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Farming Today: 01/08/19: Closure of marts and abattoirs, Predatory insects, When is a tweet not a tweet?

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01/08/19: Closure of marts and abattoirs, Predatory insects, When is a tweet not a tweet?

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 01/08/19: Closure of marts and abattoirs, Predatory insects, When is a tweet not a tweet?

Caz Graham hears how the closure of livestock marts impacts on the farming community.

Caz Graham hears how the closure of livestock markets impacts on the farming community and asks Adam Day from the Farming Network about why these marts are coming under pressure.

What impact does the closure of livestock auction marts have on a local farming community?  For farmers in Glamorgan the announcement that Cowbridge auction mart is to close means longer journeys, increased costs, and a hidden impact on their sense of community and place.  This comes just weeks after the last livestock mart in Cheshire, Beeston mart, went into administration.  Adam Day from The Farming Network in Cumbria tells Caz Graham why market conditions are tough for some livestock auctions. 

For Farming Today's week on insects Toby Field's been to meet Andy Dibben, Head Grower at Abbey Home Farm, who encourages beetles and parasitic wasps to thrive alongside his crops - using beetle banks made up of wildflowers and local fauna, with the creatures acting as natural predator for the other crop-munching insects.

According to a new study the way the language of nature is used has changed over the last twenty years.  Dr Robbie Love tells Caz that it's words like "tweet" and "stream" that are now better-known for their use in technology than in their original natural setting.

Producer: Toby Field

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01/08/19: Closure of marts and abattoirs, Predatory insects, When is a tweet not a tweet?

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