10/09/25: A reset for farming and government? Licences to burn peatland, Corncrakes on Lewis
Description
Could the reshuffle be an opportunity to reset the relationship between farmers and the government? The National Farmers Union President is optimistic, on the Union's Back British Farming day.
Unlicensed burning of vegetation on moorland in England where there's a deep layer of peat will be banned, DEFRA has confirmed. Land managers will have to apply for burning licences for land where 30cm of peat lies beneath the surface, previously licensing only applied to 40cm of deep peat. Environmentalists believe the move will safeguard peatland habitats and stored carbon. Landowners are angry at the decision, and argue that fewer controlled precautionary burns will increase the fuel available for wildfires - which themselves release more carbon into the atmosphere.
And, efforts to increase numbers of the elusive Corncrake in the Western Isles.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling
United States
