28/09/24 Farming Today This Week: Henry Dimbleby, Environmental Land Management Schemes, Planning, Cider Apples

Farming Today

We’ve been reporting over the last couple of weeks about a £358m underspend over the last three years from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' £2.4 billion agriculture annual budget for England. Now, former DEFRA director and author of the National Food Strategy, Henry Dimbleby says it’s critical that this money isn’t lost from the farming budget.

He also tells us what he wants to see in the government's new Environmental Land Management schemes, especially for upland farmers. Some upland farmers who’ve spent years in what are called Higher Level Stewardship agreements, which pay for farming in a way that benefits the environment and wildlife, say there is nothing they can apply for under ELMs at the moment. We hear from one farmer in the Lake District about his frustrations with the new schemes.

Increases in offshore wind means in turn that the electricity generated has to brought inland, often requiring new infrastructure. Miles of underground cabling is being channelled through the countryside, with some farmers having little choice about whether it goes across their land.

The weather over the last year has had a huge impact on food producers across the UK. With the apple harvest underway, we speak to a cider apple producer who says he's lost trees because of waterlogged orchards.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Jo Peacey.