Farming Today

The government's launching its first field trial of a bird flu vaccine, in turkeys in England. The poultry industry has been calling for an avian flu vaccine, which could protect millions of birds against the disease. Five veterinary vaccines are approved for use across the European Union, but they haven't been approved in the UK. We speak to the Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer about how the trial will work
As the impact of the war in the Middle East starts to be felt on world markets, groups in the UK who buy fertiliser and fuel for farmers, are fielding calls from farmers worried about price rises. This time of the year, when spring planting is underway, both fertiliser and fuel are in high demand.
All week we're talking about land use, and the many demands that are being put on farm land, from growing food, to producing green energy, mitigating climate change and managing water. We talk to the people who are going to be affected by plans for a big reservoir in South Oxfordshire.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

MPs question top civil servants about surveillance at Dover Port and illegal meat. The EFRA Committee said nearly a fifth of consignments directed from Dover to a border control point 20 miles away at Sevington, were failing to do so.
All week we’re exploring how farmland is being used. Solar farms can be controversial, but how do farmers and landowners with tenants view the issue? Norfolk County council has more than 16,000 acres in tenant farms. It's decided that none of its tenants will be allowed to put solar panels on their land, although they are encouraged to install them on farm buildings.
We've all been told that less waste is good, and we're urged to recycle, but what if your household rubbish could be used to grow tomatoes or salad ? A landfill site next to the M4 in Wiltshire has installed a prototype inflatable structure which will use cleaned gases from waste, to grow food under cover.
Presenter - Anna Hill
Producer - Rebecca Rooney

The first shipment of tariff-free UK beef has arrived on shop shelves in the United States. It's part of the UK-US trade deal which allows a reciprocal movement of 13,000 tonnes of US and UK beef across the Atlantic. For British farmers, the government claims the deal is worth £70 million a year, if the quota is fully used. We ask a trade expert how significant it will be.
All week we’re talking about the varied pressures on farm land, from energy production to growing food. Deepdale Farm on the North Norfolk coast has sandy loamy soil. For many years one of its fields produced a healthy crop of carrots, but continual production, combined with high rainfall, led to a catastrophic degradation of the soil and in 2020 the field slipped, and flooded the village below. It was a massive shock and led to a wholesale re-assessment of how the land is managed. The farm's since become organic and introduced cover crops and flood protection systems.
Farmers are being asked to join a project to investigate whether growing a variety of the common dandelion could solve a worldwide shortage of natural rubber. Natural rubber production has been falling in its native sites in South East Asia because of disease and climate change. Scientists are breeding a special variety of dandelion indoors, without soil, in hydroponic or aeroponic systems, and harvesting it to create high quality rubber.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

After a marathon run of torrential rain, floods, and grey skies to start 2026 , the drought warnings from last Autumn seem a world away. Back in October, the Environment Agency said that at least 100% of the average rainfall would be needed every month until the end of March for England to recover fully from the 2025 drought. Steve Turner from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology tells Charlotte that rivers and groundwater have returned to normal, or above normal, levels in most of the country.
We meet a grower search for an elusive and almost forgotten Derbyshire apple: Mrs Wilmot's Pippin.
Land is seen as the answer to some of the big questions faced by Society: cutting greenhouse gas emissions by generating renewable energy, building new homes to ease the housing crisis, making space for nature to halt the collapse of wildlife numbers...and farming to feed the nation. As land is a finite resource, the debate over which land should be used for what purpose is becoming increasingly charged. The Government is hoping to take some of the heat out of the discussion, and provide much needed clarity. It's already consulted on a Land Use Framework for England, and the final version is due to be published soon. Ahead of that, this week we're looking at those competing pressures on land.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Sarah Swadling

Mackerel will soon be disappearing from the shelves of Waitrose as the supermarket says it's 'taking a stand against overfishing'. In September last year the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), recommended that North-east Atlantic Mackerel catches should be cut by 70% to help rebuild stocks to a sustainable level. But four countries which fish for Mackerel in the North East Atlantic cut their quota for 2026 by just 48% compared to the previous year. As a result, Waitrose has decided to suspend sourcing from the end of April. Fishing organisations in Scotland say they are disappointed and feel they have been unfairly penalised because - they say - the UK has led the way in trying to secure sustainable fishing for Mackerel.
Anna Hill reports from a Cromer seafood processor who's experiencing a drop in the availability of Crabs following fishing disruption due to wind farm construction.
It's been a worrying winter for poultry farmers, with cases of avian flu in England, Scotland and Wales. The Pirbright Institute's Head of Avian Virology updates us on what he describes as the 'third worst ever' epidemic of high pathogenicity bird flu in the UK, and reflects on what might lie ahead over the spring and summer.
Cambridge University's vet school will not be closing after all. The University's governing body has rejected proposals to cease taking new entrants.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling