17/10/26 Farming Today This Week: The Future of Farming

As The Archers marks its 75th anniversary, Farming Today is looking ahead to the next 75 years of British farming.All week we’ll be imagining how agriculture could change, from how land is used to what crops we grow, using what technology and how the identity of farming itself could shift.We hear from Jeremy Clarkson, Sir James Dyson and Helen Browning, amongst others.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

As part of a special week marking the 75th anniversary of The Archers and exploring the next 75 years of farming, we visit Harper Adams University's farm to meet the next generation looking to build a future in the industry, and ask: what will it mean to be a farmer in the decades ahead.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Over the past 75 years, the pattern of land ownership in the UK has changed dramatically. Farm businesses have grown larger, more farmers now own at least some of the land they work, and those who rent it are often doing so on shorter-term agreements. At the same time, there's growing interest from corporations, investors and lifestyle buyers, all competing for a stake in the countryside.As part of a special week marking the 75th anniversary of The Archers and exploring the next 75 years of farming, today we're asking: who will own and run the farms of 2101?We visit Eastbrook Farm in Wiltshire, home to Helen Browning, Chief Executive of the Soil Association. Despite farming there for decades, she doesn't own the land. We'll explore the succession challenges facing farming families in Ambridge and beyond, and ask whether the family farm will still be a recognisable feature of the British countryside 75 years from now.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Climate change is already reshaping the way farmers think. Wetter winters, hotter summers, and new pests and diseases are creating fresh challenges. At the same time, global instability, from conflict to trade disputes, has highlighted the fragility of food supplies. As part of our special week exploring the next 75 years of farming, today we're asking: what should Britain be growing in the future? We visit the John Innes Centre in Norfolk, one of the world's leading plant science institutes, where researchers are developing crops that could thrive in a very different climate. We'll hear from Professor Tim Lang on how the UK can feed itself in an increasingly uncertain world, and from Scotland, where a warming climate may open the door to crops traditionally grown much further south, even as it brings new risks and pressures of its own.Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

As part of a special week marking the 75th anniversary of The Archers and exploring what the next 75 years could hold for farming, today we look at how technology and AI could transform the way food is produced. At Place UK, one of the country's biggest soft-fruit growers, automation and robotic harvesting are already being trialled, to help cope with labour shortages and rising costs. We hear from Sir James Dyson, a major investor in farm robotics and AI, and from farmers in Northern Ireland who are already putting those technologies to work, using artificial intelligence to monitor livestock and automate everyday jobs.Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

As The Archers marks its 75th anniversary, Farming Today is looking ahead to the next 75 years of British farming. All week we’ll be imagining how agriculture could change, from how land is used to what crops we grow, using what technology and how the identity of farming itself could shift. Today we’re in Inkberrow in Worcestershire, the village which inspired Ambridge and asking: what will we be doing with the land we currently farm over the next 75 years? We hear from Jeremy Clarkson on how he sees the future of Diddly Squat Farm, from The Archers’ farming and countryside advisor Sybil Ruscoe, and from Wales, where how land is used is increasingly under debate.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

The official estimates for England's harvest 2026 are in, and the figures from the governnment show that its the smallest harvest of both barley and oats since 2012. Wheat saw a small increase with losses in the South and East offset by a better harvest further North, and oil seed rape had a better year with a 6 per cent increase in yield. We hear from farmers who suffered in the droughts. This week we've been exploring farm boundaries - from hedges and stone walls to barbed wire. We hear from people restoring ancient boundaries, and learn about the history of barbed wire from the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma. The first cases of highly pathogenic avian flu in kept poultry have arrived in the UK - and as migratory wild birds start to arrive to overwinter here, poultry farmers are being urged to improve biosecurity. The case was reported in a backyard flock on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. Last winter free range flocks had to be kept inside to try to protect them from infection, and the UK Chief Vet says anyone farming poultry must now review and improve their biosecurity. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

The official estimates for England's harvest 2026 are in, and they don't make happy reading. Provisional figures from the government show that it's the smallest harvest of both barley and oats since 2012. Wheat saw a small increase with losses in the south and east offset by a better harvest further north, and oilseed rape had a better year with a 6% increase in yield. All week we're talking about boundaries, the fences and walls which define farms and fields. Traditional Cornish hedges are an earth bank sandwiched between two stone walls - not what you might expect from the word 'hedge'. Many of these hedges were lost to make fields bigger during the mid-twentieth century push for food production. Others have collapsed into disrepair, but there’s now a push to restore and appreciate Cornish hedges anew. The Scottish National Party insists that its plan to introduce a price cap on some essential foods will go ahead; the initiative has been described as 'a potty gimmick' and criticised by retailers, farmers and food and drink manufacturers. The SNP holds its annual conference in Aberdeen next week. The minister for agriculture, marine and the islands Jim Fairlie says capping food prices won't impact farmers.Artificial intelligence which is beginning to transform many aspects of our lives - so what's its potential for farmers? Producers are facing more challenges than ever, from drought and heatwaves to labour shortages and the spiralling price of fuel and fertiliser. We visited a robotic dairy on the Somerset/Devon border to ask if AI will bring the fourth agricultural revolution. Presenter: Charlotte Smith Producer: Rebecca Rooney

Half of farmers say they've had rubbish fly tipped on their land, and the majority of those asked say the problem is getting worse. These are the results of a survey of 512 farmers in England and Wales by the National Farmers Union - which is campaigning for more and stronger deterants to tackle the problem. The latest government figures show a 9 per cent year on year increase in fly tipping reported by local authorities in England between 2023/4 and 2024/5. There’s an old saying that good fences make good neighbours and all this week on Farming Today we’re looking into a slightly leftfield subject, the boundaries farmers use between their own farms and others, and, within their own farm. Fencing - or hedging or walls - are crucial to farmers. Today - the fence that tamed the American ‘wild west’, still used by farmers across the world today - barbed wire.A company from Shropshire has invented a new material which it claims could save chicken farmers thousands of pounds. Zero Charge Technologies wants to harness the waste heat generated in chicken sheds to produce free electricity. It says it can do this with a substance called Delta T- an alternative to solar panels - which can also be fitted on roofs, and will generate power from waste heat day and night. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

After months of negotiations, British Sugar and the National Farmers Union have agreed a price for sugar beet farmers for 2027/28. It's lower than last year, with a one-year contract paying £28.50 per tonne for up to half of the contract tonnage. This compares with £30 a tonne for up to 65% on the current crop, and that's lower than the year before. So the price is falling. Sugar beet is grown mainly in Eastern England and all the crop is processed by British Sugar, sold under the brand Silver Spoon. The crop is planted in the spring and harvested between October and February. Earlier this year British Sugar announced it would close its oldest processing plant at Cantley in Norfolk next February. We speak to the NFU Sugar Beet Chair who negotiated the deal.This week we're looking at boundaries - ways of enclosing land to de-mark ownership and keep livestock in, or out! Different regions make use of whatever material is available , and in the far north of Scotland farmers traditionally used a very particular style of stone dyke that can bring to mind the upright flat slabs you're more likely to see in graveyards. We visit a farm in Caithness to find out how these flagstone boundaries were made and maintained nowadays. Dairy farming has faced one of its most challenging years: heatwaves and drought have affected the cows and the grass; milk prices have fluctuated; and bluetongue disease has hit herds too. There's plenty to discuss as hundreds of dairy farmers head to The Dairy Show at the Bath and West showground.Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney