Farming Today

Thirty four tonnes of illegal meat and animal products were intercepted over the course of January, at Dover docks. The Port Health Authority says it's the highest monthly total they have ever seized. Meanwhile, also in January, Suffolk Coastal Port Health Authority discovered 300 kilos of illegal pork at Harwich. It was found wrapped in foil and packed into suitcases. The chair of the Commons Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Committee, Alistair Carmichael, gives his reaction.
We’re talking about farm vets all this week on the programme. Until 1999 UK veterinary practises had to be owned by vets but now 60 per cent of practises are owned by companies - some of them large. In Staffordshire, farm vet Ellen Widdowson decided to set up her own independent practice, with a colleague, after her previous employer was bought by a corporate group.
The Home Office has said it’ll no longer give special temporary access to the UK for overseas sheep shearers. The National Association of Agricultural Contractors says the concession is essential to the farming industry, and the decision could compromise animal welfare. The association estimates the 75 or so overseas shearers, who mainly come from New Zealand and Australia, would shear up to 1.5 million sheep during their time in the UK.
Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Sarah Swadling

Livestock worrying cost UK farmers nearly two million pounds last year, a ten percent increase on the year before. Farm insurers NFU Mutual, who published the figures, say that’s in spite of many pet owners believing their own dogs are incapable of injuring or killing farm animals.
This week we're exploring the role of the farm vet and today we're out on the round with a cattle vet in Wiltshire.
More than two hundred thousand new hedgerow trees are being planted this winter, as part of the Campaign To Protect Rural England's Hedgerow heroes Initiative. BBC South East Today's Chrissie Reidy went along to see planting at the Birling Estate in Kent.
Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Sarah Swadling

There'll be a bigger splash of bright yellow across the countryside later in the spring, at least compared to last year. Signs are that, after a 40 year low in planting, Oilseed Rape is starting to come back into favour with farmers. Many had moved away from it because of pest problems, the chemical used to combat the Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle was banned in the UK in 2010. Low prices for other crops have made oilseed rape a more appealing prospect.
Our subject for the week is farm vets. The UK is short of vets who want to work on farms and indeed those who want to work in the Government's animal health services, where the vacancy rate is about 25%. With the University of Cambridge considering closing its vet course and a survey last year suggesting that more than 40 per cent of farm vets have considered leaving their jobs: what's the future? Charlotte Smith discusses the reasons for a shortage of vets, and what could be done about it, with the president of the British Veterinary Association.
We also hear from a panel of experts discussing the potential risks and benefits of Artificial Intelligence for vets and farmers.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Sarah Swadling

After what was the wettest January on record for some, more rain means more problems for farmers, from flooding and waterlogged fields to worries about the impact on this year's harvest and their bottom lines. This week we heard from farmers at different ends of the country.
We hear from the Environment Agency boss on building resilience though natural flood management, in a landscape recovery project in Oxfordshire.
And AI in dairy: Big Brother is watching moo.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

James Winslade's fields started to flood nearly three weeks ago. They're still under water, and the floods are creeping closer to his farm buildings. He updates us on the situation on his Somerset farm, and tells Charlotte Smith that this year's floods will put a 'huge strain' on the business.
The relentless rain is leaving some livestock farmers, especially dairy farmers, with a mucky conundrum. Environmental regulations prevent slurry being spread on the land during the wettest winter months, to reduce the risk of pollution runoff into water courses. That period's now officially over, but many fields are too wet for slurry spreading. Storage space is finite...and with animals winter housed the slurry keeps coming.
With increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and rising costs of fertilisers and pesticides, could Artificial Intelligence help arable farmers make their growing season more efficient, and more profitable? The Royal Agricultural University is investigating the use of AI and drones to identify weeds in a wheat crop, so precision treatment can be used to take them out.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Sarah Swadling