Farming Today

Students and staff are campaigning against recommendations to end vet training at the University of Cambridge. The recommendation comes from the School of Biological Sciences which says there is no viable future for undergraduate vet courses at the university. We speak to a student who'll graduate next year and one of the faculty's professors who are campaigning to keep the course going.All week we've been talking about cheese, today we meet a cheese monger who founded the Real Cheese Project. It supports independent cheese makers and works with dairy farmers across the UK and Ireland to champion small-scale producers. Farmer Iain Colville breeds cows and sheep on the family farm in County Down, but when he's not wearing his wellies, he dons his a wig for hearings in London where he works as a barrister.Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

The National Audit Office, the public spending watchdog, has published a report looking at efficiency and effectiveness in England's environmental regulation. It found that complexity, outdated IT systems, skills shortages, and a risk averse culture were affecting how well DEFRA and the regulators Natural England and the Environment Agency are working. The NAO says that substantial reform is needed, but that it's optimistic there is the impetus and political will for change. The Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland outlines progress on the Sustainable Farming Programme, and on efforts to cut pollution in Lough Neagh. The lough supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's drinking water and is facing what the Minister calls a 'biodiversity and ecological crisis'.Continuing our exploration of the UK cheese industry, we visit a Somerset cheesemaker whose products are found on the shelves of several major supermarkets.Presenter: Caz Graham Producer: Sarah Swadling

A new approach to working with England's upland communities has been announced by the Government, starting with Dartmoor and then Cumbria. Clubs have been formed so farmers and other enthusiasts can come together to enjoy repairing and maintaining old Land Rovers. This week we're focusing on cheese, from the very big brands you find in the supermarkets to the small artisan producers.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

The Welsh government has implemented its Sustainable Farming Scheme or SFS. There are three levels for farmers to join: first, Universal Actions which all farmers have to comply with to get funding; then optional enhanced actions; and finally collaborative projects. Wales' Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs Huw Irranca-Davies says the collaborative approach the government used to create the SFS is needed to tackle river pollution.All week we’re talking about cheese. In 2024 UK cheese exports were worth £887 million, around three quarters of that was destined for Europe. Last year DEFRA announced sanitary and phytosanitary agreement between the UK and EU, aimed at reducing paperwork for agri-food exports by aligning standards. One dairy exporter, Coombe Castle International, says there’s growing demand in Asia, the US and Australia too.Farmers are heading to the NEC in Birmingham for the big machinery show: LAMMA. It's a showcase for all that's high-tech in agriculture. We ask one of the organisers what's new, and whether farmers are feeling confident enough to buy.Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Wildlife and environment groups say this government could become the first to break the law by missing targets to restore nature. The Office for Environmental Protection, the OEP, has published its annual report on the government's progress and it shows that it is not on track to meet 21 of the 43 legally set out in its Environmental Improvement Plan. We speak to Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, which represents 94 countryside and wildlife groups across Britain and ask why progress has been so slow.Agriculture is devolved so each of the four home nations has different plans for their post-Brexit support schemes for farmers. Today we ask Jim Fairlie, Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity in the Scottish Government, how Scotland's scheme is going to work.All this week, we’re focusing on cheese, and today we’re talking about goat's cheese. We meet a husband and wife team who graze around 250 goats in Carmarthenshire. They graze their animals outside most of the year and have a milking parlour like the ones you'd find on a dairy farm. They make mostly soft cheese but are now making hard cheese too to help use up excess milk in the summer, when demand for cheese is lower.Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney