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Farming Today: 07/05/2013

07/05/2013

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 07/05/2013

The fodder crisis for livestock farmers - why Ireland is importing grass.

Farming and countryside news. Charlotte Smith hears about the fodder crisis affecting livestock farmers in the UK and Ireland. The Irish government has set up a emergency fund.

The Irish government has set up an emergency fund to help farmers left struggling to feed their animals, because of a shortage of fodder. One of the wettest summers on record, followed by a long cold winter, has left some farmers in serious difficulty. Meanwhile in the UK a campaign to get farmers with spare forage to give it away to those affected by the snow has resulted in more than sixty thousand pounds of fodder worth being donated.

Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK, with 300,000 cases a year on average in England and Wales. Chemically treating meat could help reduce infection rates - but would consumers buy it?

And the appetite for exotic meat. Bison, ostrich and alpaca are all farmed in the UK. Farming Today explores some of the options.

Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Emma Campbell.

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