Farming Today

The millions of people in rural areas who rely on oil to heat their homes have seen prices rise by 40 per cent in the past two months alone. They're not covered by the energy price cap, set by the regulator OFGEM, which limits the increase that most will see this winter because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. More than a third of households have no access to mains gas but instead rely on fuels like LPG or heating oil.
The Government body which works to safeguard animal health and public safety has said lessons will be learned - and extra capacity put in place - to tackle future outbreaks of the livestock disease bluetongue. Earlier this month the Environment Food and Rural Affairs committee demanded an explanation for what it called a 'lack of preparedness for this summer's bluetongue outbreak'.
And we meet a farmer who's found a way to turn the fava beans he grows into feed for his chickens. Mike Mallett is an organic egg and poultry producer in Suffolk. He has now cracked the problems of toxicity and nutrient availability by cooking the beans in a big roaster, and is now practically self sufficient in organic feed.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

'Shambolic', 'disheartening' and 'carnage' - some of the words being used by farmers to describe the application process for England's biggest farm environmental scheme that opened, and closed, on Tuesday. This is the Sustainable Farming Incentive, which pays farmers for environmental work, like planting hedges or improving soil. On Tuesday, the total budget available was £233 million, it was a first come, first served system, with thousands of farmers applying and in six hours all the money had gone.
And baked beans - which we are talking about as part of our week looking at pulses. At the moment, all our baked beans are imported from China, Ethiopia, the USA and Canada. Three years ago, we visited Lincolnshire farmer Andrew Ward who was growing the first-ever British variety of baked bean. He's been working alongside the University of Warwick with a view to breaking into the market. This year he’s grown 42 acres nearly three times the amount he first planted in 2023.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Vets in the South West are testing breeding rams to see if the disease bluetongue has caused infertility. One vets practice in Devon said of the 500 rams they've tested, a quarter were a cause for concern. One farmer we spoke to has had to buy in extra rams to replace those found to be temporarily infertile. There's a warning the breeding season could be delayed, leading to fewer early lambs next year.
The second window of funding for environmental schemes on farms has opened - and closed within hours. The Sustainable Farming Incentive is the Government's fund to pay farmers for things like improving soil and creating wildlife habitat. The budget of £233m was all allocated within six hours.
And we speak to a Malawian student who's in the UK looking at what farmers here could learn about growing pulses - a staple crop there but not widespread here.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Sally Challoner.

UK potato growers could be facing losses of almost £170 million because of this summer’s heatwaves and drought. That’s according to new analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a not-for-profit organisation which looks at the impacts of climate change.
Add that to crop losses across Europe’s main potato growing countries - Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands - and we could be looking at 3.5 million tonnes fewer potatoes getting into the shops.
We're looking at pulses this week. They're the dried edible seeds of plants in the legume family, they grow in pods and we’re talking things like beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils. Here in the UK, they’ve generally been grown as what’s called a ‘break crop’ by arable farmers to put nitrogen back into the soil, and then used for making animal feed. But growing pulses for human consumption comes with the prospect of bigger rewards. Today, we're in Carmarthenshire where they're carrying out trials growing Carlin Peas on a county council owned farm.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Sally Challoner.

More beans please - should the UK be growing more pulses? The Food Foundation looked into the potential for these crops and concluded that the UK could and should be growing more of them.
Farmers may have to prepare for disappointment as England's biggest environmental scheme re-opens for applications this week. This is the Sustainable Farming Incentive, the SFI, which pays farmers for environmental work. New analysis suggests that while 40,000 farmers are expected to apply for the SFI there is only enough cash for about 15,000 agreements.
And how, with help from the Royal Countryside Fund, the West Lakeland Community Interest Company has put four young people through a series of training courses to become agricultural advisors.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.