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Farming Today: 15/11/21 - A silent cull of poultry, cold storage for pork and social crofting

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15/11/21 - A silent cull of poultry, cold storage for pork and social crofting

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 15/11/21 - A silent cull of poultry, cold storage for pork and social crofting

A ‘silent cull’ of chickens is taking place on UK farms.

Whole flocks of chickens are being culled on farm as the problems in poultry processing plants continue.

Whole flocks of chicken are being culled on farm as the problems in poultry processing plants continue. The British Poultry Council says this ‘silent cull’ is again down to a shortage of staff, despite the Government allowing extra visas for poultry workers from abroad. 

The government scheme to freeze and store pig meat is due to open this week, but questions are being asked about where the meat will go. The private aid storage scheme for England, is part of Government measures to alleviate problems created by a shortages of butchers in meat processing plants which have led to pigs being culled on farms. The idea is that pigs can be slaughtered and then cut into basic joints and frozen, with the Government picking up the bill for the storage.

And making a living out of crofting is notoriously difficult. We visit a couple who are giving it a go on a 12-acre croft on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Sarah and Hugh Asher have combined their experience in social work and agriculture to set up what they call a “social croft”.  

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

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15/11/21 - A silent cull of poultry, cold storage for pork and social crofting

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