The breaching of a major dam on the Dneipro river in southern Ukraine is unfolding as a human, environmental and economic tragedy for thousands of people who live downstream. But there are global implications too. Ukraine is one of the world’s biggest wheat producers.

A group of farmers have driven from John O’ Groats to Land’s End in a large green combine harvester to raise awareness of suicide and mental health. The National Farmers Union has this week published a survey showing that the soaring costs of energy, fuel and fertiliser along with increased market volatility over the last year have all had a negative impact on farmers’ mental health.

The government launched a rural action plan this week. The initiatives include: improving rural broadband; relaxing planning rules around developing farm buildings; new strategies for rural transport; a fund for smaller abattoirs; and higher penalties for fly tipping. Some campaigners say the plans need to be underpinned by fairer funding for rural areas.

All week on Farming Today we looked at gene editing. The government in England has changed the law to allow the development and marketing of gene edited crops. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the law hasn't changed. Gene Editing is not the same as genetic modification - GE allows researchers to make a specific edit to a plant's DNA, no new genes are added as they would be in GM plants.

An EFRA committe inquiry has been told the reduction in the number and variety of insects in the UK and around the world is a risk to food security. Scientists have given evidence to MPs are examining the reasons for the decline and the impact on food security and the environment.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

A reduction in the number and variety of insects in the UK and around the world is a risk to food security, a committee of MPs heard yesterday from some of the leading scientists in the field. An EFRA committee inquiry is examining the latest evidence for insect decline in the UK, as well as the key drivers of insect loss, and the potential impacts on food security and the environment.

A group of farmers are driving from John O’ Groats to Land’s End in a large green combine harvester to raise awareness of suicide and mental health. The National Farmers Union has this week published a survey showing that the soaring costs of energy, fuel and fertiliser along with increased market volatility over the last year have all had a negative impact on farmers’ mental health, so it’s a timely roadtrip.

All this week we're looking at gene editing and the implications of the UK Government's new Genetic Technology Act. A change in the law, which only applies in England, means the development and marketing of gene edited crops is now legal. Earlier in the week we heard from GM Freeze who told us the safeguards surrounding gene edited crops aren’t strong enough, and unforeseen consequences could arise if they’re introduced. In Scotland, the Holyrood Government has made it clear that its stance on genetic technology has not changed. So what does that mean for Scotland-based scientists who work on gene editing?

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

At the Future Countryside Conference in Hertfordshire policy makers and farmers, land owners, conservationists and campaigners have been discussing how to make the countryside inclusive and meaningful for everyone. How can it deliver food, cleaner rivers and air, store carbon and offer people a place to visit and enjoy? We hear how this vision relies on a combination of personal will and public policy-making

All week we're discussing gene editing - also known as precision breeding. It’s been just over two months since The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act passed into law in England (but not in Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland). The government says it's a major step in innovation and will help ensure food security in the face of climate change. The change in the law comes just as the results of Europe’s first-ever field trial of a gene-edited wheat, are published. We report from the trial site at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire where scientists are developing a variety that will produce less harmful acyrilamide

Presenter = Anna Hill

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

The government has launched a Rural Action Plan, which it says will help grow the rural economy and support people living in remoter communities. The initiatives include improving rural broadband, relaxing planning legislation on developing farm buildings, new strategies for rural transport, a fund for smaller abattoirs and higher penalties for fly tipping. However, some of the ideas are consultation processes, rather than action. Anna Hill asks the rural affairs minister Lord Benyon about the plans.

This week we're discussing gene editing - the technique for breeding crops with specific traits by editing a plant's DNA. In England, legislation has been brought in to enable gene editing in crops, but this has not been introduced in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Scientists and many, but not all, farmers have welcomed the move. Campaigners at GM Freeze say the safeguards surrounding gene edited crops are not strong enough, and unforeseen consequences could arise from their introduction.

Presenter = Anna Hill

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Farmers are being asked to conserve water as it is currently 'scarce in most of Scotland' according to SEPA, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. It says 12 areas in the Northwest and Southern Central regions have been put on alert and businesses extracting water are being urged to put their water scarcity plans into action now to reduce pressure on the environment and preserve water resources. 

When we left the EU, the government delayed introducing a new system for checking food imported from the EU, although UK exporters to the EU have faced checks since the beginning of 2021. The new UK system will be phased in from October meaning big changes for food inspection teams at our ports. More than double the amount of food and live animals are imported from the EU than the rest of the world. A 100-strong team works at Felixstowe port in Suffolk to keep the food on our plates safe to eat and we hear from some of the staff on the front line.

