Farming Today

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Farming Today: 04/01/21 Mental wellbeing, Anaerobic Digesters, Weather forecasting farmers

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04/01/21 Mental wellbeing, Anaerobic Digesters, Weather forecasting farmers

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 04/01/21 Mental wellbeing, Anaerobic Digesters, Weather forecasting farmers

Huge farming survey aims to help charity understand the wellbeing of a farming generation.

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.

The biggest ever survey of farmer wellbeing and mental health is being launched. The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) says it wants to do this once-in-a-generation research so that in the future help can be targeted better for people working in agriculture. We also speak to the producer of a documentary film called "Under the Soil" which addresses the issue of mental health in farming which is out from today. 

All this week Farming Today is looking at different ways of generating energy on farms. We start the week discussing Anaerobic Digestion. So far the UK has around 688 Anaerobic Digestors, many of which are based on farms - using waste and crops to make biofuels.  Charlotte Morton from the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association explains why growing crops for energy is not as problematic as some claim that it is.

And here in the UK we talk about the weather a lot, and understandably, farmers are probably even more obsessed than the average person too. We visit Down Court Farm in Kent to meet a father and son who have taken their obsession up a level, by setting up their own weather stations to get their own personal forecast. 

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

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04/01/21 Mental wellbeing, Anaerobic Digesters, Weather forecasting farmers

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