17/07/25 National Food Strategy, rural affordable housing, early soft fruit
Has the Government’s Food Strategy been watered down? It wasn’t launched with a huge fanfare, but Defra has published its Food Strategy for England.
It aims to create what it calls a Good Food Cycle, a framework to make food production more sustainable, radically overhaul our relationship with food and prepare farmers and food producers for future challenges. The National Farmers' Union has welcomed the document though says it needs to be backed up by “joined-up and pragmatic policy measures”. But there are concerns the strategy’s been watered down and that a food white paper expected next year has been dropped. Most rural councils have no targets for building the social housing that many people on the lowest incomes rely on, and the government now says they don’t need to set any; that’s according to a new study from the University of the West of England. The soft fruit harvest is in full swing and the recent sweltering weather has proved something of a challenge for the thousands of seasonal workers labouring under polytunnels to bring in a crop which has ripened early this year. We’re exploring different aspects of the UK’s soft fruit sector all through this week. Today we visit a Nottinghamshire farm producing around 2500 tonnes of strawberries and raspberries each year. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
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16/07/25 Wales' new sustainable farming scheme.
The Welsh government has unveiled a new system of payments for farmers. The sustainable farming scheme or SFS replaces the current basic payment scheme or BPS, which farmers received under the EU. BPS is being wound down and farmers in Wales are being encouraged to take part in the new scheme, which will pay them to produce food sustainably and protect the environment. Farming unions welcome some aspects of the SFS but say farmers now face a cliff edge as old payments are phased out next year. Environmentalists say that although it's a step in the right direction, it is also a missed opportunity and Wales needs to do more to protect biodiversity and tackle climate change.
We speak to the Tenant Farmers Association, the RSPB, NFU Cymru, and Wales deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for climate change and rural affairs Huw Irranca-Davies. Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Rebecca Rooney
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15/07/25 Welsh sustainable farming scheme, blueberries, solar farms on farmland.
Farmers and environmentalists are bracing themselves as major changes to the financial support system for agriculture in Wales are announced today. Agriculture is devolved, and policy is decided separately in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Welsh government will publish details of its sustainable farming scheme or SFS later. Plant breeders in Scotland have unveiled a UK-bred blueberry. The James Hutton Institute has grown thousands of seedlings to develop a berry with good flavour, yield and able to tolerate the UK climate. They plan to call the new variety Highland Charm.The Countryside Charity CPRE says new analysis shows that two-thirds of mega solar farms are built on productive farmland. They'd like to see more solar power generated from rooftop systems instead.Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Rebecca Rooney
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14/07/25 Berry boom, hot cows, State of UK Climate
The State of the UK Climate Report for 2025 is published today, Caz Graham explores the findings with Professor Liz Bentley of the Royal Meteorological Society.
Meanwhile, berry growers are reporting a bumper start to their season due to the sunny weather. The recent high temperatures in some parts of the UK have made life harder for dairy farmers. When temperatures rise, cows tend to produce less milk, and in dry areas of the country conserving winter forage for the cows is proving a headache.Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Sarah Swadling
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12/07/25 Farming Today This Week: Great Yorkshire Show, Welsh rural crime strategy, bee disease, farm inspections, shellfish.
The Government is carrying out a farming profitability review in England, to inform policy. There’s been a call for evidence and practical solutions. We ask the National Farmers' Union what could be done to help.Out in the sunshine at the Great Yorkshire Show - pig showing and curly fleeced Wensleydale sheep.A new strategy for tackling rural crime across Wales will offer greater protection for people and wildlife in the countryside, according to the Welsh government. Priority areas include tackling damage to ancient monuments, or heritage crime, and attacks on livestock, with new awareness courses for animal owners.Chronic bee paralysis has been in bee populations for thousands of years, but cases are rising in the UK and it’s estimated up to 2% are affected. The disease is not notifiable so doesn’t have to be reported, and bees can have the virus and not show symptoms. We speak to Professor Giles Budge who's working on the disease at Newcastle University.The Environment Agency is increasing the number of inspections on farms to tackle pollution and poor practice. We join an inspector making a return visit to a farm in Shropshire.All week we're taking a deep dive into the UK's shellfish industry. Almost 90% of the mussels produced in Scotland are grown in Shetland. We visit a farm which produces 1000 tonnes a year on long ropes dotted on 24 sites around the islands. We also visit Oban where scientists are working on a trial to selectively breed our native oysters to make them more resilient to climate change and pollution. Presenter = Caz Graham
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
South Africa