Helen Mark visits the Balmoral Show in Northern Ireland. In the week when the Northern Ireland Assembly has declared the country to be in an ecological and biodiversity crisis, Helen asks the new Minister for Agriculture, Andrew Muir, how he sees farming and the environment working together. Produced by Beatrice Fenton.

17/05/24 The Balmoral Show

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

Science

Spruce trees may not be viable in the UK in the long term because of a pest which is now in the country. Restrictions on spruce trees have been extended after spruce bark beetles were found in East Anglia. The beetle was first found the the UK in 2018 and areas of the South East of England have been under restriction - that has now been extended to cover much of Norfolk and Suffolk. In the longer term, foresters may have to look for alternatives to Spruce. A chicken producer in Northern Ireland has breached environmental laws repeatedly, but not faced prosecution. An investigation into water pollution by BBC Northern Ireland's Spotlight found that Moy Park, Northern Ireland which supplies chickens throughout the UK and Europe, has breached laws on more than 500 occasions. And pollinators are very important to farmers - pollinating crops from apples to oil seed rape and field beans - and so are worth millions to the UK economy. But across Europe, numbers are declining. The UK’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee has found that, as of 2022, there had been a 24% decrease in pollinator numbers compared with 1980. We visit several farms where efforts are being made to increase their numbers. Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

08/06/24 - Farming Today This Week: UK pollinators, bark beetle and NI water pollution

Spruce trees may not be viable in the UK in the long term because of a pest which is now in the country.  Restrictions on spruce trees have been extended after spruce bark beetles were found in East Anglia. 
This week, we've been hearing from BBC correspondents in the nations about what farmers want from politicians. Today, we hear from Northern Ireland.
A study by the University of Sussex found that moths are even more efficient pollinators than bees. So are these nighttime creatures being overlooked in their role as a friend to crop growing farmers? 
Delays in organising the post-Brexit regulation of agricultural chemicals are making planning on farms harder, according to the Agricultural Industries Federation. It follows calls from the Royal Society of Chemistry for a new UK Chemicals Agency to regulate across all chemicals. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

07/06/24 Beetle threatening forestry, Northern Irish farmers and the election, moths, post-Brexit pesticide regulation

The UK is vulnerable to animal diseases because of the ongoing trade in illegal meat, according to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. The CIEH says that a lack of proper inspections at UK borders makes it easy for criminals to bring meat in. We visit a couple of fruit farms in Herefordshire to find out how they encourage the insects that pollinate their crops. And although agriculture is devolved, so farm policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland won't be decided by the General Election, the budget is set by Westminster...and that's being discussed on the campaign trail across the UK. Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

06/06/24 - Illegal meat, fruit pollinators and Welsh election wishes

The agri-food company Moy Park, which supplies chickens throughout the UK and Europe, has breached environmental laws on more than 500 occasions without facing prosecution. A BBC Spotlight investigation into water pollution uncovered the breaches at three different sites in Northern Ireland - including Lough Neagh. Holidaymakers and walkers in Scotland are being warned not to light camp fires. Last year, a wild-fire tore through forestry at Cannich, south of Inverness. It burned for two weeks on the surface and even more damage was caused underground, as peat burnt beneath the soil. The commercial forest is now being felled, 20 years earlier than expected, and has lost 60 percent of its value. The fire also had a serious impact on the RSPB Scotland nature reserve, at Corrimony.  As the election campaign continues, and politicians travel around the UK to drum up support, on Farming Today we've asked our correspondents this week to explain what the agricultural sector is looking for. Agriculture is devolved, so policies are drawn up separately in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. Today we discuss what farmers are looking for in England. We're looking at pollinators all week: over the past ten years, honey bees have become an integral part of the way the 75,000 acre Lowther Estate in Cumbria is managed, with around 500 colonies producing between 12 and 15 tonnes of Lake District honey every year. As well as its home hives, the estate also sends out around 200 bee colonies to other local landowners, which feed from and pollinate arable crops throughout the Eden Valley. Cumbria’s only producers of rapeseed oil, farmers Ben and Jannike Taylor, are accommodating some of the Lowther bees this spring. Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

05/06/24 Lough Neagh pollution; Wild fires; Farming and the general election; Bees and oil seed rape.

The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme has been running for over 6 years now, with thousands of people counting insects in gardens, parks and on farms. So how are our pollinators faring? We visit a network of connected land in Ayrshire, designed to encourage pollinators. The network is being expanded after receiving funding from the Scottish Government. It was set up over the last decade or so, and includes farmland, council land and some unexpected leisure areas. And according to a recent study from the charity the Farm Safety Foundation, 95% of UK farmers under the age of 40 rank poor mental health as the biggest hidden problem facing farmers today. Farmstrong Scotland is doing what it can to help, by organising events where people can get together to discuss wellbeing. We report from one of them - on a farm in East Lothian, which has a recently opened outdoor sauna. Presented by Anna Hill
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Heather Simons

17/05/24 The Balmoral Show

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