Farming Today

A new trade deal is signed with Switzerland: it's welcomed by farmers, but will it go any way to combat a significant downturn in food and drink exports, while imports are on the rise?
The Farming In Protected Landscapes scheme is part of the new system of farm payments being developed in England to replace the old EU subsidies. We hear how hill farmers are using it to help keep their business afloat.
How a crackdown on deer can help keep the banks of Loch Lomond bonnie.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Pig farmers in Scotland have welcomed a £2m emergency support package from the Holyrood Government, but say it's not enough to stop them losing money. An outbreak of African Swine Fever in Spain has led to an oversupply of pork across Europe which is significantly driving down wholesale prices. Farmers in Scotland and across the rest of the UK say they're losing thousands of pounds a week.
We’re visiting some of the UK’s biggest agricultural shows throughout the summer, and this week we'll be at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate. We’ve already been to the Highland Show, the Balmoral Show in Northern Ireland and we’re off to the Royal Welsh in a couple of weeks. Agricultural policy is devolved in the UK nations and alongside visiting these shows we’re taking a detailed look at policy in each of the nations.
To adapt to sweltering temperatures, arable farmers are harvesting in the middle of the night and livestock farmers are busy keeping animals cool and well watered. We hear from a dairy farmer who says the heat is affecting milk yields.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

How practical would it be to grow our food underground? It’s a question being investigated by researchers at the University of Shefffield who are growing crops more than a kilometre below ground-level in a working mine near Whitby.
The Environment Agency has produced its first ever annual report into agriculture and water in England. Taking data from the last five years, it assesses the impact of agricultural pollution from farms, and how water availability is being managed. Non-compliance with water regulations has dropped, but 40% of farmers are still breaking the rules.
We’ve been taking a close look at commercial fishing all this week. Ten years on from the Brexit vote leading to the UK leaving the EU, some in the industry say that decision has had a lasting impact on their businesses, and not a good one. We hear from a scallop business in Scotland which says the industry needs more support.
Many of us have been sweltering in the third official heatwave of the summer. For farmers with livestock, there's the continual worry that their animals might be overheating, or not drinking enough water. We speak to a farm vet about the impact heat stress can have on the health of livestock and the fertility of cows.
Many farms have an education string to their bows nowadays but perhaps not quite on the scale of a farm near Kendal that’s been hosting primary school visits for the Westmorland County Agricultural Society for the last 25 years. Hundreds of children from 42 different schools flock to Roger Mason’s farm to learn what producing food is all about.
Presenter = Caz Graham
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Calls for wider bans on fishing with heavy gear that drags along the seabed to protect dolphins and porpoises.
We visit Hugh Lowe Farms in Kent, who have been providing strawberries to Wimbledon for over 25 years.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

How practical would it be to grow our food underground? It’s a question being investigated by researchers at the University of Shefffield who are growing crops more than a kilometre below ground-level in a working mine near Whitby. They’re collaborating with Farm Urban, a company that specialises in vertical farming, but usually going up vertically rather than down; and they reckon this is the world’s deepest vertical farm.
We’re taking a close look at commercial fishing all this week. Ten years on from the Brexit vote leading to the UK leaving the EU, some in the industry say that decision has had a lasting impact on their businesses, and not a good one. We hear from a scallop business in Scotland which says the industry needs more support.
This year, the Royal Horticultural Society’s annual show which is usually at Hampton Court has upped sticks and moved to the Badminton Estate in Gloucestershire. It’s not just a good excuse for some of us to get out the floaty dress and sunhat for a summer’s day out, events like this are an important showcase for the commercial nurseries who grow and sell the plants we buy for our gardens.
Presenter = Caz Graham
Producer = Rebecca Rooney