Farmers who continually have bovine TB outbreaks on their farms should ‘find another business’. That was what Labour Welsh Senedd member Joyce Watson suggested on the floor of the Senedd earlier this week. Ms Watson was responding to a statement from the Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths about bovine TB. The Welsh Government published a new 5 y ... Show More
Today
26/08/25 Countryside Code, pollinators, fruit farm bees.
A new stakeholder survey has been launched by Natural England and Natural Resources Wales to find out how the Countryside Code is working in England and Wales. The code in Northern Ireland is similar but runs separately, and in Scotland, where they have the Scottish Outdoor Acces ... Show More
14 m
Aug 23
23/08/25 Farming Today This Week: early apples, bioethanol industry in trouble, rise in avian flu
The cider apple harvest has started already. Most apples are picked in the autumn and even varieties which ripen early aren’t usually ready yet, and the apple harvest looks likely to buck this year's trend and be good.The Government's decision last week not to offer a rescue pack ... Show More
24m 41s
Aug 22
22/08/25 Bird flu, high-tech lettuce growing, early apples, aftermath of wildfires
Avian flu is on the rise again and this summer increase in cases is being linked with seabirds. New stricter biosecurity rules have been introduced for shoots in England after a number of outbreaks in game birds, and there are also more coastal cases of the disease. Bird flu is u ... Show More
14m 8s
May 2022
The Ebb and Flow of the Tidal Power Revolution
This week, we begin with a disturbing medical mystery. Since the start of the year, almost 200 children worldwide have fallen ill with hepatitis—or liver inflammation—without any apparent cause. Most of the children are under five, and nearly half of the cases were in the UK. Vic ... Show More
43m 50s
Mar 2023
Exploring the New Environmental Improvement Plan
Defra, the department for Environment, food and Rural affairs, released its latest Environmental Improvement plan this week. Many environmental groups have criticised the plan for having vague commitments, and landowners are asking where the money is going to come from if say far ... Show More
31m 14s
Oct 2023
The state of nature in the UK
In this week’s episode Victoria Gill speaks to Nida al-Fulaij, conservation research manager at the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, about the UK’s new State of Nature report. Climate change, habitat loss and intensive agricultural practices have been blamed for the decline ... Show More
28m 14s
May 2019
Forensic science provision, optimal garden watering strategy, and a mystery knee bone
A damning House of Lords' report into the provision of forensic science in England and Wales makes for uncomfortable reading for some but is broadly welcomed by those in the field. Prof. Niamh Nic Daeid, one of many who gave evidence to the Science and Technology Committee, gives ... Show More
28m 39s
Nov 2021
How Whales Farmed For Food, COP progress, and The Last Stargazers
Gaia Vince hears how blue whales' huge appetites and energetic eating behaviours helped generate more food for themselves. Also, an update from COP26, and Emily Levesque on The Last Stargazers.New research published this week in the journal Nature reveals new insights into blue w ... Show More
34m 21s