Farming Today

Wildfires have been on the political menu this week with a report from MPs criticising the lack of a National Wildfire Strategy, followed by wildfire summits in England and Wales, and an announcement from the Prime Minister of ‘initial steps to improve our response’. Andy Burnham announced £45 million of extra funding to better equip firefighters and said military aircraft would be available to help tackle wildfires. Earlier this week MPs on the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee published a report saying the UK was not ready for the next fire season.
At its summit the Welsh Government said it would bring in international expertise, and create a register for farmers and landowners are able to help fight fires.
The scramble online for funding under the Sustainable Farming Incentive or SFI left thousands of farmers with nothing. Some had technical problems, others were too late. SFI funding pays farmers for improving the environment. Those who weren't successful will have to decide whether to stop managing their land for the environment or carry on without payments. The Secretary of State tells us she's working with farmers to avoid a repeat of this year's funding application chaos.
We visit a Herefordshire farmer who was seriously considering grubbing up her 22 acre intensive orchard. Instead she thinned out the trees and introduced an agroforestry system.
UK strawberries at Christmas? It doesn't seem likely, but one Worcestershire farmer says his growing season now stretches to December. He's worried that fruit will be wasted as supermarkets aren't used to local supplies being available so late in the year.
We meet a farmer who's growing pumpkins - not for Halloween but for seeds.
Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

A wildfire summit is being held today in Westminster, bringing together government departments and agencies to work out plans to address future fires.
We announce the winner of the BBC Food and Farming Awards' Farming for the Future winner, Bronagh O’Kane.
And picking plums by rowing boat: the Tregothnan estate in Cornwall has a very unusual micro climate on the Fal estuary, allowing a rare variety of plum to grow. The Kea plum is small and similar to a damson and very unusually grows so close to the waterside that some trees are harvested from the water.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Farmers in Scotland have been taking part in a four year scheme to get more arable farmers to have sheep on their land. Instead of leaving fields bare over winter, cereal growers have been planting cover crops, things like oats or turnips. They then invite a shepherd to graze sheep on the fields. The sheep farmer gains extra grazing, and for the arable farmer, the sheep help fertilise the soil, keep down the weeds, and get rid of the cover crop by the end of the season.
All week we're taking a closer look at the top fruit harvest - that means apples, pears and plums. Keeping an orchard profitable can be difficult at the best of times. We visit a Herefordshire farmer who was seriously considering grubbing up her 22 acre intensive orchard. Instead she thinned out the trees and introduced an agroforestry system.
We celebrate some of the winners in this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

A report by MPs says this year's wildfires exposed severe weaknesses in our ability to tackle them, and that immediate action must be taken to ensure an effective response next year. The Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee heard more than 1,300 wildfires broke out this year - the highest number on record. It says the government needs a national strategy.
This week we are looking at top fruit. It has been a tough year for many growers, a difficult spring followed by an extremely hot and dry summer has affected harvests – but there has been a silver lining. British pear growers say all that sunshine has meant some of the sweetest fruit they have ever grown. However, in spite of the quality of this year's crop, there are concerns about the future of British pear orchards. More than half of pear orchards are more than 21 years old, and the number of new trees being planted has fallen dramatically.
The scramble for online for funding under the Sustainable Farming Incentive or SFI, left thousands of farmers with nothing. Some had technical problems, others were too late. SFI funding pays farmers for carrying out environmental actions which improve their land, and the wider habitat on their farms. Those left with no funding will now have to decide whether to stop managing their land for the environment or carry on without payments.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

The decline in abattoirs across the UK has been an issue for many years. A new coalition of more than 150 organisations, has sent a letter to the Prime Minister calling for urgent government action. The Sustainable Food Trust, Soil Association, Rare Breeds Survival Trust and other groups claim the UK’s abattoir network has fallen to around 200, from roughly 2,500 in the 1970s. In Scotland crofters are about to benefit from a new initiative which could solve some of the problems: a moveable abattoir which will come to the farm.
UK strawberries at Christmas? It doesn't seem likely but such a warm summer means a Worcestershire farmer says his growing season now stretches to December. However he's concerned his crops could go to waste because retailers are taking in imported fruit instead.
This week, we're taking the pick of the top fruit harvest, that's apples, pears and plums - everything grown on trees. Apples are the biggest business, but this year the weather's challenged the orchards with frost, hail, extreme heat and drought. We speak to British Apples and Pears to find out how drought and heat have affected the harvest.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney