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Farming Today: Sustainable Intensification, Treasure Hunting, Milk Prices

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05/01/2015

Sustainable Intensification, Treasure Hunting, Milk Prices

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, Sustainable Intensification, Treasure Hunting, Milk Prices

Sustainable intensification, treasure hunting and milk prices.

Is intensive farming sustainable? The movers and shakers of British agriculture meet for one of the major farming conferences of 2015. Plus advice for farmers on metal detecting.

This week the movers and shakers of British agriculture will gather for two key events - the Oxford Farming Conference and the Oxford Real Farming Conference. Sustainability will be a major theme at both events - can farming meet the challenge of feeding the world's growing population without destroying the environment? We meet an intensive chicken farmer in Somerset and ask if her business is sustainable.

The National Farmers Union is warning farmers to have agreements in place if they're allowing treasure hunters on to their land.
It follows the discovery of a million pounds worth of ancient coins by a metal detectorist in a farmer's field in Buckinghamshire. The 5000 coins bearing the heads of Ethelred the Unready and Canute were buried in a lead bucket.
Six years ago, the Staffordshire Hoard - worth around three million pounds - was found on a farm in Brownhills. It was the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver ever found, anywhere in the world.
So, for some farmers metal detecting can be a lucrative diversification! But the NFU's rural surveyor, Louise Staples, tells Sybil Ruscoe it's essential for farmers to have a clear set of rules.

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