Farming Today

England's hedges are in need of urgent revival - that's the conclusion of a survey of hedges, the first in 17 years. The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology has been looking at hedges for Natural England and says that while they are in better condition than 2007, when the last survey was done, the overall length remains largely unchanged. That's bad news for the government which aims to restore or plant 45,000 miles of hedgerow by 2050Over the past few years there has been a lot of pressure on pig producers and that's meant change. According to the levy board ADHB , just five abattoirs now control 88% of the throughput of pigs, with three big companies now owning around half of the sows in England. The UK has a reputation for higher welfare standards: 50% of piglets are born outside not in farrowing crates, and more than 70% of pigs are fattened indoors on straw. We visit a pig farm in Lincolnshire that produces 800 pigs a week for a large processor as well as local butchers and the farm's own shop.The campaign group Sustain wants food produced to high welfare standards and in a way that protects nature and tackles climate change as well as providing good jobs. They don't believe intensive farming is the best way of achieving that. Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Thousands of people have protested in London over changes to inheritance tax for farmers announced in the budget. Farmers from around the country came to an NFU rally in Church Hall and a big march in Westminster. They're worried about changes which mean that from April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which were previously exempt, will be liable to tax. The government says it understands farmers' concerns but insists the vast majority of farmers won't be affected. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Thousands of farmers plan to gather in London today to voice their concerns about changes introduced in the budget. We examine the detail around agricultural property relief and inheritance tax to work out how many farmers will be affected.It's food and farming day at COP29 in Baku in Azerbaijan. Global warming and agriculture are the focus for discussion. Also, president-elect Donald Trump has chosen climate change sceptic Chris Wright to lead the US Energy Department, what will that mean for work to tackle emissions in the future?Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

There’s a global trend for farms to scale up and intensify their production and the UK is no different. We ask why it’s happening and what impact it’s having.We visit a beef finishing unit in Yorkshire, which fattens 4,000 cattle a year in pens. The farmer reckons this intensive system can produce beef more efficiently and in half the time of extensively grazed systems.And the Northern Ireland government has launched its first "Food Strategy Framework". Its aims include tackling diet-related health problems, increasing resilience in the agri-food supply chain, building the "food economy" and creating more of a food culture in Northern Ireland. An "action plan" will follow early next year, setting out what changes the Government will make to meet those aims.Presented by Caz Graham Produced by Heather Simons

The budget for agriculture in Scotland comes from the UK Government - but as of two weeks ago, it’s no longer ring fenced. The change has attracted criticism from farming groups. But the DEFRA Secretary, Steve Reed, has defended the decision, saying his Government believes in devolution, and that comes with the power to decide where money is spent. We hear from Scotland's Rural Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Mairi Gougeon.A change to the Suckler Support Scheme in Scotland aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by making calf production more intensive. It’s being introduced as part of the country’s new Agriculture Act, and it’s rooted in the idea that more efficient beef farming means less carbon and less methane. Some beef farmers, however, fear it could have an impact on animal welfare as well as some farm incomes.And "Farmer Time" is an initiative set up by Cambridgeshire farmer, Tom Martin, which connects teachers with farmers, so children can have regular catch ups with a farmer. So far ten thousand pupils have enjoyed lessons enhanced by their own ‘class farmer’ through a live video-link and the initiative is one of our three finalists in the "Farming for the Future" category of this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards.Presented by Caz Graham Produced by Heather Simons

The Advertising Standards Authority has issued guidance to advertisers to make sure consumers aren't misled about the term "regenerative agriculture".Scotland's first minister John Swinney says inheritance tax changes in the budget are causing unacceptable levels of stress among farmers in Scotland.We’re discussing farming in Scotland all this week. The new agriculture act now requires every farmer and crofter to complete an annual whole farm plan in order to claim their basic support payments. The plan is a series of audits to measure things like the carbon footprint and biodiversity, and the aim is to identify where and how farmers can make their businesses more sustainable and environmentally friendly. The first reports are due next May and while a lot of advice is available from the agricultural advisory services, the whole farm plan has caused confusion and uncertainty for some farmers.The Wildlife Trusts have bought a chunk of the Rothbury Estate in Northumberland, now they've begun a £30 million appeal to buy the rest. We ask what it means for food production and the tenant farmers who live and work there.Presenter = Caz Graham Producer = Rebecca Rooney

A new tool is being used by the seafood sector to collate carbon emissions data from all along the supply chain - from farming catching the fish in the wild, all the way through to processing and packing.The Scottish Government is consulting on a new Crofting Bill, aimed at making it easier for people to get into crofting and to support things like peatland restoration and environmental work on crofts. We ask crofters on the Western Isles what they make of it.And a 'sheep industry task force' has been set in Northern Ireland, to help farmers work with Government. Under the post-Brexit plan in Northern Ireland, there's funding for beef and arable and environmental schemes, but there's currently little specific sheep support, and some sheep farmers say they could go out of business.Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons

