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Farming Today: 02/05/2019

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02/05/2019

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 02/05/2019

We hear about problems with the pilot scheme to get non-EU workers onto British farms.

A fifth of the UK's agricultural land should shift to growing trees, energy crops and restoring peatland, according to the Committee on Climate Change.

Farmers say a pilot scheme aimed at getting agricultural workers from outside the EU onto farms this season has already let them down. Some workers expected last month now won't be here until later this month because of delays in getting visas. Around 65,000 people, mainly from Eastern Europe currently work planting and picking and packing crops like strawberries and asparagus. Farmers warned that after Brexit they'd face problems recruiting enough people and the government announced a pilot seasonal agricultural workers scheme. It will run for 2 years and was due to deliver the first of 2 and a half thousand people - mainly recruited from Ukraine and Moldova - last month. 

A fifth of the UK's agricultural land should shift to growing trees, energy crops and restoring peatland, according to the Committee on Climate Change. The Committee - which advises government - says the UK should aim to phase out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and suggests a range of ways to do that, including changing land use and cutting meat consumption. We hear from the Committee and from farming organisations which are not been entirely enthusiastic.

And we learn about a tiny, orange, invasive sea creative that could put Scotland's shellfish industry at risk. Schizoporella japonica can grow on the shells of mussels and oysters and large colonies can impact shellfish weight and survival.

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Heather Simons

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