Farming Today

Scientists have developed a TB test which they believe could pave the way for a new vaccine. An international team led by Professor Glyn Hewinson at the University of Aberystwyth has published details of a skin test which differentiates between animals that have been vaccinated with TB and those that are diseased. Experts believe a vaccine could be five years away. Police in Scotland are investigating the deaths and disappearance of raptors on grouse moors. In the past couple of months two tagged golden eagles have gone missing and two hen harriers have been killed in traps. The RSPB and Scottish Land and Estates which represents landowners have condemned the persecution. Leadhills Estate in South Lanarkshire has said it's not responsible for a hen harrier killed by an illegal trap on its land. An arable farmer in Wiltshire who's not ploughed his fields for five years says he's saving money on fuel and fertiliser. George Hosier claims the yield of his no-till cereals hasn't suffered.

A report published this morning reveals what it describes as 'the hidden scandal of domestic abuse in rural areas.' The research by the National Rural Crime Network showed that isolation is used as a weapon by abusers; close-knit rural communities facilitate abuse; and the policing response is largely inadequate. The government is urging all beekeepers to register for a national database, to help identify and combat the spread of disease. A new approach to insuring crops against poor harvests due to weather events, is being launched. The system works by looking at the average yield of a crop in a region over several years and if bad weather results in a significant drop in yield, farmers can then claim from the insurance. We're out into the woods in search of one of the UK's fast-disappearing species, the adder. A report published earlier this year by Reading University predicted that the adder could become extinct in the UK within twenty years. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Should all UK farming be putting the environment before food production? Or will that make food too expensive? We hear from Sir Ian Cheshire on the new report from the RSA's Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, which recommends a radical shift in farming practices. Independent economist, Sean Rickard, argues on behalf of the Crop Protection Association, that a family food bill would rise by £786 a year if pesticides and herbicides were not used on farms. And as part of our week-long look at cereals we're talking about 100 years of wheat at The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB). Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Natural England has been roundly criticised over its handling of environmental payments, and the suspension of general licences, and now its Chair Tony Juniper tells Charlotte Smith that it doesn't have the money to fight legal actions or even perform some of its core functions. Shaun Spiers from The Green Alliance tells Charlotte that more funding is required if the Government's serious about meeting its environmental targets. It's cereals week on Farming Today and David Eudall from Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board tells Charlotte that farmers are enjoying a far more stable year after last year's turbulent weather, and that more and more farmers are turning to Oats as a replacement crop for Oil Seed Rape. For some school-children in Birmingham their daily fruit intake is being replaced by vegetables including a crop that British farmers have only recently started to grow on a large scale - the Sugar Snap Pea. David Gregory-Kumar went to Worcestershire to help with the Sugar Snap harvest and to find out what the kids thought of this innovative vegetable-based snack. Producer: Toby Field

This programme explores the issue of public access to the countryside. How do you balance the rights of walkers, horseriders and cyclists with the needs of farmers? Charlotte Smith visits a sheep farm near Wantage in Oxfordshire, which is very close to the Ridgeway national trail. She talks to the farm manager about the impact of having a major walking route on the doorstep, attracting thousands of visitors every year. She learns about how environmental schemes have paid subsidies in the past to improve footpath access, and asks whether the proposed new system of 'public money for public goods' post-Brexit could improve access further. We also meet the officer in charge of the Ridgeway trail and the director of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - who explain how the area is managed, and tell Charlotte about the impact all those tyres, hooves and pairs of walking boots have on the land. Producer: Emma Campbell