Bird flu is back in the UK. Two years ago a strain of the virus called H5N1 caused outbreaks across the world, killing millions of birds, on poultry farms and in the wild. In America, that same strain has infected dairy cows on nearly 500 different farms, and in some cases also been passed on to humans. The UK has just seen its first avian flu outbreak of the winter in a commercial poultry flock in the East Riding of Yorkshire, but this time the strain's been identified as H5N5. What difference does that make, and should UK dairy farmers be worried?Scotland’s new Agriculture Act came into force in June. NFU Scotland says it got what it wanted from the Act, but with much of the legislation aimed at improving the environment, and with little detail as yet, there are still concerns over what the changes will actually mean.And as the UK apple harvest draws to a close, growers are reporting that although the wet weather's made picking difficult, the crop is high quality this year. Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons

On the programme this week, we investigate concerns over plans for new saltmarshes near the Hinkley C nuclear power plant. Upland sheep farmers tell us why they're struggling with the phasing out of the Basic Payment Scheme. We visit the islands of Lewis and Harris to look at a new approach to treating sheep disease. And there's further reaction to the Budget: farmers explain their opposition to new inheritance tax plans and the Secretary of State, Steve Reed, responds. And farming tax advisor, Rob Hitch, gives his view on what the changes might mean.Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Heather Simons at BBC Audio Bristol

Many farming families are extremely concerned about the future of their farms, after the Government introduced inheritance tax on farmland in the Budget. But there’s a lot of confusion about how much inheritance tax farmers will have to pay. We invite a tax expert to dig into the details.One of the sheep industry's most enduring health and welfare challenges is scab - an itchy condition caused by mites. It’s controlled by either injecting a dose of medicine or the traditional dipping of sheep. But increasing resistance to the injection method means more and more farmers are moving back to sheep-dip. Organophosphate dip is toxic and can harm human health and pollute waterways, and anyone buying or using sheep-dip needs a certificate of competency. Because of that, professional, mobile dipping contractors are becoming more common. We see one in action.And plants that live in coastal salt-marshes have adapted to their inhospitable environment by producing high levels of an anti-stress molecule that protects them. Now, scientists at the University of East Anglia have identified the genes that help produce the molecule and say one day it could be used to help crops cope in stressful conditions like drought.Presented by Caz Graham Produced by Heather Simons

The DEFRA Secretary has defended the Government's decision to introduce inheritance tax on agricultural assets. Steve Reed tells Anna Hill the wealthiest landowners and farmers "can afford to contribute more". It comes after inheritance tax of 20% is being brought in for farms with £2 million or more of assets. Some farmers are angry - concerned it will mean that when a farmer dies, their family will have to sell some of all of their land to pay the tax.And we visit an autumn sheep sale in Cumbria to hear why upland and hill farmers are worried about the future, despite a buoyant sheep market.Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons

There's a row about a new Land Management Group for Dartmoor. There's been a lot of controversy about the state of the environment and grazing sheep there. The new group's been set up to bring together farmers, commoners and environmental groups to sort out the problems. The government's appointed Phil Stocker as the independent chair, but conservationists say he shouldn't have been given the job as he's also CEO of the National Sheep Association. We speak to Dartmoor Nature Alliance about their concerns. We ask Phil Stocker about his new role, and also about the state of sheep farming in the UK. Farmers in North Somerset say plans to create saltmarshes to offset the environmental impact of a new power station would be disastrous for their homes and livelihoods. Energy giant EDF is building a nuclear power plant - Hinkley Point C - on the Bristol Channel. To offset the number of fish that’ll be killed when it’s up and running, EDF is looking to create saltmarshes along the River Severn. It needs more than 800 acres and is considering the compulsory purchase of agricultural land.Presenter = Caz Graham Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Following the Budget, Caz Graham is in Cumbria to hear farmers' reactions to the news that inheritance tax will apply to farms from April 2026.The National Farmers' Union tells us farming is being "bled dry" and has "nothing left to give".The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner, confirmed that next year's farming budget for England remains unchanged at £2.4 billion.There was no mention of nature in the Chancellor's speech, something the Wildlife Trusts highlighted, saying "the UK Government must commit to long-term strategic funding for nature’s recovery and provide greater funding for environmental regulators".Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

As part of the budget, farmers in England have been told direct payments will be phased out more quickly than originally planned. Under the EU system farmers were paid subsidy based on the amount of land they farmed - that system is being replaced with new schemes, which are different in the four nations of the UK. In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland farmers continue to get direct payments at the moment. In England the phase out started in 2021. So many farmers are already getting around half what they used to, with payments ending in 2027. In England, the biggest reductions will be for the farmers who historically got the biggest payments. We speak to an upland farmer whose old payments are ending but he says there aren't any new schemes he can apply for yet, so he's losing tens of thousands of pounds. Changes to inheritance tax and agricultural property relief were also announced in the budget. We speak to a rural property expert about what impact those changes will have. Farming unions say farmers and their families may have to sell up to pay the tax.NFU Scotland gives their reaction to the budget. All week we've been focusing on soils. A project to analyse soil health with a view to improving the environment and profitability has been taken up by hundreds of farmers. Technicians go on to farms to look at what might be done to improve the land and make it more sustainable. Lloyds Bank is paying for some of its customers to take part in the audit which is carried out by the Soil Association Exchange. Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

