26/11/25 Planning bill and environmental protections, livestock genetics, robotic dairy.
Description
Conservationists have accused the government of turning its back on nature in the new planning bill which is making its way through parliament. The RSPB says the legislation is creating a new tried and untested process which will put nature and nature markets at risk.
We often talk about exports of produce like beef and dairy but exporting farm animal genetics is also big business. The industry estimates that around 70 per cent of the world's farmed poultry orginates from UK breeding stock, while UK cattle genetics are now exported to 100 countries around the world. A new agreement with Kenya will see sheep and goat genetics exported there. The UK Export Certification Partnership is a public-private grouping which promotes the export of livestock products, breeding stock and genetics.
All this week, we’re checking in with the dairy industry. Over the last 30 years, the size of the UK dairy herd has been gradually falling, while average milk yields, that's the number of litres a cow produces, has been steadily increasing. That increase is partly down to using new technology like on-demand robotic milking machines. We visit a herd of indoor cows in Wiltshire.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
United States
