How pylons ruined a harvest: a Suffolk farmer speaks of his frustration after National Grid dug up his field, two days before a barley crop was due to be harvested.Bluetongue virus is on the rise. With more cases affecting livestock in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, the Chief Vet is warning farmers here to be extra vigilant.20 years ago, Sal…

After all the wet weather this year, there is talk of both drought and wildfires this week. Two separate reports published this week have highlighted the threat they pose to people and the environment, both in the UK and further afield. Dry stone walls are an integral part of our landscape from Orkney to Cornwall. It is estimated that there are abo…

Farmers this year are growing less oilseed rape than they have for the last 30 years. That is partly due to the expense of growing it, the dreadful wet weather preventing crops getting established, and the fact that it succumbs to the Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle. A group in Scotland however are growing it organically - so how do they do it? Thatched b…

Plant breeders are worried that UK border rules mean new seed varieties, which need to be trialled in fields in England, are being delayed. The Shropshire and Herefordshire countryside is peppered with traditional farmhouses and cottages dating back hundreds of years, and homeowners are being taught the skills to maintain them for the future. Farme…

The Moorland Association says the wet weather this year means it will be the worst grouse season for decades. Some shoots won't have a single day's shooting because there aren't enough birds. High rainfall during the nesting period means has had a big impact on red grouse. In turn, the association says there'll be far fewer seasonal jobs, and it'll…

A BBC Local Radio 24 hour farming event to encourage young farmers to support each other with their mental health. Farmer led badger vaccination could be a way forward in eradicating TB in cattle, a study of a four year pilot programme in Cornwall says that it has seen the percentage of badgers testing positive for TB drop from 16% to zero. Timber …

BBC Local Radio holds a special 24 hour farming event to encourage young farmers to support each other with their mental health. A man from Essex has a childhood dream come true - experiencing harvest from inside a combine’s cab. And when it comes to the physical felling of trees or carrying out pruning at great heights, it’s a potentially dangerou…

The latest comprehensive survey of woodland across Scotland, Wales and England has just been published. The Bunce report first carried out woodland surveys across 103 woods, back in 1971. They were revisited in 2001, and the same sites were surveyed again in 2021. The latest report, commissioned, initiated and coordinated by the Woodland Trust has …

This year the UK is growing less oilseed rape than it has for 30 years, it has become too expensive and risky for many farmers to use it as a crop. Clearing up a green, smelly carpet of seaweed known as sea lettuce from the beaches of Jersey. And we import more than 80% of the wood we use in this country, and there are calls for far more of that to…

The results of a farmer led badger vaccination trial against Bovine TB which are being released today show promising results. A clear up campaign from the damage caused to forests in Scotland by a storm in 2021 continues to this day. And a pilot project in Wales which aims to get more Welsh vegetables into schools, the plan is to grow the horticult…

A third of farmed land in England and Wales is rented, and there are warnings that tenant farmers are facing more challenges than those who own the land they work. A government survey carried out in April this year and published last week found that when asked if they were very confident that changes to the post-Brexit payment schemes in England wi…

Many rural people are feeling 'vulnerable and intimidated' because of crime according to the National Farmers Union. Figures out this week from the insurers NFU Mutual put the cost at just under £53 million last year - up from 50 million in 2022. The new Labour government is putting renewable energy at the heart of its plans - it wants to double th…

County councils are concerned about how rural areas will cope with new housing targets set by the Labour government. It plans to build one and a half million homes by 2029 and is setting mandatory targets for councils. Many of those new homes are to be built on bits of the green belt which will be reclassified as grey belt - what does this mean for…

The latest figures out today from the insurers NFU Mutual put the cost of rural crime at just under 53 million pounds last year - up from 50 million in 2022. The renewable energy options open to farmers are various, and the one that would seem to be tailor made for agriculture is anaerobic digestion - or AD. This is the process where silage and slu…

The family of a famer who took his own life say they believe a farm inspection which found he had used the wrong sort of ear tag on just 18 sheep contributed to his death. The National Sheep Association welcomed the new farming minister Daniel Zeichner to its biennial show. And a farmer saves on his electricity bills using the power of water on his…

A survey by the NFU has shown that while there has been some improvement in the provision of superfast broadband, only 34% of farmers who responded have a fibre connection. A farmer in the depths of his harvest has his fingers crossed that this spell of hot sunny weather will continue. Solar farms built on farmland are an increasingly controversial…

Campaigners are calling on the Welsh Government to do more to clean up the River Wye, after people were warned not to swim in a section of the river - which was only recently named the first official river bathing area in Wales. An expert outlines the challenges of providing rural renewable energy infrastructure without upsetting the people who liv…

A special panel programme recorded in front of an audience at the Royal Welsh Show. Charlotte Smith discusses the future of agriculture in Wales with Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies, deputy president of NFU Cymru, Abi Reader and Rachel Sharp, director of Wildlife Trusts Wales. Produced by Beatrice Fenton.…

Angling groups have warned that illegal fishing is an "out of control" problem on rivers in Wales with serious impacts for endangered species like salmon, and physical danger for anglers. Mobile sheep shearers are hard at work on a farm near Edinburgh, before the head woman Una Cameron tries to break the world record for shearing in a few weeks' ti…

This programme comes from the 120th Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells. 250,000 people are expected to attend across 4 days, with 7000 livestock entries. It comes during an eventful week in Welsh politics, with the Cabinet Secretary of Climate Change and Rural Affairs in the Welsh Government set to become the new Deputy First Minister. So what does i…

A report by the National Audit Office into farming published today shows much room for improvement. A tree nursery in Fife has been working hard to become better for the environment, and is now pushing to become carbon-negative. The longest running scientific study into the impact of cereal farming on invertebrates, the Sussex Study which is run by…

Three conservation groups say farming budgets need to rise substantially to meet legally binding targets on nature and climate. Scotland is to have a new national park and Galloway, in the south west of the country, has been chosen as the preferred location. Not everyone is happy, a local farmer gives his views. Avon and Somerset Police have confir…

New figures out today confirm that farming is the most dangerous job in the UK, the Health and Safety Executive says 35 people lost their lives on farms last year. A Kent nursery which imports more than £3 million worth of plants a year has built a control point on its premises to help it save money on post Brexit checks on the UK border. And there…

What will this week's announcement by the Government on changes to the rules on planning permission for large scale housing projects and for solar farms on agricultural land mean for the countryside? The Welsh minister in charge of policy on climate change and rural affairs has drawn up new payment schemes for farmers to apply for as the EU's Commo…

Examining the findings of seasonal workers visa review and the potential impact of any scaling back of the scheme on food security. As more people across the world take up cricket Marie Lennon investigates the demand for bats is having on willow production. And reporter Sarah Swadling meets an accountant turned organic farmer who says the weather t…

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