Farming Today

The organic certification body, the Soil Association, is warning it may withdraw from the farmed salmon sector unless higher standards are met. The organisation says while current standards are being satisfied, that's not driving the improvments in the industry that they want to see. They cite high fish mortality, unacceptable levels of sea lice, and the use of harmful chemical treatments. The industry body says its salmon farmers are committed to the highest standards of fish welfare and environmental responsibility.

As we take a closer look at soils all this week, today we meet two Sheffield university researchers who are investigating the properties of micorrhizal fungal networks, which bind together millions of micro organisms - the protection of which many see as the solution to soil health.
And as the climate becomes more extreme, the management of water in farming will become more vital than ever. With this in mind, a pilot study has been taking place in Shropshire to assess how technology can help farmers pre-empt risks from flooding and drought. Scientists have even developed an app to give landowners a better idea of what they might face.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Sally Challoner.

Calls for more government action to protect water supplies for farming.
A series of workshops are taking place across Wales this year to collect hyper-local place names, particularly in rural areas.
Later this week we'll be at Groundswell, the regenerative agriculture festival now in its 10th year. Regen ag puts an emphasis on soil, so this week here on Farming Today it's all about earth.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

This week farmers have coped with heavy thundery rain and record breaking temperatures. We hear from a pig farmer keeping his stock cool, a livestock auctioneer who's had to cancel sales due to the heat, and a major potato and beetroot grower contemplating an irrigation bill of £3 million this year. But for winemakers the sunshine has come at just the right moment.
The Government has invested in strategic teams of specialist firefighters in England and South Wales to tackle wildfires. The Fire Chiefs Council's wildfire expert tells us the teams are trained in techniques to cope with a ferocity of fire becoming more common due to the effects of climate change.
Despite all the Prime Ministerial flux the Government revealed its long term (and long awaited) vision for farming: England's Farming Roadmap 2050. The idea is to have a 25 year vision for agriculture, to give farmers certainty 'beyond the next harvest'. It was the brainchild of Steve Reed when he was secretary of state for the environment. Two years down the line, the current incumbent, Emma Reynolds announced the plan in the House of Commons this week.
Aberdeen hosted the first Global Agritourism Conference this week. Anna Hill met some of the delegates to hear about farm tourism in India, Ukraine, Italy, and Canada.

Northern Ireland is 'largely' missing the targets in its own Environmental Improvement Plan. A report from the environment watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection, says of 38 targets, just two are likely to be met and that ministers must now move from 'planning and strategies into delivery'.
The heatwave isn't a problem for everyone - it's mostly welcome in vineyards. Some had a difficult spring with badly timed frosts, so winemakers are glad to see the sun at an opportune moment.
We've been looking at the tourism businesses farmers have diversified into. There is a huge variety, everything from the familiar b&bs to off road experiences and walking with llamas. Today we visit a farm campsite.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

'The most significant moment for English agriculture since the Second World War'; that's the Government's claim for their Farming Roadmap which has just been released. We hear reaction to the long awaited 25 year vision for agriculture.
The Climate Change Committee's annual report on the UK's greenhouse gas emissions says while agriculture is moving in the right direction, emissions aren't falling fast enough and adaptation is needed as well as mitigation.
How farmers are coping with pigs in the heat.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton