27/10/25 Energy costs for salad growers, carrots, invasive species.
Salad growers are warning that price increases for electricity will drive people out of the sector. Growers in the Lea Valley on the edge of London say they have large electricity connections for times of heavy use, but often use much less power. Since 2022 they've been charged based not only on what they use, but also on the size of the connection, and they say that from April next year those standing charges will effectively double. They say they should have government support to help meet the cost, like other sectors which are intensive users of energy.Carrots are the nation's favourite vegetable, regularly eaten by around three quarters of us and worth nearly £300 million a year in sales . They are in season in the UK nearly all year round thanks to specialised growing techniques, including overwintering them in fields. Right now farmers are working hard to get them covered up before the first frosts. We visit a farm in the Vale of York as a layer of straw is put over the crop to protect it. Zebra mussels, mink, floating pennywort and the Asian hornet - what they all have in common is that they are all here in the UK, but they shouldn't be. This week we are looking at invasive species. There are 2000 non native species in Great Britain, about 200 of them are classed as invasive and the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the government agency which works to tackle them, says14 new ones are identified every year.Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
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25/10/25: Beer and cider from land to glass
The raw ingredients to make a pint all begin life on British farms whether malting barley, or cider apples and perry pears, or hops. For barley and hop growers 2025 has been a difficult year. It's been a happier one in cider and perry orchards. We meet a cider apple detective hunting for lost varieties in Somerset, and the award winning team preserving Gloucestershire's perry heritage.A review of environmental governance in Northern Ireland has called for a new independent environmental regulator to be established. And, the Scottish fishing industry is unhappy about the way the Westminster Government has distributed a fund to modernise the fleet, improve skills, and revitalise communities. Scotland will receive just under 8% of the fund despite accounting for 60% of the UK's fishing capacity.Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Sarah Swadling
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24/10/2025 Fishing fund and Scottish fishers. DNA of cider apples. Cornish centenarian farmer.
"Anger, dismay and sense of betrayal”. That’s how the SNP described the response of Scottish coastal communities to the allocation of money to Scotland from the UK’s new ‘Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund‘ in parliament yesterday. The £360 million pound fund was first announced back in May and aims to modernise Britain's fishing fleet, enhance workforce skills, and revitalise coastal communities. However Scotland says it's getting less than 8 percent of the fund, despite accounting for more than 60% of the UK’s fishing capacity and producing more than 60% of UK seafood exports. A project in a tiny corner of Somerset is currently identifying and documenting the rich variety of apple trees around the village of Kingsbury Episcopi. The Kingsbury Pomona project, set up by pomologist or apple expert Liz Copas and cider maker Tim Gray aims to uncover lost apple varieties and help keep the different genetic strains alive. Farming is a long game, but there aren’t many who’ve been playing it quite as long as David Lightfoot from Cornwall. He started his career with a couple of cows he milked by hand and a few rented fields. He went on to farm for Prince Charles, before he became King, and now as he reaches his hundredth birthday he shares his farming memories.Presenter = Caz Graham
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
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23/10/25 Environmental regulation in Northern Ireland. Malting barley for beer. Food system report
Northern Ireland needs a new independent environmental regulator, properly staffed and financially resourced to tackle the many challenges it will face. That’s one of the recommendations of a comprehensive review of the country’s environmental governance which its authors describe as a ‘call to action’. The review was prompted by a number of environmental concerns including extensive and repeated blooms of blue-green algae in Lough Neagh which supplies forty percent of drinking water. The report also said there was “starkly lacking clarity “ over roles, responsibilities and accountability. We speak to Dr Viviane Gravey from Queen’s University in Belfast who chaired the review panel.We’re talking about beer and cider all this week on Farming Today and one crucial part of beer is malting barley. We visit a maltster in the heart of Norfolk A new report says the UK must radically transform the way it produces and consumes food if it is to avoid a cycle of escalating crises. The authors say action is needed on a scale not seen since the Second World War to safeguard food security, protect public health and meet climate targets. The Roadmap for Resilience: A UK Food Plan for 2050 argues that urgent reform is essential to reboot the economy, reduce pressure on the NHS and prevent repeated shocks from rising food prices, supply chain disruption and climate disasters.Presenter = Caz Graham
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
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22/10/25 Water Grid, Perry Pears, Sugar Beet Prices
It's a familiar idea that batteries store electricity and now a new European project, called Water Grid, is encouraging farmers to create ponds as 'water batteries' for storing rainwater, to draw on in times of drought. Researchers think they could even be used to top up rivers. The Water Grid project will run across 13 European countries, and the 22 partners involved are being coordinated by the Westcountry Rivers Trust.We visit the National Perry Pear Collection in Gloucestershire, as it's the season for pressing fruit to make perry. Thecollection has just won an award from the Campaign for Real Ale and Cider.The sugar beet campaign, or harvest, is underway but farmers are looking ahead to lower prices next year.Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling
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