Agriculture news

• 03/08/26 Wildlife in drought, harvest 2026

  03-08-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  The drought is hitting nature; the Wildlife Trusts warn that rivers, lakes and wetlands are under immense strain, leaving animals struggling to survive.Harvest 2026 has been the earliest in England for at least 20 years and yields have suffered from the heat and a lack of water, leaving farmers counting the cost. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
  
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• 14/08/2026 Brassicas, cherries, salad

  14-08-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Brassica growers are warning their crops are in crisis after the relentless heat has left them stunted or dying in the ground. The British Growers Assocation says crops including cauliflower and broccoli are half the size they should be, putting prices up.
  We meet growers at Tebay services on the M6 in Cumbria. The company has been working with the horticulture and mental health charity Growing Well, and have established a kitchen garden to keep their cafe and farm-shop stocked with the freshest
  
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• 13/08/26 Bluetongue in sheep, growing more UK fruit and veg, B12 in salads

  13-08-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Bluetongue, the livestock disease that is transmitted by midges, is spreading, especially in the south west. It affects farm animals including sheep and cattle. It doesn’t affect people, but it can be very painful and fatal to livestock. Annual bluetongue statistics are counted from July to June, the so-called bluetongue season. Since the end of June this year, there have already been more cases than in the whole of the previous season. Hundreds of farmers in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset a
  
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• 12/08/2026 Controversial cattle cull, impact of drought on fish stocks, salads.

  12-08-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Feelings are running high amongst farmers in Northern Ireland over a cull of 51 cattle. It was carried out in June by a humane slaughter team from the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs in County Tyrone. The government said it was a final resort after a court ordered that the farmer who owned them should be ‘deprived of the ownership of all farmed animals’ because of a previous animal welfare conviction.The cull has proved extremely controversial. It’s clai
  
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• 11/08/2026 Impact of bluetongue on farmers, harvest in Europe, glass house salads.

  11-08-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Livestock farmers in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset are at the centre of the current outbreak of bluetongue and cases are rising rapidly. Bluetongue can be fatal to animals like sheep and cattle but doesn’t affect humans, it’s spread by midges, and makes animals lethargic and lame as well as causing birth defects or spontaneous abortions. The Farming Community Network has a 24 hour help line: we ask them about the impact the disease is having on farmers in the South West of England. As
  
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• 10/08/2026 Financial planning, farming in drought, salad

  10-08-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  The finances of farming in and after a heatwave.And salad - endless sunshine and no rain isn't ideal for many crops, so prices are up as UK supplies tighten and some companies are even importing.Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
  
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• Farming Today This Week: Bluetongue cases continue to rise; impact of climate change on this year's harvest

  08-08-2026 08:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Farmers are being 'strongly urged' to vaccinate sheep and cattle to protect them from the rapid spread of bluetongue. The UK's chief vet says vaccination is the only way to deal with the disease. There are now more than 200 farms with cases in the UK, more than double the number this time last week.The vast majority are in England, with most in the South West. In Wales there've been five. There are none in Scotland or Northern Ireland.The disease is spread by midges and this year's heatwave mean
  
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• 07/08/2026 Resilient crops for a changing climate, planting in a drought, Sheeted Somerset cattle

  07-08-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  In the light of this summer’s dismal harvest, we hear of work to make the UK’s arable crops more resilient in a changing climate.With the hot dry weather continuing in much of the country, not to mention the situation in the Strait of Hormuz making diesel and fertiliser prices volatile, some farmers are already scratching their heads about what best to grow for next year’s harvest. And a beautiful native breed cow, so rare it was declared extinct in the 1930s, now making a surp
  
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• 06/08/26 Bluetongue cases on the rise, vaccination and testing for the disease. Harvest in Perthshire.

  06-08-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Farmers are being 'strongly urged' to vaccinate sheep and cattle to protect them from the rapid spread of bluetongue. The UK's chief vet says vaccination is the only way to deal with the disease. There are now 130 cases, more than double the number this time last week. The vast majority are in England, with most in the South West. Wales has four cases, there are none in Scotland or Northern Ireland, and here cases means farms affected rather than individual animals with the disease.Bluetongue ca
  
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• 05/08/26 Scottish first minister on farming resilience; the cost of drought; harvest in Cumbria

  05-08-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Scotland's first minister John Swinney has been speaking about the future for Scottish farmers and crofters while touring the country visiting summer agricultural shows. This hot dry summer hasn't hit farmers in Scotland quite as hard as southern England, but some areas are now considered to be in what Scotland terms 'water scarcity'. We speak to him about support for farmers and the government's future plans to tackle wildfires.A new report estimates farmers could lose as much as £390 mil
  
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• 04/08/26 Wheat harvest, waste whey, sheep farmers at risk from disease

  04-08-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Official figures show the harvest this summer is the earliest in England for 20 years. All week we're following farmers around the country as they bring in their crops. We visit a farmer in Northamptonshire who thinks this year's harvest will put him in the red.When cheese is made, it produces curds and whey. There are two types of whey, sweet and salty. The sweet is often used for protein ingredients but the salty whey is difficult to dispose of and can be hazardous to the environment. Now scie
  
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• Farming Today This Week 01/08/26 Drought, water abstraction, food inflation, bluetongue, young Cornish dairy farmer.

