trees: from Welsh Government plans to get them planted on farms, to the ever missed English planting targets and the recent cuts to the budget for planting in Scotland, trees are the subject of much debate in rural areas....
Wales' new Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs says his first job it to listen to farmers. It comes after unrest and large protests in Wales by farmers, angry about the Welsh Government's approach to farming. In particular,...
Most UK dairy farms are failing to meet environmental regulations aimed at protecting rivers from pollution; so says the campaign group River Action which has used freedom of information requests to find new data. It says dairy farms are one...
The Government has admitted that it unlawfully issued some licences for releasing game birds last year. The campaign group Wild Justice challenged the licences granted in the Deben Estuary in Suffolk and Breckland in Norfolk, saying that ministers had...
A total wipe-out of crops is now a possibility for some farms - it follows the record rainfall over recent months. Crops on thousands of acres of highly productive land have been destroyed and even now fields are too boggy...
After farmers held protest against post-Brexit agricultural policy in Wales, is the new Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs ready for the challenge? In his first interview for the programme, Anna Hill asks him about the 10%...
Changes to farm support payments after Brexit, increasingly unpredictable weather, not to mention a cost of living crisis means farmers are relying more on additional income streams to boost their farm profits. We’re going to be looking into farm diversifications...
Changes have been made to the UK Government's Farming Recovery Fund after the NFU reported "major issues" with the scheme. The Fund was announced back in January, to provide up to £25,000 to farmers affected by Storm Henck to go...
A new report has put a price on how much the changing climate is affecting farmers. Commissioned by WWF Cymru, looking specifically at Wales, it estimates that extreme weather events are already costing farms tens of millions of pounds...
The UK Government's Farming Recovery Fund had opened to help farmers badly hit by Storm Henck back in January to pay for repairs to their land. The fund provides those who are eligible with up to £25,000 but some flood-hit...
Who should decide whether an area of land is of such great environmental importance it should be given legal protection? A bill being considered by Parliament at the moment wants the power to designate Sites of Special Scientific Interest transferred...
The relationship between landowners and tenant farmers can be a difficult one - but it’s hoped a new Code of Practice could help improve things. It was one of the key recommendations of the Rock Review into tenant farming in...
Should cages for laying hens be banned? The Scottish Government is consulting on phasing them out, in order, it says, 'to improve their welfare by allowing birds to exhibit their normal behaviours.' Egg producers warn it would mean Scottish consumers...
The Food and Drink Federation says new labelling rules will cost food companies million of pounds. From October dairy and meat products for sale in Great Britain will have to have "not for EU" on the packaging, just as products...
Flooded and waterlogged farmers are asking what's happened to the Government's Farming Recovery Fund. It was announced after storm Henk back in January and offered up to £25,000 to farmers towards the clean up after the storm. Well since...
Muddled, costly and unnecessary regulatory burdens - that's the Food and Drink Federation's description of new labelling rules which it says will cost food companies million of pounds. From October dairy and meat products for sale in Great Britain will...
Earlier this week English farmers drove tractors into London and held a rally outside Parliament, protesting at what they say is a lack of support for British food production. Just a few hours before that rally the Government announced...
Farmed salmon was the UK’s most valuable food export in 2023, according to the HMRC, with £581 million pounds worth of international sales. But Scotland’s salmon farmers reckon they could have made far more, and that Brexit has cost...
The Government is placing a 25% cap on the amount of land farmers can take out of food production, and put aside for certain environmental schemes. Farmers can be paid for environmental actions - like growing seed for wild birds...
Farmers have been gathering in London's Parliament Square to protest about what they feel is a lack of support for British food production. Organisers said they have three demands: first, a ban on what they see as 'dishonest' labelling where...
Why is wool so worthless for farmers? The price they get for a fleece barely covers the cost of shearing. And septic tanks in Cornwall in crisis because of wet weather. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice...
Some farmers who already rely on state benefits are being told they need to look for paid work and ditch their farm businesses if they want to continue receiving those benefits. It’s happening because of changes in the way welfare...
The Wildlife and Muirburn Bill has passed through the Scottish Parliament and brings in the licensing of grouse shoots, banning animal snares and changing the rules on the burning of heather. For the RSPB it's game changing legislation, for...
Fishermen and wildlife are still feeling the impact nearly two and a half years after the mass shellfish deaths on England's North East Coast. After several years of investigations and reviews, the conclusion of an independent expert panel, chaired by...
Spanish farmers in Madrid have held more protests, despite the European Commission announcing a review of its so-called 'green deal' which was designed to help the EU reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Farmers across Europe have voiced their anger at...
The government's farm business incomes forecast for this year makes grim reading: in England dairy farmers are expected to earn 78% less than last year, largely due to falls in the milk price; cereal farmers face a 77% cut, though...
Badger culling could continue indefinitely in England under new government proposals which reverse earlier pledges to begin to phase out badger culls from next year. The Government says culls are working in helping to reduce TB in cattle. Now...
Badger culling could continue indefinitely in England under new Government proposals which reverse earlier pledges to begin to phase out badger culls from next year. The Government says culls are working in helping to reduce TB in cattle - pointing...
The National Rural Crime Network is calling for an overhaul of the way rural crime is dealt with. It's commissioned a new report which says serious organised criminals are increasingly preying on rural communities and highlights hare coursing, the theft...
A shortage of vets is currently affecting services across all aspects of public and private animal health and biosecurity. In 2018 the gap in the veterinary workforce was put at 11%. At a hearing yesterday in Westminster the Chief Vet,...
The Soil Association, has called for a ban on any new intensive broiler farms being set up in the UK. The organic farming group has published a new report called "Stop Killing Our Rivers" which says it's impossible to manage...
The writer Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare have long been advocates for helping young people learn more about farming and the countryside, so much so, that they set up Farms for City Children nearly 50 years ago. Young people help...
The consultation on the Welsh Government's controversial Sustainable Farming Scheme has now closed. The National Farmers Union Cymru marked the moment by placing 5,500 pairs of wellies on the steps of the Welsh Parliament to highlight the farming jobs which...