Farming Today

The fourth heatwave of the year in the UK is still making the daily farming jobs a struggle for many. But this year the dry weather and heat have also created the conditions for significant wildfires across the country. In Scotland a wildfire started 2 weeks ago in the Cairngorms National Park. It's thought to have damaged around 25 square kilometres of natural forest and hillsides, although the exact extent isn't yet known. The surface fire has diminished but it's still burning deep in the peat soil, and nearly a hundred firefighters are still deployed in the area. The Chief Executive of the Cairngorms National Park Authority Grant Moir tells us that the fire took hold in an area known for its important wildlife habitats, much loved by visitors and the local community.
The end of harvest can also be the start of a very worrying time for farmers, when illegal hare coursers drive over stubble fields, set off dogs to chase hares, and often bet on the outcome. South Wales Police have warned of an increase in illegal hare coursing in the Vale of Glamorgan, with local farmers being threatened and intimidated when they try to intervene.
This week is BBC Farmwatch week and today we're heading to a farm in Nottinghamshire which grows wildflowers to harvest their seeds.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling

As drought spreads across the UK we hear calls for our water and food systems to change. The lack of water, the miserable harvest and an unpredictable geo-political situation add up to expose the fragility of the UK's food system according to a cross section of supermarkets, food producers and campaigners who've written to the new Prime Minister. They want Andy Burnham to introduce a Good Food Bill for England.
The environmental charity, River Action, says too many businesses are taking water from rivers, and the Government should review the abstraction licence system. It says that trillions of litres of water are being taken from rivers, lakes and aquifers every year and that as pressure on resources grows, the UK needs a fully funded water resilience plan.
The drought is causing problems for livestock farmers; grass doesn't grow in scorched fields so they're having to look at other ways of feeding their animals.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Half of England is now officially in drought. The Environment Agency says it will enhance its monitoring of water levels and crucially for many farmers, step up controls on how much water can be taken from rivers and groundwater.
The BBC's local radio stations have been devoting the day to agriculture and as part of this Farmwatch the BBC has been looking at the price of food and how much of what we pay goes to farmers. According to the Consumer Price Index from May this year, families are paying 9% more for beef products, 2% more for bread rolls and 8% more for bagged salad than they were 12 months ago. However, producers at the start of the food chain say the extra cash doesn't end up in their pockets.
Cases of the cattle and sheep disease bluetongue are on the rise: there have been 24 in the UK since the beginning of the month, the majority in the South West of England and three in Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland haven't had any cases. The disease is spread by midges and can have a devastating impact on livestock from spontaneous abortions to birth defects and death.
Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

New research shows campylobacter - which causes gastro-intestinal illness in humans - is becoming more resistant to antibiotics as the number of intensive chicken farms increases. The research, led by scientists at Oxford University, found the number of strains of the bacterium was growing globally, with evolution advancing the most effective of them.
This week we’re celebrating Farmwatch, where our BBC Local Radio stations in England are highlighting farming stories in their communities. Lush Greens is a Community Market Garden situated in Bristol and surrounded by houses, that each week provides 60 families with fresh food grown on the two-acre site. It's part of a community supported agricultural scheme, which allows people to pay what they can afford.
And we celebrate 50 years of the National Wildlife Management Centre in Gloucestershire. It traps and tests wild badgers to build up a picture of habits and populations, to help understand the devastating disease Bovine TB, which affects both wildlife and livestock.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Sally Challoner.

The UK's fresh produce trade body has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham asking him to scrap proposed border checks on fruit, veg and flowers, which it claims could cost the industry £300 million. The controls are included in the reset of our trading relationship with the European Union, currently under negotiation. The checks for pests and diseases would affect imports to the UK from outside Europe. The chief executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium tells us around half of the fruit and veg which comes into the UK is from non-EU countries, and consumers are likely to see higher prices if the changes come into effect.
Salad sales have boomed in the hot weather, but the heat presents a big challenge for lettuce growers.
This week sees BBC Farmwatch, which celebrates farm to fork stories around England on BBC Sounds and BBC Local Radio. We catch up with BBC Farmwatch presenter, and farmer, Harriet Cowan as well as visiting a Somerset farm which makes its own unpasteurised Cheddar Cheese.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Sarah Swadling