Farming Today Folgen

After a marathon run of torrential rain, floods, and grey skies to start 2026 , the drought warnings from last Autumn seem a world away. Back in October, the Environment Agency said that at least 100% of the average rainfall would be needed every month until the end of March for England to recover fully from the 2025 drought. Steve Turner from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology tells Charlotte that rivers and groundwater have returned to normal, or above normal, levels in most of the country.We meet a grower search for an elusive and almost forgotten Derbyshire apple: Mrs Wilmot's Pippin. Land is seen as the answer to some of the big questions faced by Society: cutting greenhouse gas emissions by generating renewable energy, building new homes to ease the housing crisis, making space for nature to halt the collapse of wildlife numbers...and farming to feed the nation. As land is a finite resource, the debate over which land should be used for what purpose is becoming increasingly charged. The Government is hoping to take some of the heat out of the discussion, and provide much needed clarity. It's already consulted on a Land Use Framework for England, and the final version is due to be published soon. Ahead of that, this week we're looking at those competing pressures on land. Presenter: Charlotte Smith Producer: Sarah Swadling

Mackerel will soon be disappearing from the shelves of Waitrose as the supermarket says it's 'taking a stand against overfishing'. In September last year the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), recommended that North-east Atlantic Mackerel catches should be cut by 70% to help rebuild stocks to a sustainable level. But four countries which fish for Mackerel in the North East Atlantic cut their quota for 2026 by just 48% compared to the previous year. As a result, Waitrose has decided to suspend sourcing from the end of April. Fishing organisations in Scotland say they are disappointed and feel they have been unfairly penalised because - they say - the UK has led the way in trying to secure sustainable fishing for Mackerel.Anna Hill reports from a Cromer seafood processor who's experiencing a drop in the availability of Crabs following fishing disruption due to wind farm construction. It's been a worrying winter for poultry farmers, with cases of avian flu in England, Scotland and Wales. The Pirbright Institute's Head of Avian Virology updates us on what he describes as the 'third worst ever' epidemic of high pathogenicity bird flu in the UK, and reflects on what might lie ahead over the spring and summer. Cambridge University's vet school will not be closing after all. The University's governing body has rejected proposals to cease taking new entrants.Presenter: Anna Hill Producer: Sarah Swadling

The farming minister says changes announced this week will help make farms more resilient. Angela Eagle speaks to us about the government's biggest environmental scheme, England's Sustainable Farming Incentive, which is getting an overhaul. The other UK nations have different schemes. Reaction has been generally welcoming, with some buts...Farmers and landowners are calling for a new arrangement which would allow them to take rubbish illegally fly tipped on their land to landfill sites free of charge. At the moment they have to foot the bill for any clean up. This comes as new government figures for England show a nine per cent increase year on year in the number of incidents local councils have to deal with. We hear an update on the illegal waste site cleanup at Hoad's Wood near Ashford in Kent.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.