Farming Today

Farmers in Wales and Scotland are asking what last week's elections in Scotland and Wales will mean for agriculture. Neither Plaid Cymru in Wales nor the SNP in Scotland have ended up with an outright majority. In Scotland, Mairi Gougeon, the Rural Affairs Secretary, didn't stand for re-election, so a new appointment will have to be made. In Wales, Plaid Cymru have won 43 out of the 96 seats in an expanded Welsh parliament so are short of an outright majority. It means the Welsh pro-independence party will need the support of others to pass laws and a budget in future. So what does it all mean for agriculture and the environment - both policy areas that are largely devolved?
The agriculture show season begins with Balmoral Show just outside Belfast this week. Farming Today will be reporting from the show, and all week, we'll be looking at different aspects of farming across Northern Ireland. Unique to the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland's Soil Nutrient Health Scheme is the largest baseline soil sampling programme ever undertaken. The £37 million government-funded scheme is managed by the Agri-Food and Bio-Science Institute (AFBI) and has taken four years to complete.
A new centre to identify and address plant diseases is being set up with government funding of £3 million. The National Centre for Environmental Horticulture Plant Health will be virtual, operated by staff at the government's Animal and Plant Health Agency and the charity, the Royal Horticultural Society. It's hoped that commercial plant growers and gardeners too will send in evidence of pests and diseases to help stop their spread.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Rebecca Rooney

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