Farming Today

As part of a special week marking the 75th anniversary of The Archers and exploring what the next 75 years could hold for farming, today we look at how technology and AI could transform the way food is produced.
At Place UK, one of the country's biggest soft-fruit growers, automation and robotic harvesting are already being trialled, to help cope with labour shortages and rising costs.
We hear from Sir James Dyson, a major investor in farm robotics and AI, and from farmers in Northern Ireland who are already putting those technologies to work, using artificial intelligence to monitor livestock and automate everyday jobs.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

As The Archers marks its 75th anniversary, Farming Today is looking ahead to the next 75 years of British farming.
All week we’ll be imagining how agriculture could change, from how land is used to what crops we grow, using what technology and how the identity of farming itself could shift.
Today we’re in Inkberrow in Worcestershire, the village which inspired Ambridge and asking: what will we be doing with the land we currently farm over the next 75 years?
We hear from Jeremy Clarkson on how he sees the future of Diddly Squat Farm, from The Archers’ farming and countryside advisor Sybil Ruscoe, and from Wales, where how land is used is increasingly under debate.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

The official estimates for England's harvest 2026 are in, and the figures from the governnment show that its the smallest harvest of both barley and oats since 2012. Wheat saw a small increase with losses in the South and East offset by a better harvest further North, and oil seed rape had a better year with a 6 per cent increase in yield. We hear from farmers who suffered in the droughts.
This week we've been exploring farm boundaries - from hedges and stone walls to barbed wire. We hear from people restoring ancient boundaries, and learn about the history of barbed wire from the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma.
The first cases of highly pathogenic avian flu in kept poultry have arrived in the UK - and as migratory wild birds start to arrive to overwinter here, poultry farmers are being urged to improve biosecurity. The case was reported in a backyard flock on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. Last winter free range flocks had to be kept inside to try to protect them from infection, and the UK Chief Vet says anyone farming poultry must now review and improve their biosecurity.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

The official estimates for England's harvest 2026 are in, and they don't make happy reading. Provisional figures from the government show that it's the smallest harvest of both barley and oats since 2012. Wheat saw a small increase with losses in the south and east offset by a better harvest further north, and oilseed rape had a better year with a 6% increase in yield.
All week we're talking about boundaries, the fences and walls which define farms and fields. Traditional Cornish hedges are an earth bank sandwiched between two stone walls - not what you might expect from the word 'hedge'. Many of these hedges were lost to make fields bigger during the mid-twentieth century push for food production. Others have collapsed into disrepair, but there’s now a push to restore and appreciate Cornish hedges anew.
The Scottish National Party insists that its plan to introduce a price cap on some essential foods will go ahead; the initiative has been described as 'a potty gimmick' and criticised by retailers, farmers and food and drink manufacturers. The SNP holds its annual conference in Aberdeen next week. The minister for agriculture, marine and the islands Jim Fairlie says capping food prices won't impact farmers.
Artificial intelligence which is beginning to transform many aspects of our lives - so what's its potential for farmers? Producers are facing more challenges than ever, from drought and heatwaves to labour shortages and the spiralling price of fuel and fertiliser. We visited a robotic dairy on the Somerset/Devon border to ask if AI will bring the fourth agricultural revolution.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Rebecca Rooney

Half of farmers say they've had rubbish fly tipped on their land, and the majority of those asked say the problem is getting worse. These are the results of a survey of 512 farmers in England and Wales by the National Farmers Union - which is campaigning for more and stronger deterants to tackle the problem. The latest government figures show a 9 per cent year on year increase in fly tipping reported by local authorities in England between 2023/4 and 2024/5.
There’s an old saying that good fences make good neighbours and all this week on Farming Today we’re looking into a slightly leftfield subject, the boundaries farmers use between their own farms and others, and, within their own farm. Fencing - or hedging or walls - are crucial to farmers. Today - the fence that tamed the American ‘wild west’, still used by farmers across the world today - barbed wire.
A company from Shropshire has invented a new material which it claims could save chicken farmers thousands of pounds. Zero Charge Technologies wants to harness the waste heat generated in chicken sheds to produce free electricity. It says it can do this with a substance called Delta T- an alternative to solar panels - which can also be fitted on roofs, and will generate power from waste heat day and night.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.