10/05/2024 - Seasonal labour, Portuguese rice and growing wasabi

Scotland is to get at least one new national park - due to be designated in 2026. Groups in Tay Forest, Loch Awe, Lochaber, Galloway, and the Borders have now submitted formal bids for the Scottish Government to consider...but not everyone’s keen on the idea. Farming traditional native breed cattle with horns, like Gloucester’s and Longhorns, is becoming increasingly difficult because abattoirs don’t have the facilities to deal with those horns. We hear from one farmer who says his herd of 80 longhorns may no longer be viable.And we head out on a night time, biofluorescence safari to see the natural world in a whole new light.Presented by Caz Graham Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

Environmentalist Ben Goldsmith blames sheep grazing for turning the UKs National Parks into ‘dead zones’. Neil Heseltine the chair of National Parks England responds, and explains what role he sees for these institutions.One of the two scientists who was instrumental in creating a back-up vault of the world’s crop seeds to protect global food security, explain how it works.Presented by Charlotte SmithProduced by Alun Beach

To mark the 80th anniversary of Vernon Harwood tells the story of Britain's D-Day farms. As dawn broke on the morning of the 6th June 1944 thousands of Allied ships and landing craft carrying more than 150,000 troops approached the beaches of Normandy in Northern France as the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare got underway. Meanwhile the airborne assault involved more than 11,000 aircraft making it the single largest aerial operation ever seen. D-Day had arrived. Code-named Operation Overlord, it would eventually result in the liberation of Western Europe, the defeat of Hitler’s Germany and the end of the Second World War. But what part did the fields, farms and country estates of England have in the success of the Allied invasion? Landowners, farmers and their families played a vital role in the crucial months leading up to D-Day. Large parts of rural England were taken over by the military and transformed in the process. The journey starts at The D-Day Story in Portsmouth where the museum archives and exhibits help reveal the background to this complex strategic and logistical exercise. At Chavenage House in Gloucestershire, the Lowsley-Williams family moved out of their home to make way for an American unit working on ‘ultra-secret’ maps. The Hampshire village of Southwick hosted General Dwight D. Eisenhower while U.S. troops helped with the haymaking and in Dorset an historic farm at Tarrant Rushton was flattened in favour of an airfield. Produced and presented by Vernon Harwood.

This week as the Prime Minister sets the date for the General Election, we ask what farmers will be looking for. And as antidote to all the politics, we bring you flowers. All week we've been taking time to enjoy the blooms, inspired by the Chelsea Flower Show.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Farmers from different parts of the industry say what they want from the next government.A woman who swapped a life in the luxury hospitality business in Jamaica for mushroom farming on Scotland’s west coast.And an arable farm which specialises in growing flowers for the British market.Presented by Caz GrahamProduced by Alun Beach

The date's been set for a general election. Some would argue all the main political parties have been wooing the farming and rural vote for months now, Rishi Sunak was the first PM in 16 years to appear at the NFU conference this spring, Labour’s promising a rural crime strategy and the Lib Dems say they’d put an extra billion pounds into farming budgets. According to the Rural Service Network 40% of constituencies are rural, and that rural vote will be a key battleground, especially in the light of the recent local elections where the Conservative party had its worst results in years. The wet weather we’ve experienced this year has been a real challenge for farmers and that's affected flower growers too. As part of our week-long look at the flower-growing industry in the UK, we’ve been finding out how the weather’s affected this year’s daffodil harvest with a visit to a grower in Cornwall.Changes to planning law came into effect this week making it easier for farmers to convert unused farm buildings into new homes and new businesses like farm shops. It means buildings can be altered to create up to 10 homes, without planning permission. Some are worried that this is going to push up the value of land with farm buildings, and price smaller farmers and new entrants out of the market. Presenter = Caz Graham Producer = Rebecca Rooney

New figures from the Office for National Statistics show a record number of people are not employed due to long term sickness. The Government's launching a new task force with the aim of getting people who are off work and on benefits, back on the payroll. The Prime Minister has suggested they could they be persuaded to get out into the fields to pick fruit and veg.The wet weather is impacting farmers across the country - and flower growers are being hit too. For many of those exhibiting this week at the Chelsea Flower Show, the heavy rain has meant losses of precious stock. Some haven't been able to exhibit this year at all. And animal welfare organisations have welcomed a ban on exports of some live animals from Great Britain for slaughter and fattening, which has come into law this week. Cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses are covered by the ban - but animals can still be exported live, for breeding and competitions.Presented by Anna Hill Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

Changes to planning law will allow more freedom for farmers and landowners in England to convert unused buildings into new homes, or new businesses like farm shops. The relaxed rules make it possible to alter buildings to create up to 10 homes, without planning permission. In addition, the amount of floorspace that can be changed from agricultural to commercial use has been doubled.When you pick up a potted rose in a garden centre do you think about how long it's taken to get there? At Whartons Gardens Roses, based on the Suffolk / Norfolk border, it takes them 4 years to produce a rose, from land cultivation, through growing the root-stock and bud grafting. They produce 1 and a half million rose plants each year for garden centres across the UK. And at this time of year, as dairy cows are out eating the lush spring grass the industry normally sees a glut of milk, known as the Spring Flush. But this year, its been more of a Damp Squib, as the persistent heavy rainfall has left some pasture struggling to grow, and milk production is reportedly a million litres a day less than expected.Presented by Anna Hill Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

There's an update on the saga of illegal waste dumping at a protected woodland in Kent. The BBC has learnt that the Government is planning an emergency intervention to clear thousands of tonnes of rubbish. Locals say that as many as 30 lorries a day were illegally dumping rubbish at Hoads Wood near Ashford at the height of the problem last year. The woodland is in an area of outstanding natural beauty and is site of special scientific interest . Now one conservation group describes the site as a 'desolate wasteland' and it's estimated that a clean up operation will cost £10 million. 170 farms are to have their carbon footprint measured to create a more accurate picture of the emissions they produce and the carbon they sequester. The project, led by the levy body the AHDB, aims to give both farmers and the rest of us, a better understanding of agriculture's environmental impact. It's a pilot scheme which will measure greenhouse gas emissions, landscape and soil carbon stocks and water run-off, as well as using soil analysis of individual farms. The AHDB hopes to see it rolled out to all farms in the future. It's the RHS Chelsea Flower show and all week we're looking at flowers and plants. As a nation of gardeners we spend around £3 billion a year on plants and trees for our gardens, according to the Horticultural Trades Association. Chelsea's a highlight in the calendar for the industry, but they're facing many challenges: from the use of peat, to the wet weather and the new inspection regime at the UK border. Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Anna Hill reports from the second Farm to Fork Summit held this week in Downing Street. To coincide with the event, the Government released it's Food Security Index - which looks at how much of the food we eat is produced here, but also takes into account other things, like fertiliser prices, global trade and biosecurity risks. The Prime Minister said he wants to expand UK fruit and veg production. Around 120,000 visitors and 4,000 head of livestock have been at the Balmoral Show in Northern Ireland this week. Helen Mark reports from the show, and grills the NI Farming Minister over his plans for future farm payments.And South East Water has launched a 25 Year Environment Plan, which includes creating a new super nature reserve. More than 80% of the area covered by the company across Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire, is agricultural - so what will this mean for farmers?Presented by Charlotte Smith Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons