28/10/24 - Salmon deaths, mink eradication and soil

We look at how the Budget affects agriculture and farming businesses. Inheritance tax will apply to farms from April 2026. The National Farmers' Union tells us farming is being "bled dry" and has "nothing left to give". The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner, has confirmed that next year's farming budget for England remains unchanged at £2.4 billion. There was no mention of nature in the Chancellor's budget speech, something the Wildlife Trusts highlighted, saying "The UK Government must commit to long-term strategic funding for nature’s recovery and provide greater funding for environmental regulators". Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Labour's first Budget for 14 years will be delivered by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves today. The treasury's confirmed a 6.7% increase in the national living wage for UK workers over the age of 21 and the national minimum wage for those aged between 18 and 20 will also rise by £1.40 per hour. It's one decision that could impact farming businesses. We look at what other potential announcements could mean for agriculture and the environment.The government's set out new criteria for meeting nature conservation targets. Environment secretary Steve Reed made the announcement at the COP16 biodviersity summit in Columbia. He renewed the pledge to protect 30 per cent of land and sea for nature by 2030. However the government's said it's had to revise its estimate of how much land in England currently qualifies for those targets - it's not as much as it thought. Sites of Special Scientific Interest will only count when they're in a favourable or recovering condition.All week we've been unearthing stories of farms that are paying close attention to the health of their soils. Today we hear from a dairy farmer in west Wales who's turned his back on what he describes as a 'traditional farming system' to take a more ecological approach, working from the ground up. It's almost Halloween and for some farmers, pumpkin picking has become an important diversification but bad weather has ruined the harvest in parts of the country this year. One grower in Cheshire had to cancel his pumpkin festival, which accounts for half the farm's annual income. However the family's turned to its orchards and is holding an apple festival instead.Presenter = Steffan Messenger Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Hedgehogs have been moved up the red list of threatened species by the International Union for Conservation. The IUCN says the European Hedgehog is in worrying and widespread decline, and it has moved it from "least concern" to "near threatened". We ask the Mammal Society why hedgehogs are a cause for concern.All week we're digging down into the subject of soil. Northern Ireland is running one of the most comprehensive soil nutrient sampling schemes that any country has ever undertaken. The £37 million 'Soil Nutrient Health Scheme', funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs aims to sample nearly every one of Northern Ireland's 700,000 or so fields. It's believed the results could help farmers improve their soils, better manage nutrient application and reduce nutrient loss to water bodies, not least Lough Neagh.  Many crops have suffered with the wet weather this year. For vineyard owners, the wet has encouraged detrimental diseases and low yields. For organic wine producers, the options to combat the effects of a wet summer are minimal. We visit a vineyard where this autumn's harvest is half what it should be, because of the weather. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

A rise in sea temperatures is being blamed for the death of more than a million fish on salmon farming sites. MOWI - the company that runs the sites - says increased sea temperatures in the last 2 years led to an influx of jellyfish and algae, which harmed the fish. But campaigners say having large numbers of salmon concentrated in once place is the real problem - claiming it compromises their health, making them more vulnerable when water temperatures fluctuate.Invasive mink could be eradicated from the South East of England. Mink eat water voles - as well as other animals and birds - and projects are underway across the country to try and eradicate them. After successful efforts in Norfolk and Suffolk, The Waterlife Recovery Trust, with the help of volunteers and landowners, has laid two thousand floating "smart traps” along waterways.And soil has been rising up the agenda in the last decade - among farmers, conservationists and politicians. Farmers in England can be paid to improve soil health and, in Northern Ireland, the government is funding country-wide soil sampling. So how much difference is it making?Presented by Charlotte Smith Produced by Heather Simons

This week we are focusing on livestock and their impact on climate change. We hear about the concerns over the number of livestock here in the UK, and find out how farmers are reducing emissions by growing cattle faster or breeding sheep to burp less.A BBC freedom of information request has revealed that the amount of illegal meat seized by border force officials has doubled in a year. Charlotte Smith revisits a farmer growing white maize, a staple crop in his native Zimbabwe. Eleven years since her last visit, David Mwanaka now rents a council farm near Cambridgeshire and his farm selling exotic crops is going strong.Alpaca breeders use something called a 'spit off' or a 'spit test' to see if their females are pregnant with a cria, or baby alpaca. We go along to see the test in action.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Following an application from farmers for the emergency use of a neonicotinoid pesticide on next year's sugar beet crop the Government has told Farming Today that it will ban neonics, but that a decision on this application will be taken 'in line with legal requirements'. We understand that that means farmers may get permission this time - but not again.We visit a Wiltshire farm, where the family who run it have spent the last 4 years changing the way they do things to reduce their carbon footprint. It's a mixed farm with dairy, beef and arable, and alongside trying to reduce the emissions from their livestock, they're also hoping to increase how much carbon they sequester by planting trees in an agroforestry project.And the Bower family farm in Staffordshire grows crops, and vegetables and has a herd of sheep and another herd of beef cattle. But locals are far more likely to know it for the pumpkin patch and the play barn - which pull in more than 100,000 visitors every year. We head to the pumpkin patch!Presented by Charlotte Smith Produced by Heather Simons

This week we are focusing on livestock and their impact on climate change. We've heard about the concerns over the number of livestock here in the UK, and today we find out how beef farmers are reducing emissions by growing cattle faster.An online course has been launched to raise awareness of the importance, and lack of, diversity in UK agriculture. Nuffield Farming Scholarships say farming is one of the least diverse industries in the country in terms of ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation, and one of the barriers to changing that is the lack of understanding in the sector. The latest government figures show that 60% of farmers are over 55, with 38% over 65 and just 15% are under 45. The reality of that is highlighted by farm sales: Michael Read is 79 and has an award winning heard of Lincolnshire Red cattle, or at least he did until earlier this month when the herd was sold as none of the family wanted to take on the farm.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

The RSPB says more than 1,300 protected birds of prey have been killed across the UK over the past 15 years. The Birdcrime report blames rogue gamekeepers who, it claims, are more concerned about protecting the gamebirds on their shooting estates. But the British Association for Shooting and Conservation says its members have "absolutely zero tolerance" of the illegal shooting of birds of prey.The Green Alliance says the number of ruminant livestock in the UK needs to be reduced to reach Net Zero targets, and that farmers should be supported to change their businesses.And the British Alpaca Society estimates there are around 45 thousand alpacas in the UK, kept for breeding and for their high quality fleece. Alpaca breeders use something called a spit-off or a spit-test to see if their females are pregnant with a cria, or baby alpaca. We go along to see the test in action!Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons

Less than 5% of a £50 million fund promised to farmers who were hit by last winter's floods, has been paid out. The Farming Recovery Fund was set-up by the previous government to support farmers whose land had been damaged by floodwater during Storm Babet and Storm Henk. But figures revealed by a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Farmers Weekly show that, so far, just £2.1 million of it has been spent.A selective breeding trial on a sheep farm in Shropshire is hoping to reduce methane emissions from the animals by around 35 per cent within 5 years. Lambs taking part in the experiment are put into a metal box with a window - called a Portable Accumulation Chamber - so their emissions can be measured. Animals found to produce lower levels of methane are then selected for breeding programmes - in time reducing the emissions from the flock.The number of Seasonal Workers allowed visas to work in poultry and horticulture next year in England has been confirmed by DEFRA - 43,000 in horticulture and 2,000 for poultry. Although the announcement has been welcomed by the National Farmers Union, it's pressing for a permanent scheme which would run every year.And the Bison introduced into a woodland in Kent as a re-wilding project have had calves. But why are rangers are collecting their dung?Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons

We hear warnings from the Country Land and Business Association that changing tax rules for farms could close many down. The RSPB says any cuts to the farming budget would put nature and climate targets at risk. To start our week looking at greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, we speak to Professor Sir Charles Godfrey of the Oxford Martin School who says we should be producing less and better meat.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.