  01-08-2026 08:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  The whole of Wales and half of England are now officially in drought. For farmers the impacts are huge. There are concerns about a shortage of feed for livestock and cereal yields are down. The Environment Agency in England says it will step up controls on how much water can be taken from rivers and groundwater. The National Farmers Union has called for a more modern abstraction system, saying we're still using regulations which are 50 years old. The environmental charity River Action says too m
  
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• 29/07/26: Cairngorms wildfire two weeks in, South Wales hare coursing, wildflower seed farm

  31-07-2026 12:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  The fourth heatwave of the year in the UK is still making the daily farming jobs a struggle for many. But this year the dry weather and heat have also created the conditions for significant wildfires across the country.In Scotland a wildfire started 2 weeks ago in the Cairngorms National Park. It's thought to have damaged around 25 square kilometres of natural forest and hillsides, although the exact extent isn't yet known. The surface fire has diminished but it's still burning deep in the peat
  
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• 31/07/26 Calls for a food system change, the reality of farming in drought, pressure on rivers

  31-07-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  As drought spreads across the UK we hear calls for our water and food systems to change.The lack of water, the miserable harvest and an unpredictable geo-political situation add up to expose the fragility of the UK's food system according to a cross section of supermarkets, food producers and campaigners who've written to the new Prime Minister. They want Andy Burnham to introduce a Good Food Bill for England.The environmental charity, River Action, says too many businesses are taking water from
  
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• 30/07/26 Drought, food inflation, bluetongue

  30-07-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Half of England is now officially in drought. The Environment Agency says it will enhance its monitoring of water levels and crucially for many farmers, step up controls on how much water can be taken from rivers and groundwater. The BBC's local radio stations have been devoting the day to agriculture and as part of this Farmwatch the BBC has been looking at the price of food and how much of what we pay goes to farmers.According to the Consumer Price Index from May this year, families are paying
  
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• 28/07/26 Campylobacter in chickens, community market garden, research anniversary

  28-07-2026 14:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  New research shows campylobacter - which causes gastro-intestinal illness in humans - is becoming more resistant to antibiotics as the number of intensive chicken farms increases. The research, led by scientists at Oxford University, found the number of strains of the bacterium was growing globally, with evolution advancing the most effective of them.This week we’re celebrating Farmwatch, where our BBC Local Radio stations in England are highlighting farming stories in their communities. L
  
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• 27/07/26: Fresh produce checks, hot lettuce, BBC Farmwatch.

  27-07-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  The UK's fresh produce trade body has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham asking him to scrap proposed border checks on fruit, veg and flowers, which it claims could cost the industry £300 million. The controls are included in the reset of our trading relationship with the European Union, currently under negotiation. The checks for pests and diseases would affect imports to the UK from outside Europe. The chief executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium tells us around half of the fruit
  
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• 25/07/26 Farming Today This Week: What's the best use of land in Wales?

  25-07-2026 08:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Charlotte Smith presents a panel discussion programme at the Royal Welsh Show, asking 'what's the best use of land in Wales?' With the Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability in the Welsh Government, Llyr Gruffydd; hill farmer and social media influencer, Gareth Wyn Jones; Dominic Hampson Smith, Vice Chair of Wales Young Farmers Clubs; and Rachel Sharp, Director at Wildlife Trusts Wales.Produced by Beatrice Fenton.
  
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• 24/07/26: Drought declared in North Wales, investing in water security, river pollution in Pembrokeshire.

  24-07-2026 10:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  July is on course to be the driest in Wales for almost 190 years. It means that North Wales and the Upper Severn catchment are the first areas in the UK to be declared officially in drought, this year. So far this month they've seen less than two per cent of the usual rainfall. Natural Resources Wales says river levels are approaching all time lows after a series of back-to-back heatwaves, with impacts on wildlife and soil.In South East England, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have been
  
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• 23/07/26 Royal Welsh Show

  23-07-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Charlotte Smith is at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show in Builth Wells. She meets the Welsh Government's Cabinet Member for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, Llyr Gruffydd, who explains how he's aiming to make Wales' new farming support scheme better for farmers - but is there enough funding? We also hear about why professional shearers are so important, and check out the Sheep Village, which is new this year.
  Produced by Sally Challoner.
  
