06/03/24 - Hedgerow rules, neonics and lambing

The Government has promised that hedgerows will continue to be protected, even though there’s been a gap in regulations after EU rules lapsed at the end of last year. DEFRA has confirmed that legislation will include plans to maintain cutting bans on hedges and 2 metre protective buffer strips. But farmers will also be allowed to apply for an exemption to cut or trim hedges in August, if they are sowing oilseed rape or temporary grass. Conservation groups have welcomed the protections but some, including the Wildlife Trusts say the government could have gone further. The Labour Party is considering stopping the emergency use of harmful neonicotinoid chemicals, if it wins the next election. The chemicals protect crops from pests which spread disease, but are dangerous for pollinators. Their use is generally banned but the Government granted emergency authorisation for farmers to use them on sugar beet this year, for the fourth time in a row. And we visit Wood Farm, near Carlisle, in Cumbria, for lambing! Tom Wilson has 1250 Suffolk Cross Texels to look after, but his family also runs a 200 strong dairy herd so the family employ a live-in lambing assistant. Presented by Anna Hill

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons