Search


	Podcast:		Farming Today
	Episode:		30/08/2024 Bluetongue outbreaks, tea harvest, oilseed rape oil, Food and Farming Award finalists
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:13:58
	Publish Date:		2024-08-30 05:00:00
	Description:		Four cases of bluetongue have now been confirmed in sheep on farms in Norfolk and Suffolk. The virus, which is spread by biting midges blown into the UK from northern Europe, is currently widespread in the Netherlands with further cases in Germany and Belgium. As well as sheep, it affects cattle, goats, deer and camelids but not humans, nor does it pose any risk to the food chain. Harvest is in full swing for many farmers and we’ve been seeing how it’s going all week. In Cornwall on the Tregothnan Estate they're harvesting tea with a solar-powered robotic tea picker. Oilseed rape can be high risk: pests like cabbage stem flea beetle can wipe out a crop, and some pesticides which growers once relied on are now banned. We hear from a farmer in the Cotswolds who, in spite of the challenges, has created a booming business selling cold pressed rapeseed oil as a British alternative to imported oils. We announce our Farming Today finalists in the 2024 BBC Food & Farming Awards. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
	Total Play:		0