Scientists in Edinburgh have used gene editing techniques in chickens which they say could eventually limit the spread of bird flu.

A heated debate on social media has been sparked amongst farmers after the Red Tractor assurance body unveiled proposals for a new environmental label to its scheme.

Some pear growers in Wales are trialling using a willow mulch around their trees to help tackle fungal disease.

Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Farmers in Scotland are assessing the damage caused by record-breaking rainfall which has flooded hundreds of acres of farmland. As much of England was basking in sunshine, Scotland experienced a deluge. The floodwater, which is unusual for this time of year, has ruined high-value crops that were still waiting to be harvested.

We talk to the farm manager whose mental health campaign Walk With Me has gone global. It encourages a more open approach to mental health in agriculture across the world, as part of World Mental Health Day.

All week we're gathering up autumn fruits, and hearing how farmers are taking advantage of the season's natural abundance. On King Charles's Sandringham Estate a new pilot project has started to grow fruit and nut trees in strips, among arable crops. Agro-forestry, as it's known, is gaining recognition by commercial farms as a system which can enhance soil health, while creating invertebrate habitats in fields which sometimes have little space for biodiversity. 

Presenter = Anna Hill

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

The impact of a major wildfire in the Scottish Highlands is still being felt, months after the emergency response to tackle the flames.  The large blaze near Cannich in May scorched a massive area of land, including half of the RSPB's Corrimony Nature Reserve, severely impacting wildlife. 

The Labour party would ensure that the public sector bought more British food and would consult farmers on the right to roam should it win the next election. The new shadow environment secretary Steve Reed also says government should do more to protect the environment. During the party conference season we're speaking to all of the four main parties, this week it's Labour.

The Clyde Valley was once famous as the fruit bowl of Scotland, and many Scots will remember spending summers there picking fruit, but a combination of factors including rail closures and EU membership led to a steep decline. Now a team of volunteers and orchard owners is fighting to keep the area's fruit-growing tradition alive.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

At the Conservative Party Conference this week the death knell was sounded for the northern route of HS2, and the transport minister Mark Harper made it clear that people whose land and businesses have been affected by the line, and now its cancellation, will not be getting any compensation for the disruption. So what happens next? We hear from farmers along what was to be the HS2 line.

Former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has said he wans to see Australian hormone-treated beef being allowed into the UK and accused the National Farmers Union of being 'protectionist'. NFU president, Minette Batters, tells us she's livid.

The nights are drawing in and there's a nip of autumn in the air so what better time to talk about root veg; the carrots, parsnips, swedes and onions that warming stews are made of. But with many UK veg growers warning that the cost of growing is increasing way faster than the prices they're paid, we ask what's the future for these staple crops.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

The Migration Advisory Committee has rejected a bid from the National Farmers Union to include eight agricultural jobs on the government's "shortage occupation list" - the list of jobs where employers who face a shortage of labour are given some special dispensations within immigration rules to make it easier to employ migrant labour to fill vacancies. Now the NFU is warning that food production could be affected if farmers can't get the people they need.

Celebrations have been taking place in Caithness to mark one hundred years since the formation of Scotland’s first ever Young Farmer’s Club.

All week we’ve been hearing about root vegetables, a comfort food for the winter, but perhaps not a food that you often associate with fine dining. One small organic farm in Cambridgeshire is trying to change that perception. Flourish Produce grows 750 vegetable varieties and sells direct to high-end restaurants in London.

Presenter = Caz Graham

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

As the HS2 railway line's cancelled in the north, we talk to farmers whose lives and businesses have been turned upside down by the scheme.

Dairy farmers are warning that what they're being paid for milk no longer covers the costs of producing it. An NFU survey showed that nine per cent of dairy farmers plan to quit this year, with 30% saying they're 'uncertain' about the future.

All week we're talking about root veg. Soil health is particularly important for these crops. Compaction and water logging can mean dramatic drops in yield before they've surfaced above ground.  We speak to a farmer in Scotland who's growing six hectares of parsnips.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

NFU President demands an apology from a politician who told a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party Conference that he wanted to see hormone-treated beef allowed into the UK - something which is banned at the moment. MP Jacob Rees-Mogg then went on to accuse the National Farmers Union and its leader Minette Batters of being 'protectionist'.

The government's system of a 'shortage occupations list' is not working and should be abolished, according to a review by the Migration Advisory Committee - the independent body that advises the government on migration issues. The S.O.L. is used to decide which jobs immigrants can apply for, because of the need for labour.

All week we are digging into root veg, today it's carrots. The UK crunches its way through 10 billion carrots every year, nearly all of them grown here. Right now, the main crop is being harvested, and we visit one farmer in Yorkshire who grows 1,000 acres of carrots.

Presenter = Anna Hill

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

It's party conference season, and Farming Today is following what each one is pledging on rural affairs. This week, the Conservatives are gathering in Manchester, and we speak to Thérèse Coffey, the Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Affairs.

As the Scottish Agriculture Bill goes before the Scottish Parliament, Scotland's farming leaders are calling on the UK government to commit an extra one billion pounds to the sector across the four nations as farmers face additional demands to deliver on both food security and the environment. 

All week we're looking at root veg. One grower in Norfolk has spent seven years developing his own variety of potato and branding it as a local speciality. The Norfolk Peer is a small salad potato which is sold fresh, in season, but it is also stored and sold all year round, as the Norfolk Keeper.

Presenter = Anna Hill

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Wild beavers are to be returned to the Scottish Highlands in what will be a series of firsts for the Cairngorms National Park Authority. A licence application to NatureScot is to be made shortly for the release. It'll be the first time they've been reintroduced to the Highlands, and the first re-introduction completely outside the animals' existing range, in the Spey valley, confirming the Scottish Government policy of getting wild beavers to spread across all of Scotland. However, will those farm along the Spey going to be happy?

The nights are drawing in, there is a nip of autumn in the air so what better time to devote a week to talking about root veg - the carrots, parsnips, swedes and onions that warming stews are made of. But with many UK veg growers warning that the cost of growing is increasing way faster than the prices they're paid, what's the future for these staple crops?

Farmers in North Yorkshire are running new trials on a traditional but under used type of grass that could last longer and save costs while capturing more carbon and improving river quality.  It's called Cocksfoot, because the splayed-out seed heads look the bird's foot, and it's been thought of as a coarse grass, so not popular commercially. Now new varieties are more palatable for grazing animals and the grass is thought to be better for the environment than traditional grazing swards like rye grass.   

Presenter = Charlotte Smith

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Farming needs to change to help reverse the ongoing decline in the UK's nature - that's the message in the new State of Nature report published this week by more than 50 research and conservation organisations, from the RSPB to the wildlife trusts and statutory bodies like Natural England. The report warns that 1 in 6 species of British wildlife are under threat of extinction and highlights nature friendly farming as part of the solution. But which approach works better for nature - sharing productive farmland with biodiversity, or farming more intensively so some land can be spared entirely for nature?

Young people in rural areas are missing out on "critical" services due to a "postcode lottery", charities have warned. BBC analysis shows that of the seventy million pounds in grants for youth clubs awarded in August, most of it went to venues around big cities. Experts describe children in villages and small towns as ‘the forgotten youths’.

And sales of books about nature have been steadily rising over the past few years - we're said to be living in a golden age for nature writing. We hear from writers about what motivates them, and what impact they feel they can have.

Presented by Charlotte Smith

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons