Farming Today
Episodes
31/12/25 Cider Apple DNA
31 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Swadling finds out about a quest to save our hidden cider orchard heritage using DNA testing.Work is being carried out in orchards to DNA finger...
30/12/25 The Luck Penny
30 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Farmers at Rathfriland market in County Down still practise an old tradition when livestock changes hands. Farmers selling their animals hand money ba...
The Longhorns of Salisbury Plain
29 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Elise Sutton is a new entrant to farming, but the herd of Longhorn cattle she looks after have a blood line that goes back 85 years. The Stoke herd, w...
27/12/26: Anna Hill's 30 years on Farming Today
27 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This year, Anna Hill marked her 30th anniversary as a presenter of Farming Today. Talking to her fellow presenter Charlotte Smith, Anna reflects on t...
Horse-powered Pint
26 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Britain’s pubs and bars will be busy with Boxing Day drinkers enjoying a seasonal pint or two today. But how many will give a thought to the way the...
25/12/25 Farms for City Children - 50 years of Michael & Clare Morpurgo's charity.
25 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Farms for City Children was set up by the writer Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare 50 years ago. They were both young teachers and wanted to help ch...
24/12/25 The Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses
24 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With a military pipe band and trumpet fanfares, Caz Graham joins pensioners at the Royal Hospital Chelsea for their Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses,...
Trail hunting ban, Christmas trees, Combating rural loneliness at Christmas
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We hear from both sides of the hunting divide about the Government's plan to ban trail hunting in England and Wales. Trail hunting was introduced afte...
22/12/25 Government animal welfare reforms, reaction to the Farm Profitability Review
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Colony cages for hens and pig's farrowing crates are to be phased out as part of the Government's animal welfare strategy which is launched today. Tra...
20/12/25 Farming review, cheap veg, historic buildings
20 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Batters Review into Farm Profitability in England was finally published this week. It was put together by Baroness Batters, former president of th...
19/12/25 Farm profitability review, charcuterie, mill stones
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The major changes needed to make farming profitable - we hear from Baroness Batters on her long awaited review.Charcuterie is often a favourite over t...
18/12/25 Loss leaders, small ducks, historic houses
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We ask why veg is always a loss leader at this time of year, and whether farmers suffer as a result. For the price of a first class stamp you could bu...
17/12/2025 Planning reforms and the environment, rural churches.
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Village churches are as much a part of our rural landscape as trees and hedgerows. However according to a recent survey by the National Churches Trust...
16/12/2025 MPs challenge prime minister about inheritance tax, planning and green belt, restoring rural buildings
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Prime Minister has told a select committee he is aware of the pressure farmers are facing because of the government's plan to reimpose inheritance...
EU tractor protest, hill farm nature reserve, heritage buildings in the countryside
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Caz Graham talks to the President of the Irish Farmers Association, Francie Gorman, about the journey he's embarking upon from Dublin to Brussels by t...
13/12/25 Farming Today This Week: turkeys; rural roads; off-grid communities; African swine fever; rare breed pigs.
13 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Despite the impact of avian flu, which has been devastating for some turkey farmers, the industry says there will not be a shortage this Christmas. Po...
12/12/25 Abattoirs, Farm sitters, Welsh rare breeds
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Food Standards Agency has agreed to a public consultation on the fees it takes from abattoirs. They are charged by the FSA for their official vets...
11/12/25 Colorado Beetle, fairness in arable supply chain, aid for US farmers, rare breed pigs
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Colorado Beetle which is a major threat to potato crops has been officially eradicated from the UK. It was last identified on a farm in Kent in 2...
10/12/25 Swine fever, Turkeys, Rare breeds
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Spanish region of Catalonia is still coping with the arrival of African Swine Fever, which was first diagnosed in wild boar on November 28th. Ther...
09/12/25 Off grid communities, rural road deaths, drought, Lincoln Longwool sheep.
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Thousands of people are still not connected to the National Grid and rely on generators for power, according to the energy regulator. Ofgem estimates ...
