Farming Today

The UK's environment watchdog has warned that regulations designed to reduce water pollution from agricultural sources in Northern Ireland, urgently need to be strengthened. The Office for Environmental Protection, or OEP, has examined Northern Ireland's Nutrients Action Programme and says its measures haven't done enough to improve water quality.
Many students of farming get the opportunity to experience hands-on learning, with dairy, beef and arable. At Harper Adams University in Shropshire students not only get to learn how to tend a vineyard, but now they're able to drink their own wine, made with grapes from the University's vines. The first wines have just been released.
Vets' organisations are calling for a ban on imports of eggs produced by caged hens, alongside a phasing out of the 'enriched colony' cages currently legal in the UK. The British Veterinary Association and British Veterinary Poultry Association are supporting the Government's plan to end the use of cage systems here - out for consultation earlier this year. The National Farmers Union warned the move would drive more imports, some produced using methods already illegal in the UK.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling

The price of British wool has gone up. But does it even cover the cost of shearing?
Below ground, we listen to new research on the sounds from worms and other creatures living in the soil.
Above ground, we're out in the woodland listening to the dawn chorus. And we enjoy a medley of countryside sounds sent in by listeners.

The price of wool from British sheep is at a ten year high - on average farmers will see a 70 per cent increase on last year. However that will still only just cover the cost of shearing the sheep. The price is set by British Wool, which is owned by around 30,000 UK sheep farmers, and collects, grades, sells and promotes wool. It says the price rise is down to increased demand, and a worldwide fall in the number of sheep.
Well if you've been out and about in the countryside in the last few weeks you may have seen the glorious displays of bluebells. Not all of them are native - and there's concern that the invasive Spanish variety is spreading, and could threaten our more delicate blooms.
Bluebells are protected - it is illegal to pick them - and in some parts of the UK, land owners are doing more to preserve the native species.
And all this week we're listening to the countryside - the sounds we hear beyond, say, a tractor, or cows mooing. So far we've heard bats, worms in the soil and babbling brooks. Today we're joining an organised dawn chorus walk - It's one of the most popular events at Bere Farm in Dorset, run by the Countryside Regeneration Trust.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

The use of the herbicide glyphosate has been long debated, and it’s going to come under intense scrutiny in the coming months.  This summer, the Health and Safety Executive will launch a two-month public consultation on whether approval for the use of glyphosates should be renewed. In the EU, a decision was made in 2023 to renew glyphosate approval for 10 years, though with restrictions on how it can be used to dry off crops before harvesting. Here, the NFU and other farming organisations support the continued use of glyphosate-based weedkillers – including as a pre-harvest desiccant in cereals and oilseed rape. They say it reduces the need for other herbicides, helps protect soil, and cuts greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the need for ploughing. However the Soil Association, along with a number of other environmental groups, are launching a petition calling for glyphosate to be banned as a pre-harvest desiccant.
The sounds of the countryside can be every bit as evocative as its sights - the dawn chorus, or the burbling of a stream can conjure up a mood, or a special place. So this week on Farming Today we're exploring the landscape of the UK through sound. One soil scientist is using microphones to eavesdrop on life below the surface, especially earthworms.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

A new propagation technique could help restore the ash tree to our landscapes. Scientists across the UK have been working to propagate saplings from resistant trees, but currently that takes between 2 and 5 years. Now researchers at the John Innes Centre have developed a speedier system, which they hope everyone could use, even at home, with the help of household bleach.
Campaigners are calling for a full-scale clean-up of beaches on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent following the discovery of a large quantity of illegally dumped clinical waste.
The University of Suffolk and a local group have been monitoring bats using bioacoustics to track their ultrasonic calls as they visit people's gardens.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.