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• 22/07/26 Sugar beet factory closing, new Defra secretaryfarm fires, , oil seed rape harvest, hill farming in Wales

  22-07-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  British Sugar's factory at Cantley in the Norfolk Broads is to close, in February next year. Hundreds of farmers will now have to transport their crop much further afield for processing. The Cantley factory has been operating for more than a century, and currently processes about 120,000 tonnes of sugar every year, from beet grown by local farmers. It employs just over 100 staff.As prime minister Andy Burnham's new cabinet members settle into their new jobs, the Secretary of State at the Departm
  
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• 21/07/26 Farm fatalities, dry potatoes, Welsh farm subsidies, Lake District guide

  21-07-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Farming has one of the worst fatality rates of any industry sector in the UK and new research suggests the true number of health and safety incidents on farm is even higher than reported. The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) says 30% of farmers wouldn't log an incident because they fear inspections or legal consequences, and 34% think near misses aren't serious enough to report.The National Drought Group, which includes government agencies, water companies, conservation group
  
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• 20/06/26: Milk price glimmers, Andy Burnham's rural in-tray, Welsh farming policy.

  20-07-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Heatwave conditions are particularly testing for dairy cows, and dairy farmers. Figures from the industry body, the AHDB, showed a 34 million litre reduction in milk arriving at British processors in June this year, compared to the same time last year, with the record temperatures the main cause. The UK is not alone, drops in milk production in Germany and France are bringing one small glimmer of hope. There are signs that the long slump in prices brought about by a global oversupply is starting
  
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• 18/07/26 Farming Today This Week: Wildfires, hot harvest, the Great Yorkshire Show

  18-07-2026 08:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Tinderbox conditions see wildfires across the country and farmers harvesting at night to avoid the heat.We visit the Great Yorkshire Show, the latest stop on the Farming Today summer roadtrip. We've been at the Balmoral in Northern Ireland and the Highland in Scotland, next week we'll be in Builth Wells for the Royal Welsh.We've using the shows as an opportunity to look at agricultural policy; its devolved so each of the four nations have developed their own post-Brexit approach to farming, but
  
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• 17/07/26 The Great Yorkshire Show

  17-07-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Farmers from across the UK have come to Harrogate to show off their livestock at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate. We hear from champion sheep breeders, competitive sheep shearers and pedigree cattle owners striving for a rosette. We also speak to farmers, the Defra secretary of state and the National Farmers Union president about the latest government policies designed to support agriculture.Presenter: Caz Graham
  Producer: Rebecca Rooney
  
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• 16/07/26 'Critical situation' for chicken site as water restricted, farm payments for wildlife, the price of chocolate

  16-07-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  The poultry industry is calling for animal welfare and food production to be prioritised, as pressure increases on water supplies. This follows the closure of a chicken processing site in Devon due to a lack of water. All week we're looking at England's post-Brexit farm payment schemes, which reward farmers to farm more environmentally.We hear concerns that money will be tight and many farmers may miss out. And retail prices of chocolate should stay high to give farmers in west Africa a future,
  
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• 15/07/26 New UK Swiss trade deal, Farming in Protected Landscapes grants, deer control in Loch Lomond

  15-07-2026 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  A new trade deal is signed with Switzerland: it's welcomed by farmers, but will it go any way to combat a significant downturn in food and drink exports, while imports are on the rise?The Farming In Protected Landscapes scheme is part of the new system of farm payments being developed in England to replace the old EU subsidies. We hear how hill farmers are using it to help keep their business afloat.How a crackdown on deer can help keep the banks of Loch Lomond bonnie.Presented by Anna Hill and
  
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• 14/07/26 Wildfires on farms, England's environmental farm payments

  14-07-2026 19:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  
  Tinderbox conditions on fellsides and moorland have led to wildfires across the country. We hear from farmers in the centre of the blaze.This week we're looking at England's post-Brexit farm policy. The Sustainable Farming Incentive is the main subsidy scheme, which rewards farmers for environmental actions. It's up and running again after it was abruptly suspended in March last year, and Defra has just announced that 75% of the funding available in the first window, for smaller farms, has now b
  
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• Agriculture Ministry: No reports of food shortages, supply sufficient until June despite global crisis - Malay Mail

  23-05-2026 11:00 via news.google.com
  Agriculture Ministry: No reports of food shortages, supply sufficient until June despite global crisis  Malay Mail
  
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• Agriculture Department refutes releasing infested Chrysanthemum flowers - Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka

  23-05-2026 08:17 via news.google.com
  Agriculture Department refutes releasing infested Chrysanthemum flowers  Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka
  
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