Farming Today

This week farmers have coped with heavy thundery rain and record breaking temperatures. We hear from a pig farmer keeping his stock cool, a livestock auctioneer who's had to cancel sales due to the heat, and a major potato and beetroot grower contemplating an irrigation bill of £3 million this year. But for winemakers the sunshine has come at just the right moment.The Government has invested in strategic teams of specialist firefighters in England and South Wales to tackle wildfires. The Fire Chiefs Council's wildfire expert tells us the teams are trained in techniques to cope with a ferocity of fire becoming more common due to the effects of climate change. Despite all the Prime Ministerial flux the Government revealed its long term (and long awaited) vision for farming: England's Farming Roadmap 2050. The idea is to have a 25 year vision for agriculture, to give farmers certainty 'beyond the next harvest'. It was the brainchild of Steve Reed when he was secretary of state for the environment. Two years down the line, the current incumbent, Emma Reynolds announced the plan in the House of Commons this week.Aberdeen hosted the first Global Agritourism Conference this week. Anna Hill met some of the delegates to hear about farm tourism in India, Ukraine, Italy, and Canada.

'The most significant moment for English agriculture since the Second World War'; that's the Government's claim for their Farming Roadmap which has just been released. We hear reaction to the long awaited 25 year vision for agriculture.The Climate Change Committee's annual report on the UK's greenhouse gas emissions says while agriculture is moving in the right direction, emissions aren't falling fast enough and adaptation is needed as well as mitigation. How farmers are coping with pigs in the heat.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton

The Met Office has issued a rare red 'extreme heat’ warning for parts of southern England, the Midlands and southern Wales for tomorrow and Thursday with amber warnings already in place more widely in England and Wales. Some fire services are warning of a increased risk of wildfires as temperatures are set to reach the high 30s. It comes just as the government’s announced a one hundred million pound investment to help tackle wildfires, to offer better protection for the countryside and rural communities after some truly devastating fires last summer: 2025 broke the record for the number of wild fires reported in the UK. The Fire Chiefs' Council's Wildfire Tactical Advisor tells us the new strategic teams will be trained in skills needed to tackle large scale ferocious blazes, which are becoming more frequent in the UK.Sheep shearing is an international industry and each summer between 50 and 75 professional shearers from overseas take out temporary visas to work with the UK flock. But the government says this is the last year they’ll allow that to happen and that the sheep industry needs to train up more home-grown shearers. To cope with the demand, British Wool is laying on extra courses around the country.All this week we are looking at agri-tourism, how farmers are boosting their incomes with everything from farm safaris and events for foodies to the traditional campsite. Today we visit a small hill farm in the Glens of Antrim which has reinvented itself as the venue for heritage events.Presenter: Caz Graham Producer: Sarah Swadling

The Royal Highland Show hopes to welcome 200,000 visitors across four days. In this programme we report from the show, hearing farmers' views on the Scottish Government's plan for a supermarket price cap on essential food items, speaking to the new Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs and hearing about the hardest job on the showground... ice cream tasting!Meanwhile in the south west of England, we hear about an emergency by-law that's been passed in Cornwall, to restrict the number of boats coming in to fish for octopus. The ongoing octopus bloom has been described as a 'gold rush' as huge sums are being made - two weeks ago Brixham fish market experienced a record catch of 103 tonnes, worth £400,000. But the octopus are also causing problems - eating crab and lobster and devastating that industry locally.Presented by Caz Graham Produced by Heather Simons

Around 200,000 visitors will be visiting The Royal Highland Show this week. Farmers and growers will be showcasing their produce at the Royal Highland Centre on the edge of Edinburgh. There are around 6000 entries, with trophies for everything from cattle, sheep and pigs to horses, honey and gelato. The Scottish Government made some announcements at the show too: they've brought forward plans for a Rural Renewal Bill and reiterated their plan to cap prices on supermarket essentials. Farmers are concerned about who'll pay for that. We speak to the new Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs Gillian Martin.Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

The owner of one of the last remaining abattoirs in the south east of England has said he's furious after a court ruled that the food regulator has been over charging for its hygiene and animal welfare checks. A number of abattoirs have been forced to close recently due to rising financial pressures. Earlier this month, a High Court judge said some of these costs, enforced by the Food Standards Agency, should never have been charged.A new study by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, published by Natural England, suggests that the release of millions of pheasant and partridge into the countryside for shooting does not have a significant impact on the insect population in the wider environment. However, campaigners claim the releases do have a detrimental impact. As Scotland's farmers get ready for the Royal Highland Show, we're taking a closer look at how the country has designed its own farming and rural policy post-Brexit, under its devolved powers. The changes won't be fully implemented until 2030. Like the policy of 'public money for public goods' in England, many of the changes in Scotland centre around including payments for enhancing the environment. Not all farmers have embraced the idea of including wildlife alongside food production, but farmer and writer Tom Bowser has done more than most, including releasing beavers on his farmland.Presenter: Anna Hill Producer: Rebecca Rooney