08/12/25 Rare breeds, sprout harvest, vets encouraging farmers to visit the doctor
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Governments of the UK need to do more to support native farm animal breeds. That's the view of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust which says that whi...
06/12/25 Farming Today This Week: rural traditions supply chain adjudicator, drought, bluetongue, swine fever, winter jobs
06 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rural traditions, from morris dancing to dry stone walling and tartan weaving, could be internationally protected by UNESCO. The government has launch...
05/12/2025
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
04/12/25 Inheritance Tax, Drought, Cider
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A group of Labour MPs with rural consitituancies have urged the Government to think again on Inheritance Tax Changes, with some abstaining on a Common...
03/12/2025
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
02/12/2025 African swine fever, Bluetongue, Ethical dairy
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The UK has temporarily banned all imports of pig products from Spain afrer an outbreak of African Swine Fever in wild boars there. It's their first ...
01/12/25 Government's environmental improvement plan, water management and flooding, hedge laying
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The government's new environmental improvement plan for England is launched today. The Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs has set o...
29/11/25 Farming Today This Week: Farmer protests over the budget and inheritance tax, agriculture course suspended, dairy
29 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Farmers were in London again to protest about the re-imposition of inheritance tax on farming and business assets of more than £1 million, something ...
28/11/25 Rural depopulation, organic dairy, potato waste skin care, reservoir farm
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
36 per cent of people who live in rural areas or on islands in Scotland are considering leaving, blaming a range of things from healthcare and ferries...
27/11/2025 Budget and inheritance tax, farmer protest
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Farmers were in London again to protest about the re-imposition of inheritance tax on farming and business assets of more than a million pounds - some...
26/11/25 Planning bill and environmental protections, livestock genetics, robotic dairy.
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Conservationists have accused the government of turning its back on nature in the new planning bill which is making its way through parliament. The RS...
25/11/2025
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
24/11/25: Dairy rollercoaster, English farm business incomes, Isle of Man vets
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The latest Farm Business Income Survey from DEFRA shows average dairy farm incomes for 2024/25 had doubled year on year. The reality at this moment ma...
21/11/25 Defra secretary at CLA conference, farm business income, COP and agriculture, prison farm.
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Details on the relaunch of England's biggest agri-environment scheme will come in the first half of next year - so says the Secretary of State for the...
20/11/25 Food & Farming Award winner, maltings closures, farming in Brazil, oysters.
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A decline in demand for whiskey is being blamed for the closure and suspension of Scottish malting plants - something which farmers fear will also mea...
19/11/25 Antibiotic resistance, rice straw, Food & Farming Awards winner
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The use of antibiotics in treating livestock in the UK has fallen, according to a new report published by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, which...
18/11/25 Inheritance Tax a year on from farmers' rally, soy in animal feed, lanolin protein
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A year on from a big farmers' rally in Whitehall, farmers again travel to London to lobby MPs about inheritance tax. As COP 30 continues in Brazil, we...
17/11/25 Rise in wool price, getting out of dairy, fish farming
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The price farmers get for wool is up, about 20% up from last year, but it still doesn't cover the cost of shearing the sheep. We hear from a dairy far...
15/11/25 EFRA questions, report on farming in Wales, drought, potato harvest, mushrooms, truffles, cider
15 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Eight weeks after taking up her post as DEFRA Secretary of State, Emma Reynolds has faced her first barrage of questions from the cross-party group of...
14/11/25 Drought warnings, farmers at COP 30, woodland mushrooms, veg grown in Senegal
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We hear warnings that unless we see some serious rain, England will be in drought next year. The Environment Agency says there will be widespread impa...
13/11/25 MPs call for inheritance tax impact assessment in Wales, mycelium as insulation, Guernsey cider
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A report by the House of Commons’ Welsh Affairs Committee is calling for the Government's inheritance tax on farmers to be halted, because it says t...
