Farming Today

We hear from the president of the National Farmers Union on what farmers would like in today's budget. Tom Bradshaw calls for scrapping Inheritance Tax for farms, and adequately investing in a resilient food and farming sector.

The government should suspend the consultation it launched yesterday on phasing out the use of carbon dioxide in the slaughter of pigs, according to AIMS - the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers. It's written to the Secretary of State warning that the move could put British producers at a disadvantage, as other countries - including the EU where the vast majority of pig meat imported into the uk is from - will continue to use co2. It wants the consultation process paused while discussions with the EU on closer alignment of the rules continue.

A consultation on phasing out the use of carbon dioxide in the slaughtering process for pigs is launched today. The vast majority of pigs in the UK are stunned using CO2 but last year the government announced plans to move away from using the gas, following an independent report which said that the practice causes pain, respiratory distress and fear in conscious pigs and should be replaced. The National Pig Association tells us the industry accepts that CO2 is on the way out, but wants a realistic timeline.

This week we're going to tackle rats, mice, moles and more: those animals which when found in the wrong place, like a farm, are pests. It's not a new problem but changing legislation and the changing climate are bringing new challenges, as the British Pest Control Association explains.

We hear from the Farmers' Choir Northern Ireland who've just won a national music award, recognised for 'bringing farmers and rural communities together through music, friendship and mutual support'.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Wildfires have been on the political menu this week with a report from MPs criticising the lack of a National Wildfire Strategy, followed by wildfire summits in England and Wales, and an announcement from the Prime Minister of ‘initial steps to improve our response’. Andy Burnham announced £45 million of extra funding to better equip firefighters and said military aircraft would be available to help tackle wildfires. Earlier this week MPs on the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee published a report saying the UK was not ready for the next fire season.

The scramble online for funding under the Sustainable Farming Incentive or SFI left thousands of farmers with nothing. Some had technical problems, others were too late. SFI funding pays farmers for improving the environment. Those who weren't successful will have to decide whether to stop managing their land for the environment or carry on without payments. The Secretary of State tells us she's working with farmers to avoid a repeat of this year's funding application chaos.

We visit a Herefordshire farmer who was seriously considering grubbing up her 22 acre intensive orchard. Instead she thinned out the trees and introduced an agroforestry system.

UK strawberries at Christmas? It doesn't seem likely, but one Worcestershire farmer says his growing season now stretches to December. He's worried that fruit will be wasted as supermarkets aren't used to local supplies being available so late in the year.

We meet a farmer who's growing pumpkins - not for Halloween but for seeds.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith

A wildfire summit is being held today in Westminster, bringing together government departments and agencies to work out plans to address future fires.

We announce the winner of the BBC Food and Farming Awards' Farming for the Future winner, Bronagh O’Kane.

And picking plums by rowing boat: the Tregothnan estate in Cornwall has a very unusual micro climate on the Fal estuary, allowing a rare variety of plum to grow. The Kea plum is small and similar to a damson and very unusually grows so close to the waterside that some trees are harvested from the water.

Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Farmers in Scotland have been taking part in a four year scheme to get more arable farmers to have sheep on their land. Instead of leaving fields bare over winter, cereal growers have been planting cover crops, things like oats or turnips. They then invite a shepherd to graze sheep on the fields. The sheep farmer gains extra grazing, and for the arable farmer, the sheep help fertilise the soil, keep down the weeds, and get rid of the cover crop by the end of the season.

All week we're taking a closer look at the top fruit harvest - that means apples, pears and plums. Keeping an orchard profitable can be difficult at the best of times. We visit a Herefordshire farmer who was seriously considering grubbing up her 22 acre intensive orchard. Instead she thinned out the trees and introduced an agroforestry system.

We celebrate some of the winners in this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards

Presenter = Anna Hill

A report by MPs says this year's wildfires exposed severe weaknesses in our ability to tackle them, and that immediate action must be taken to ensure an effective response next year. The Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee heard more than 1,300 wildfires broke out this year - the highest number on record. It says the government needs a national strategy.

This week we are looking at top fruit. It has been a tough year for many growers, a difficult spring followed by an extremely hot and dry summer has affected harvests – but there has been a silver lining. British pear growers say all that sunshine has meant some of the sweetest fruit they have ever grown. However, in spite of the quality of this year's crop, there are concerns about the future of British pear orchards. More than half of pear orchards are more than 21 years old, and the number of new trees being planted has fallen dramatically.

The scramble for online for funding under the Sustainable Farming Incentive or SFI, left thousands of farmers with nothing. Some had technical problems, others were too late. SFI funding pays farmers for carrying out environmental actions which improve their land, and the wider habitat on their farms. Those left with no funding will now have to decide whether to stop managing their land for the environment or carry on without payments.

Presenter = Anna Hill

The decline in abattoirs across the UK has been an issue for many years. A new coalition of more than 150 organisations, has sent a letter to the Prime Minister calling for urgent government action. The Sustainable Food Trust, Soil Association, Rare Breeds Survival Trust and other groups claim the UK’s abattoir network has fallen to around 200, from roughly 2,500 in the 1970s. In Scotland crofters are about to benefit from a new initiative which could solve some of the problems: a moveable abattoir which will come to the farm.

UK strawberries at Christmas? It doesn't seem likely but such a warm summer means a Worcestershire farmer says his growing season now stretches to December. However he's concerned his crops could go to waste because retailers are taking in imported fruit instead.

This week, we're taking the pick of the top fruit harvest, that's apples, pears and plums - everything grown on trees. Apples are the biggest business, but this year the weather's challenged the orchards with frost, hail, extreme heat and drought. We speak to British Apples and Pears to find out how drought and heat have affected the harvest.

Presenter = Anna Hill

Over the next nine years the government would like to see the amount of land farmed organically in England treble, from 3.4% now to 10% by 2036. It's part of the new Organic Action Plan for England which the government says will 'open up opportunities across the sector'. Demand for organic food is growing, the UK market is worth £3.9 billion a year and ministers aim to reduce the amount of imported organic food. While the ambition in the strategy has been welcomed, it's been already been criticised for a lack of funding. The Sustainable Farming Incentive, England's biggest farm environmental scheme which pays farmers for things like planting hedges and also supports those moving into organic production, opened and closed in a single day last month as it had run out of money. We speak to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Angela Eagle.

All week on Farming Today you'll find us in the apple and pear orchards of the UK. Harvest is in full swing after an early start but it hasn't been an easy year for growers. Apples, like so many other crops, have struggled with the very wet and then very dry conditions thrown at them in the last growing season. We visit a cider orchard in Somerset, where the quality is good, but the yield is down.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith

As The Archers marks its 75th anniversary, Farming Today is looking ahead to the next 75 years of British farming.

All week we’ll be imagining how agriculture could change, from how land is used to what crops we grow, using what technology and how the identity of farming itself could shift.

We hear from Jeremy Clarkson, Sir James Dyson and Helen Browning, amongst others.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.