08/10/25: Rive Wye, rural crime, new nature reserve
What has been described as the biggest legal claim ever brought in the UK over environmental pollution has been filed at the High Court. Almost 4000 people have signed up to a class action lawsuit against major poultry producers and a water company over allegations of "extensive and widespread pollution" in the rivers Wye, Lugg and Usk. They argue that the state of the rivers in recent years has severely affected local businesses, property values and people's enjoyment of the area - and are seeking "substantial damages". The companies being sued - Avara Foods Limited, Freemans of Newent Limited and Welsh Water - all deny the claims. When King Charles was crowned, a pledge was made to create 25 new or larger National Nature reserves within 5 years. The "King's series" reserves are meant to move beyond simple conservation - to be bigger, more connected and with nature recovery their primary purpose. The 12th such reserve has just opened and is a significant extension of a reserve in the Yorkshire Dales that contains one third of Britain's flowers and ferns in one biological hotspot. And all this week we're looking at rural crime. In Scotland, insurers NFU Mututal is reporting a sudden spike in thefts of quad bikes and all terrain vehicles, or ATVs.
Data released by them in September this year shows the value of quad bike thefts in Scotland has risen 90%, compared with 2024. Losses are estimated at nearly 200 thousand pounds up to September, compared to £102,000 for whole of last year.Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Sally Challoner.
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07/10/25: Skilled workers visas, Neigh-bourhood Watch, British Wool anniversary.
More than twenty five dairy farms in Scotland say their businesses could be at risk after the UK Government removed farm workers from the visa system for skilled overseas labour. In July, the government cut the jobs of 'farmer' and 'agricultural contractor' from the Temporary Shortage Occupation list. We meet one of the horseback volunteers keeping an eye out for suspicious activity in Cumbria, and find out how the police force's Rural Crime Unit is overcoming the inherent challenges of fighting crime in the countryside.The British Wool Marketing Board is 75 years old this year. British Wool, and the Great British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant, hope that wool will increasingly be seen as a solution to the very modern problem of plastic pollution. Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling
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06/10/25: Rural policing, grape harvest, Conservative Party conference
A rural crime expert tells us there's been an 'ideological and material' shift away from the problem in some police force areas. Dr Kate Tudor from Durham University says despite this there have been some positives in the fight against rural crime, following the advent of a National Rural Crime Team. All this week Farming Today is examining the issue.The warmest summer on record for the UK has meant good yields and high-quality grapes in our vineyards, and winemakers looking forward to a vintage year.It's the Conservative Party Conference this week, in Manchester, we hear what's on their policy agenda for farming and the countryside.Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Sarah Swadling
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Farming Today This Week: illegal meat, rural poverty, bluetongue, livestock marts, acorns and pigs
Twenty tonnes of illegal meat and animal products have been intercepted at Dover in September alone according to Dover's Head of Port Health and Public Protection. Lucy Manzano tells us the amount of illegal meat her staff are seizing is 'escalating'.The way deprivation is measured in the UK means the challenges facing rural areas aren't taken into account. That’s the conclusion of "Pretty Poverty", a new report from Plymouth Marjon University. It argues that rural hardship could be "hidden behind scenic views" and that factors like needing to own a car in remote areas with poor public transport aren’t taken into consideration.All week we've been looking at livestock markets, we catch up with farmers who say Cockermouth Mart in Cumbria is a vital social hub. We visit a mart on the English Welsh border to find out how the sector's coping with bluetongue restrictions and we speak to Dr Carrie Batten the bluetongue expert at the World Organisation for Animal Health and Head of the National Reference Laboratory for the disease at the Pirbright Institute Every autumn pigs are released into the New Forest for the ancient tradition of "pannage". The pigs gobble up acorns from the thousands of oak trees in the Forest - and it's a bumper crop this year. Good news for fattening pigs, but bad news for ponies and cattle for whom the acorns are toxic.Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
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02/10/2025 Cuts to milk price, bluetongue virus and food security
The price farmers are paid for milk is falling. This comes at a bad time for many farmers who are having to buy in forage for their cows after the long hot summer slowed, or stopped, the growth of grass. The new Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds says farming is "transforming and modernising". In one of her first speeches, at the Labour Party conference, she told delegates she's seen first hand how much we depend on hardworking farmers.And why bluetongue virus matters for food security.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
France