Farming Today

Great Britain has seen its worst ever outbreak of the livestock disease bluetongue this year, described to MPs earlier this week at the Environment Food and Rural Affairs committee as “a major animal welfare crisis”. Across Great Britain there’ve been ten times more cases - that’s farms affected by the disease - in the 2026 ‘bluetongue season’ than there were last year, leading to a severe shortage of vaccine and long delays in getting test results.
Bluetongue is a disease spread by midges which are far less active through the winter, so the disease tends to die down, (though just this week there’ve been new cases in Lancashire and Cumbria.) And there’s a question over whether infected midges could survive winter and continue to spread the disease come spring.
Dr Marion England is a Research Fellow in Vector Ecology at the Pirbright Institute and she met our reporter Sarah Swadling on one of 6 farms where they're trapping and monitoring midges.
The UN's annual climate conference, COP, this year COP31, begins in Turkey, with agriculture high on the agenda from the start. World leaders, ministers and negotiators will spend the next two weeks discussing how countries respond to climate change, with farming discussions focused on food security, water management, climate resilience and the role agriculture can play in cutting emissions.
It's the season for British root vegetables, carrots, parsnips, celeriac and neeps. We're virtually self sufficient in some veg like carrots, but a summer of drought and heat waves means some produce, especially parsnips, have struggled.

England has formally adopted a new bovine TB policy which aims to eradicate the disease from the country by 2038.
The UK and EU have agreed a draft deal on removing checks from food and agriculture products. A 200 page document outlines details for sanitary and phytosanitary, or SPS regulations. It's part of closer alignment between the UK and the EU and is due to be discussed at a summit later this month. When Brexit came into force six years ago, things like cheese and meat had to have extra checks, and shellfish producers were badly hit. Exports of seed potatoes stopped altogether.
Eight new regional water councils will be created in England to give local communities more say in how water companies invest in their areas. The government says it's all part of the devolution drive, which will also see mayors given powers to hold water companies to account.
In six months, voters in Cumbria will go to the polls to vote for the county's first elected mayor. What will the 'metro mayor' system of devolved power mean for farming and the countryside?
Farmers are increasingly keen to save water on farm in the winter to use in the summer. Building small reservoirs is one option - that's what Riverford Organic Farmers in Devon has done. However, this summer three of its four reservoirs ran dry, so growers have been using data to help them better manage water in the future.
Growing bullrushes for textiles in the Somerset Levels.
Presenter = Caz Graham
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Six months today voters in Cumbria will go to the polls to vote for the county's first elected mayor. Mayoral Strategic Authorities are central to the Government's policy of devolving more power and funding out of Westminster and into the hands of people who live and work in the English regions. Cumbria will be the first predominantly rural strategic authority with others to follow, including Norfolk and Suffolk who'll be voting for their regional mayor in 2028. What will the 'metro mayor' system of devolved power mean for farming and the countryside?
The James Hutton Institute, which researches crop sustainability and resilience, says its farm near Dundee has had the sunniest October since they started keeping records more than 70 years ago. It means winter crops like barley and winter cover crops that slow erosion and improve soil health will have their roots established in the ground early, which could improve yield next year.
In North Norfolk where stony, sandy soil lies on top of chalk, farmers are discovering ways to recharge, or refill, their chalk aquifers which act as underground reserves of water. Slowing down the run-off of winter rainfall allows water to percolate gradually into the underlying chalk, instead of ending up on roads and arable fields.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

England has a new bovine TB policy: today the Government formally adopts plans it set out in the summer which aim to eradicate the disease from the country by 2038.
All this week we are looking at the way we manage water, and farmers are increasingly keen to save water on farm in the winter to use in the summer. While building small reservoirs is one option, another is to create networks of so-called 'smart ponds', with digital monitoring used to track water levels.
And seeing financial opportunities in agricultural tech and carbon markets.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Food producers and farmers have been giving their reaction to a draft deal on EU trade re-alignment. The document outlines the details for sanitary and phytosanitary, or SPS regulations, and is expected to be discussed at the EU Summit planned for November 20th. When Brexit came into force six years ago, the SPS agreement was pivotal to many UK food export businesses. Shellfish producers, seed potato growers, cheesemakers and meat processors found they had to complete extra paperwork to export to the EU as a 'third country', often leaving their businesses less competitive. Some shut down completely, others found new markets. We speak to industry experts and producers to find out what the changes will mean.
All week we're discussing how farmers can improve their water management - saving winter water and using it more carefully during the dry months. After the experience of this summer when three of its four reservoirs ran dry, Riverford Organic Farmers in Devon has been exploring how measuring data can help them manage water in the future.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney