Farming Today

09/01/2024 Managing flood water; Starlings and animal feed; The cost of cheap food


Listen Later

As farmers contemplate thousands of hectares under water, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology reports that Autumn rainfall, between September and November for the UK last year was 22% above average, followed by a December which saw 70% above average rainfall for central & northern England and eastern Scotland.  The government's announced help is available for flooded businesses and properties but farmers cannot insure against flooded crops and some have said they'll stop growing food on land that's repeatedly flooded. We speak to an expert about how farmers and government can better deal with flooding in the future.

All week we're exploring the topic of animal feed. Today we hear from a farmer who's invested £30,000 in cages to protect his cattle feed from starlings. Giant flocks of the birds have been eating the grain Bryn Jones near Oswestry feeds his dairy herd. He estimates it's already saving him tens of thousands of pounds in lost feed and is helping protect his herd from disease - and improving the milk yield of his cows.

We often hear that people want their food to be welfare friendly, sustainably produced and farmers to be paid fairly for it. Last year the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, or FFCC, launched a citizens' panel made up of a representative cross-section of the public, to hear what they want from government policy, to make healthy food available to all. We speak to Guy Singh-Watson, founder of the organic veg food box company Riverford, and Sue Pritchard, Chief Executive of FFCC, which carried out the survey.

Presenter = Anna Hill

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Farming TodayBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

53 ratings


More shows like Farming Today

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,399 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,837 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,783 Listeners

Scotland Outdoors by BBC Radio Scotland

Scotland Outdoors

240 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,820 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,062 Listeners

Money Box by BBC Radio 4

Money Box

44 Listeners

The Bottom Line by BBC Radio 4

The Bottom Line

32 Listeners

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 by BBC Radio 4

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4

2,128 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

890 Listeners

Ramblings by BBC Radio 4

Ramblings

170 Listeners

Open Country by BBC Radio 4

Open Country

84 Listeners

Gardeners' Question Time by BBC Radio 4

Gardeners' Question Time

283 Listeners

The Food Programme by BBC Radio 4

The Food Programme

267 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,918 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,077 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

250 Listeners

Gardening with the RHS by Royal Horticultural Society

Gardening with the RHS

261 Listeners

The Plodcast by Our Media

The Plodcast

106 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

822 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

741 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,962 Listeners

The Farmers Weekly Podcast by Farmers Weekly

The Farmers Weekly Podcast

12 Listeners

FED by Farmers Podcast by FED by Farmers

FED by Farmers Podcast

31 Listeners

Rare Earth by BBC Radio 4

Rare Earth

12 Listeners