We look at how the Budget affects agriculture and farming businesses. Inheritance tax will apply to farms from April 2026. The National Farmers' Union tells us farming is being "bled dry" and has "nothing left to give". The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner, has confirmed that next year's farming budget for England remains unchanged at £2.4 billion. There was no mention of nature in the Chancellor's budget speech, something the Wildlife Trusts highlighted, saying "The UK Government must commit to long-term strategic funding for nature’s recovery and provide greater funding for environmental regulators". Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Labour's first Budget for 14 years will be delivered by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves today. The treasury's confirmed a 6.7% increase in the national living wage for UK workers over the age of 21 and the national minimum wage for those aged between 18 and 20 will also rise by £1.40 per hour. It's one decision that could impact farming businesses. We look at what other potential announcements could mean for agriculture and the environment.The government's set out new criteria for meeting nature conservation targets. Environment secretary Steve Reed made the announcement at the COP16 biodviersity summit in Columbia. He renewed the pledge to protect 30 per cent of land and sea for nature by 2030. However the government's said it's had to revise its estimate of how much land in England currently qualifies for those targets - it's not as much as it thought. Sites of Special Scientific Interest will only count when they're in a favourable or recovering condition.All week we've been unearthing stories of farms that are paying close attention to the health of their soils. Today we hear from a dairy farmer in west Wales who's turned his back on what he describes as a 'traditional farming system' to take a more ecological approach, working from the ground up. It's almost Halloween and for some farmers, pumpkin picking has become an important diversification but bad weather has ruined the harvest in parts of the country this year. One grower in Cheshire had to cancel his pumpkin festival, which accounts for half the farm's annual income. However the family's turned to its orchards and is holding an apple festival instead.Presenter = Steffan Messenger Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Hedgehogs have been moved up the red list of threatened species by the International Union for Conservation. The IUCN says the European Hedgehog is in worrying and widespread decline, and it has moved it from "least concern" to "near threatened". We ask the Mammal Society why hedgehogs are a cause for concern.All week we're digging down into the subject of soil. Northern Ireland is running one of the most comprehensive soil nutrient sampling schemes that any country has ever undertaken. The £37 million 'Soil Nutrient Health Scheme', funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs aims to sample nearly every one of Northern Ireland's 700,000 or so fields. It's believed the results could help farmers improve their soils, better manage nutrient application and reduce nutrient loss to water bodies, not least Lough Neagh.  Many crops have suffered with the wet weather this year. For vineyard owners, the wet has encouraged detrimental diseases and low yields. For organic wine producers, the options to combat the effects of a wet summer are minimal. We visit a vineyard where this autumn's harvest is half what it should be, because of the weather. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

A rise in sea temperatures is being blamed for the death of more than a million fish on salmon farming sites. MOWI - the company that runs the sites - says increased sea temperatures in the last 2 years led to an influx of jellyfish and algae, which harmed the fish. But campaigners say having large numbers of salmon concentrated in once place is the real problem - claiming it compromises their health, making them more vulnerable when water temperatures fluctuate.Invasive mink could be eradicated from the South East of England. Mink eat water voles - as well as other animals and birds - and projects are underway across the country to try and eradicate them. After successful efforts in Norfolk and Suffolk, The Waterlife Recovery Trust, with the help of volunteers and landowners, has laid two thousand floating "smart traps” along waterways.And soil has been rising up the agenda in the last decade - among farmers, conservationists and politicians. Farmers in England can be paid to improve soil health and, in Northern Ireland, the government is funding country-wide soil sampling. So how much difference is it making?Presented by Charlotte Smith Produced by Heather Simons

This week we are focusing on livestock and their impact on climate change. We hear about the concerns over the number of livestock here in the UK, and find out how farmers are reducing emissions by growing cattle faster or breeding sheep to burp less.A BBC freedom of information request has revealed that the amount of illegal meat seized by border force officials has doubled in a year. Charlotte Smith revisits a farmer growing white maize, a staple crop in his native Zimbabwe. Eleven years since her last visit, David Mwanaka now rents a council farm near Cambridgeshire and his farm selling exotic crops is going strong.Alpaca breeders use something called a 'spit off' or a 'spit test' to see if their females are pregnant with a cria, or baby alpaca. We go along to see the test in action.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Following an application from farmers for the emergency use of a neonicotinoid pesticide on next year's sugar beet crop the Government has told Farming Today that it will ban neonics, but that a decision on this application will be taken 'in line with legal requirements'. We understand that that means farmers may get permission this time - but not again.We visit a Wiltshire farm, where the family who run it have spent the last 4 years changing the way they do things to reduce their carbon footprint. It's a mixed farm with dairy, beef and arable, and alongside trying to reduce the emissions from their livestock, they're also hoping to increase how much carbon they sequester by planting trees in an agroforestry project.And the Bower family farm in Staffordshire grows crops, and vegetables and has a herd of sheep and another herd of beef cattle. But locals are far more likely to know it for the pumpkin patch and the play barn - which pull in more than 100,000 visitors every year. We head to the pumpkin patch!Presented by Charlotte Smith Produced by Heather Simons