12/11/25 EFRA questions, pig farm planning permission, truffles, potatoes
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Eight weeks after taking up her post as DEFRA Secretary of State, Emma Reynolds has faced her first barrage of questions from the cross-party group of...
11/11/25 Fishing action plan, Scottish farming fund, farmers' arthritis, mushrooms
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
An all party parliamentary group of MPs is launching what it calls a 'new action plan for fishing.' The group believes that the industry is being chal...
10/11/2025: Family farms, 'Aginflation', mushroom growing in NI
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many farming families are uncertain about their future in the industry, but are we on the cusp of major change with consequences for the fabric of the...
08/11/25 Farming Today This Week: Bird flu, low farmer confidence, Millennium Seed Bank, food security
08 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Poultry Farmers are warned this winter is on course to be among the worst for avian flu. This week all poultry in England and Northern Ireland was ord...
07/11/2025: Bird flu warning, Wrinkled Crinkled Crumpled Cress, low farmer confidence
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Poultry Farmers are warned this winter is on course to be among the worst for Avian Flu. This week all poultry in England and Northern Ireland was ord...
06/11/25 Millennium Seed Bank - how wild seeds can help agriculture and landscape restoration.
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As part of our week-long focus on seeds we go behind the scenes at the Millennium Seed Bank in Sussex. It's celebrating its 25th anniversary this year...
05/11/25 Preparedness for animal disease, bird flu housing order, seeds, oat genome.
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the number of bird flu cases across the country rises, DEFRA has announced bird keepers across England must house all poultry and captive birds if...
04/11/25 Seasonal workers, seed merchant, farm profitability.
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The government's announced the number of agricultural seasonal workers visas allowed for the UK for next year. 41,000 visas will be made available fo...
03/11/2025: Food security, no confidence in DAERA, where seeds start
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A cross party group of MPs are warning that UK food production could drop by almost a third, by 2050. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Science and...
01/11/2025: Drought, invasive species, waste
01 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The government's Drought Group has warned of ongoing problems in the year ahead unless reservoirs and rivers get enough rain in the next few months. T...
31/10/25: Pumpkin growers' nightmare. Drought to continue into 2026? UK Carbon budget. Invasive species
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pumpkin growers have had a nightmare year. The crop needs plenty of water and the hot summer made them ripen too early for Halloween. Cost of living p...
30/10/25: An uncomfortable transition? The buzz about Asian hornets. Cosmic ray neutrons and soil moisture
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A Government commissioned review of the problems with farm profitability, carried out by Baroness Batters, is due to be delivered to DEFRA soon. It co...
29/10/25 Scottish Land Reform Bill, bird flu housing order, Himalayan Basalm, historic farming landscapes.
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Land Reform Bill is being debated at Holyrood and members of the Scottish Parliament will be voting on what’s been described as landmark legisla...
28/10/2025 Waste crime inquiry, beaver release, zebra mussels
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Multiple failures from the Environment Agency, a lack interest from police and a ‘woeful lack of successful convictions’. That’s what a House of...
27/10/25 Energy costs for salad growers, carrots, invasive species.
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Salad growers are warning that price increases for electricity will drive people out of the sector. Growers in the Lea Valley on the edge of London sa...
25/10/25: Beer and cider from land to glass
25 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The raw ingredients to make a pint all begin life on British farms whether malting barley, or cider apples and perry pears, or hops. For barley and ho...
The rise and rise of beef prices, carp growing, agroforestry
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Charlotte Smith examines what's behind 2025's unprecedented increase in prices paid to UK beef farmers. According to the Agriculture and Horticulture ...
Foot and mouth personal meat import ban, gearing up for sheep shearing as overseas shearer visas granted
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Travellers have been banned from bringing meat from all EU countries into the UK following Foot and Mouth disease in Germany, Hungary and Slovakia. Th...
12/04/2025 Farming Today This Week: Salmon Farming, Wildfire and Trade
12 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Salmon farming has long been plagued by questions over its environmental impact and welfare concerns for farmed fish and the wild fish that live nearb...