Farming Today

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Farming Today: 11/09/20 - Turkey farmers, nitrate credits and automated weeding.

11/09/20 - Turkey farmers, nitrate credits and automated weeding.

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 11/09/20 - Turkey farmers, nitrate credits and automated weeding.

With social gatherings of more than 6 people banned, turkey farmers worry about Christmas.

Turkey farmers face uncertainty about how many birds to produce for Christmas as COVID restrictions on gatherings come in.

With social gatherings of more than 6 people banned for the forseeable future, turkey farmers are worrying about Christmas. Charlotte Smith speaks to a farmer in South Wales who normally produces 60,000 turkeys for Christmas each year, but has decided to cut numbers by 20% this year. The next question is whether people will want birds of the same size as normal if family members aren't able to come together...

The Government is announcing a £3.9 million pilot scheme developing an online nitrate trading platform where housing developers can buy credits which will in turn pay for the creation of new wildlife habitats. The idea is that while more houses means more pollution, turning other areas into wildlife havens means less, and the overall impact will be the same. 

And our week of items about automation finishes with a dream of automated electric weeding.

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

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11/09/20 - Turkey farmers, nitrate credits and automated weeding.

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