All week we're looking at gene editing. It was promoted as a Brexit benefit and the government in England has changed the law to allow the development and marketing of gene edited crops. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the law hasn't changed. Gene Editing is not the same as genetic modification - GE allows researchers to make a specific edit to a plant's DNA, no new genes are added as they would be in GM plants. This week we'll hear what impact the change in the English regulations is having and discuss some of the concerns that are being raised. We start off by hearing from Jim Dunwell professor of plant bio-technology at Reading University.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

This week the first Trade Deals made since the UK left the EU came into force - with Australia and New Zealand. Some farmers are concerned the deals will lead to the UK being flooded with cheaper imported meat. We hear from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) which has been using modelling developed by Harper Adams and Exeter Universities to asses the potential impact on UK agriculture.

For the first time the UK Government has given permission for commercial drones to be used for the aerial spraying of weeds with pesticides. At this stage it will only be used on railway bridges where working at height can be dangerous. But using drones in British Agriculture is gathering pace, as our reporter Sarah Falkingham has been finding out.

And a question from a listener about the porcine products in her medicine leads the team to take a look at how products reared and grown on farms are used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Presented by Charlotte Smith

Produced in Bristol for BBC Audio by Natalie Donovan

Nearly 200,000 cows could be culled to meet emissions targets in Ireland - farming has to reduce emissions by 25% by 2025 and Department of Agriculture plans say that means 65,000 cows need to be culled every year for the next three years, at a cost of two hundred million euros a year. This is a bit of an about turn as over the past few years Irish governments have encouraged the expansion of dairy farming - a decline in the beef herd means that target has already been met.

The governments of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan will in effect recruit workers for UK farms. They've signed new Agreements with the UK's Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority to improve protections for seasonal workers coming to work here. There have been concerns that workers are vulnerable and some have said they were made to pay for a contract here - which isn't allowed and left them in debt. Between them Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan supplied 6,000 seasonal workers last year... but are expected to provide tens of thousands more over the next few years

All week we're talking about farming pharma - the medicines we grow on farm either as by-products or as dedicated crops. We speak to a business which uses millions of eggs every week - but not for food. CSL Sequris, based in Liverpool, produces flu vaccines for use all over the world - using about 600,000 eggs a day.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

There's been a truce in the row over sheep on Dartmoor. Farmers were told they must radically reduce the number of sheep and other livestock on common land if they wanted to remain in government schemes. Natural England wrote to commons associations which cover much of Dartmoor, offering rollovers of existing Higher Level Stewardship Schemes, farmers said the new agreements would not allow winter grazing, and the number of animals on the land in the summer had to be reduced, on some commons by an average of 75 percent. Farmers said that wasn’t viable and protested, others called it re-wilding by the backdoor and the Farming Minister agreed to an Independent Review. Now, following a parliamentary debate and some meetings, Natural England is proposing a one-year extension to existing stewardship agreements with no reduction in livestock numbers in most areas and then further four year agreements which will take into account the results of the review.

Farmers in the East of England have faced water shortages for some time, but now there's a pilot project to try and tackle shortages in the West. South West Water and the Westcountry Rivers Trust are looking at paying farmers to store water on their land to help reduce demand during droughts.

All week we're looking at farming pharma - the pharmaceutical products which are produced on farm, some as by-products and others as a crop in their own right. Poppies were grown here for medicine until the UK's only processing plant was closed back in 2016. Now farmers need a licence to send poppies to be processed for medicine abroad. They say they've been asking the Home Office for one for years, but still can't grow their crops for the medicinal market.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

The first of the UK’s post Brexit trade deals are coming into force from 1 June. Some farmers are concerned the deals with Australia and New Zealand will lead to the UK being flooded with cheap imported meat, but analysis say markets with Japan and China are far more important for Australian beef farmers and New Zealand isn't using up all its existing quotas for exporting lamb. We speak to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board which has been looking at the impact of these deals on UK agriculture.

For the first time the Government has given permission for the aerial spraying of weeds with pesticides by commercial drones. It’s not on farms at this stage, only on railway bridges and it’s been sanctioned by the Health and Safety Executive. However using drones in British Agriculture is gathering pace. Our reporter has been to watch a practical demonstration at an international conference near York.

All week we're looking at a niche sector of the agricultural world - farming crops and using animal products for medical purposes. Since 2018 it’s been legal to use cannabis under prescription in the UK, for certain conditions including epilepsy, and around 25,000 patients are thought to be using it. A few companies have been working through complex and demanding regulations to produce the drug for the UK market. We visit one of them - Hilltop Leaf in southern Scotland.

Presenter = Caz Graham

Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Aardman Animation's world famous animated sheep is being adopted by Natural England to teach children how to behave in the countryside, in a new campaign which aims to teach how to 'respect, protect and enjoy' it.

The UK's first indoor salmon farm could be built in Cleethorpes. The company behind it says it's a safe and efficient way to produce fish and avoids the potential problems of sea lice, pollution and escapes faced by farms at sea or in lochs. Opponents say it's factory farming.

All week we're looking at growing the ingredients for medicines. Today we hear about animal products in pharmaceuticals.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.