Farming Today This Week

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Farming Today: 09/05/20 - Farming Today This Week

09/05/20 - Farming Today This Week

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 09/05/20 - Farming Today This Week

Sybil Ruscoe catches up on a week of food and farming news.

The latest on the National Food Strategy, the plight of racehorse trainers in lockdown, the worth of tiny farms and finding solace in silence.

Just before the Coronavirus pandemic struck, the government had been preparing to launch its National Food Strategy, headed by Henry Dimbleby, owner of the Leon chain of restaurants. Its original purpose was to look at health, environment and food security. That last topic has been brought into sharp focus by the Covid19 pandemic - so are there lessons to be learnt?

Horse racing is cancelled because of lockdown. Although many people are missing the sport, what does it mean for the horses and the businesses? Sybil Ruscoe visits stables in the Cotswolds to meet the furloughed horses, a trainer and a jockey.

We visit a tiny farm in Devon where more than fifty varieties of vegetable are grown on less than an acre...and ask how big a part these tiny farms can play in our food system.

Researchers at Exeter University are investigating the attitudes of gamekeepers toward predators. Are they under pressure from shoot-owners to illegally kill birds of prey that eat game birds? We hear from one anonymous former gamekeeper who says yes.

And we share the sounds that make us happy - from breakfasting ducks to underwater insects...from nightingales to skylarks.

Presented by Sybil Ruscoe
Produced by Heather Simons

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