A group of arable farmers in Norfolk, whose land covers 10 thousand hectares along the River Wensum, say they are being wrongly blamed for water pollution. Over the last 18 months the Wensum Group Farmers have employed an adviser to help them farm in a way that reduces pollution from their fields, and take regular samples of water for phosphate and nitrate levels. A report by the government's Environment Agency and Natural England found 30 percent of pollution in the river Wensum was caused by farmed land. Now the farmers' group is challenging the government's model.

And we visit a demonstration farm run by Anglo Beef Processors (ABP) - the largest beef processor in Ireland and the UK. They’ve been working to reduce the ‘emissions footprint’ of cattle.

Presented by Caz Graham

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has been working closely with farmers for the last 10 years to reduce pollution at bathing sites in Ayrshire - and it seems to be working. We visit one of the farms involved.

For the first time farmers are going to be taxed on the plastic they use to wrap their silage bales in and they’re not happy. The Plastic Packaging Tax comes into force on the 1st of April - designed to encourage the use of recycled plastic instead of new plastic packaging. But farmers says that silage wrap is a specialist material - strong and stretchy and able to keep out light and water - and can’t currently be replaced with recycled material.

And we hear about ‘Street Goat’ - an urban goat-farming cooperative in Bristol, which runs herds for both milking and meat. The goats have another function when it comes to preserving the city’s wartime heritage.

Presented by Caz Graham

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

The Farming Minister tells us DEFRA is working on a "nutrient calculator" which could help prevent further water pollution from farms and new housing developments.

We visit the River Wye, where farmers supplying the chicken company Avara Foods are taking steps to reduce phosphate run off. It comes after campaigners blaming the pollution of the Wye on the increase in poultry units in the catchment.

And, last year was a record-breaker for Brixham fish market, with more than 43 million pounds worth of fish coming through. But all is not quite what it seems.

Presented by Anna Hill

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

Around 60,000 newborn male dairy calves are killed each year on farms in Great Britain - according to the AHDB. That’s about 4% of all the calves born to dairy cows - the rest are raised for meat. The industry has made a commitment to stop killing male calves by the end of this year…and the industry group, Ruminant Health and Welfare, says the use of sexed semen will be key. It means, some cows can be inseminated with sexed semen from a specialist dairy bull - to produce only female calves which will then join the dairy herd. Other cows can be inseminated with semen from a beef type bull - and the resulting cross breed calves are worth more on the beef market than a pure dairy bull calf.

Manure or slurry is a significant pollutant, especially if it gets into waterways. Wessex Water is working with farmers to reduce the amount of phosphates in the Brinkworth Brook - a tributary of the Bristol Avon. We visit one of the 60 farms taking part.

And, retailers won’t accept potatoes with scab - a disease that makes them look blistered, although they're still fine to eat. No chemicals will prevent scab, but scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have been testing hundreds of strains of Pseudomonas bacteria, found naturally in the soil, that protect potatoes against this disease. They are now working on developing a soil bio-addition full of the best protective bacteria, to prevent scab from happening.

Presented by Anna Hill

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

UK pork production is up: new government figures for last year show a 4% increase on production in 2020, to just over a million tonnes. Regular listeners who have heard pig farmers on this programme talk about how shortages of staff in abattoirs have forced them to kill pigs on farm, pigs which then can’t go into the food chain, may wonder how an industry in crisis can have a record year - it's the highest production level since 1999. We ask how a how a year of backlogs on farms fits with record production levels.

All this week we're looking at pollution from farming, both causes and solutions. Today we hear from Professor Penny Johnes from Bristol University who studies the impact of food production on rivers and the sea.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

The Government has published its response to the Glover review of protected landscapes: National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The government plans to strengthen AONBs - by renaming them National Landscapes - encourage more collaboration between national parks and says protected landscapes must do more to drive the recovery of nature.

A report published this week found rivers in England are "in a mess", with not a single one given a clean bill of health. The Environmental Audit Committee found 36% of water bodies were impacted by sewage or wastewater and 40% were affected agricultural pollution, with intensive livestock and poultry farms causing particular issues.

And, we look at the various challenges being faced by the UK shellfish industry; from increase paperwork to climate change.

Presented by Charlotte Smith

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

Farmers are warning that fertiliser prices are now so high, some fields will simply not be planted this year. Prices are currently four times what they were last January. It's due to the high cost of gas which has seen fertiliser plants in the UK and across Europe suspend production.

We hear from Dame Ellen MacArthur on how farming could benefit from a circular economy.

And all this week we’re looking at shellfish. Today the focus is on cockles. We visit the Gower Estuary in Swansea where cockle pickers have worked for hundreds of years.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Rivers in England are in a mess - so say MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee. Their report into water quality in rivers is published today and doesn’t make cheerful reading particularly for water companies - which are blamed for 36% of pollution and farming which is the cause of 40% with intensive livestock and poultry farms causing particular issues. The Committee recommends that in places where a river is badly affected by pollution new poultry units shouldn’t be allowed.

The future may be complicated for the UK’s shellfish producers - new research shows that rising temperatures are causing a growing diversity of bacteria in our seas. The study from the University of Exeter found bacteria that could kill shellfish, as has happened in France and Australia.

Presented by Charlotte Smith

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

The Environment Agency has said it’s reducing it’s response to low-level water pollution incidents because of a lack of funding. A leaked document seen by the ENDS Report magazine and the Guardian, reportedly shows the EA is directing its staff NOT to investigate category 3 and 4 incidents - that's things like farm pollution or hazardous dumps by business. It appears breaching of permits held by Water Companies WILL still be looked into, as they are funded separately.

While UK shellfish exporters have faced many challenges in the wake of Brexit, the insatiable demand for live shellfish hasn’t wavered in Spain and France. As part of our week long focus on shellfish, we visit MacNeill Shellfish - one of Scotland's biggest exporters - which sends 12-15 tonnes of live shellfish to Europe every week.

And, we look into what impacts the price of beef. ASDA has backed out of a commitment, made 4 months ago, to stock exclusively British Beef in its stores. It will be importing Irish beef instead, saying the decision is based on the rise in British Beef prices. So why is Irish beef cheaper?

Presented by Anna Hill

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol is Heather Simons

The Secretary of State for the Environment George Eustice says the price of food doesn’t need to rise for farmers to see a fairer price, but that they need to get tough with retailers. His comments at the Oxford Farming Conference have been met with incredulity from some farmers, who say the power of supermarkets in the supply chain makes any negotiation over price very difficult.

Brexit caused chaos in the export market for British shellfish and the situation is still not fully resolved. We’ll be looking at all aspects of the industry this week but today we start with bivalves: oysters, clams, scallops, cockles and mussels. When the UK left the EU, third country rules were applied to live bivalves, and the European market has all but disappeared.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.