Less than a third of Northern Ireland's surface waterways are in good ecological condition, and targets to improve them by 2027 are likely to be missed. That's the conclusion of a damning report by the Office for Environmental Protection, which criticises lack of leadership at the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland. The report says that despite a draft plan to manage waterways being drawn up back in 2021, it still hasn't been finalised, let alone implemented.

We visit one of the farms that's joined the Environmental Farmers Group, which was set up back in 2022 to bring large groups of farmers together in co-operatives, to bid for public and private finance to fund environmental projects across large areas. Nearly six hundred farmers across England have joined so far.

And the future of the potato industry in the UK faces many challenges. The crop is expensive to grow, especially as the weather becomes more volatile. It also needs clean land, so a gap of about six years is needed between crops, to avoid the spread of disease. We hear about the latest technological solutions to some of these issues as they go on show at an event in Lincolnshire.

Rural areas across England are in danger of becoming 'pharmacy deserts', as medicine providers across the country continue to consolidate and close smaller branches. That's according to the National Pharmacy Association, which has published a study showing that over the last two years, nearly nine in ten council areas in England have lost pharmacies. It found that rural areas often rely on fewer providers, so are harder hit by closures.

We visit a farm in Essex which has signed up to a 32 year Biodiversity Net Gain agreement. Under BNG rules, the environmental impact caused by new developments has to be offset by creating equivalent nature enhancements, either around the site, or elsewhere. A one hectare plot at Spain’s Hall Estate will now be taken out of food production and managed for nature to compensate for the construction of a new battery storage facility elsewhere in the district, with the work funded by the electricity company.

And the waste campaign group WRAP estimates that 9% of the UK strawberry crop is thrown out every year. We visit a farm in Hampshire where they've invested £2million pounds in a freeze-drying facility to turn strawberries that don't meet supermarket grades into a snack product.

Presented by Anna Hill

Scientists have made a major breakthrough which could save the Scottish potato industry from collapse.  They've identified varieties which are both palatable to consumers and resistant to a pest which is spreading across the country.

A new report has revealed that part of the seabed off Devon which had been trashed by years of trawling and dredging is being revitalised. Research by the University of Plymouth shows that within just 10 years the former shellfish reef has been transformed.

All this week on Farming Today we're looking at 'green finance', getting money to pay for things which improve nature or reduce harmful emissions. Today we hear from Dr Ben Caldecott, director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, who says the challenge is to work out which schemes offer value for money.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

The government unveils its new approach to controlling TB in cattle which includes ending badger culls in the future.

Thousands of farmers who were promised financial help after the devastating floods of last winter have still not been paid.

This year’s harvest has been anything but straightforward, not just wet weather but high fertiliser costs and infection from fungus have all caused difficulties. Which means many arable farmers are facing poorer yields than normal and so less financial reward.

The number of cattle being raised for beef across the UK is falling, so could it mean a good future for artificial protein sources?

And it looks like a blueberry but isn't, it's a saskatoon, a new fruit grown in Scotland.

Presented by Charlotte Smith

Produced by Alun Beach

Four cases of bluetongue have now been confirmed in sheep on farms in Norfolk and Suffolk. The virus, which is spread by biting midges blown into the UK from northern Europe, is currently widespread in the Netherlands with further cases in Germany and Belgium. As well as sheep, it affects cattle, goats, deer and camelids but not humans, nor does it pose any risk to the food chain.

Harvest is in full swing for many farmers and we’ve been seeing how it’s going all week. In Cornwall on the Tregothnan Estate they're harvesting tea with a solar-powered robotic tea picker.

Oilseed rape can be high risk: pests like cabbage stem flea beetle can wipe out a crop, and some pesticides which growers once relied on are now banned. We hear from a farmer in the Cotswolds who, in spite of the challenges, has created a booming business selling cold pressed rapeseed oil as a British alternative to imported oils.

We announce our Farming Today finalists in the 2024 BBC Food & Farming Awards.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

An interview with the global rock star and animal welfare campaigner Sir Brian May who is presenting a programme on BBC 2 about Bovine TB and badgers: ‘Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me’.

Car y Mor is a community owned seaweed and shellfish business, which is providing year round work in an area where most jobs are seasonal.

Presented by Caz Graham

Produced by Alun Beach

Ministers in the Holyrood Parliament are being urged to introduce legislation which sets legally binding targets to protect and restore Scotland's nature.

A new variety of fruit the saskatoon, a small purple-blue coloured berry that is native to Canada, has been hailed as a super-berry. It is high in antioxidants, fibre and Vitamin C as well as low in sugar, and now is grown in Scotland.

Growers have just two and a half hours to get their peas from the field to the freezer to stop them from losing quality, so the frozen peas in the shops have been bagged at peak freshness.

Presented by Caz Graham

Produced by Alun Beach

Beef production across the UK is down, but the demand is steady or rising. Should farmers be worried about imports taking over their market?

And what about alternative forms of protein, such as artificial meat? Research into this and other possibilities has been given a boost by the establishment of a new research group, costing £38 million.

And riding along in a combine harvester as it takes in this year’s crop of oilseed rape.

Presented by Anna Hill

Produced by Alun Beach

Farmers flooded earlier in the year are still waiting eight months on for government grants they have claimed to clear up.

It’s a challenging harvest for farmers across the country because of the wet weather, and yields are down.

The National Farmers Union says as many as half of farmers have been affected by fly-tipping, which is a blight on the countryside and can cost farmers a lot of money to clear up.

Presented by Caz Graham

Produced by Alun Beach

Northern Ireland's 'Mama Hen'

Thirteen years ago, Barbara Mladek gave up her full time job as a bank executive to run a hen rescue centre in Northern Ireland. She says it is now her life's mission to rescue and re-home as many battery hens as she can. She is so obsessed with hens, that she has changed her own name by deed poll to 'Mama Hen'.

Barbara also rescues abandoned hens, ducks, geese and turkeys. Her centre is run as a charity and relies entirely on donations. Over the years, she and a small number of volunteers have rescued thouands of hens from slaughter. She opposes battery hen production but has developed a working relationship with several Northern Irish poultry producers to 'rescue' some of their hens when their egg laying value comes to an end.

She knows that the hens she saves are only a tiny proportion of the commercial flocks reared in Northern Ireland's flourishing poultry business. But she says saving even one hen is worth it. It's a seven day a week round the clock commitment, but Barbara says she has no regrets about swapping office life and a guaranteed salary for the fulfillment she has looking after the birds.

Produced and presented by Kathleen Karragher