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Farming Today: 19/4/22 - Pig industry, glasshouses, SFI payments and farm diversification

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19/4/22 - Pig industry, glasshouses, SFI payments and farm diversification

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 19/4/22 - Pig industry, glasshouses, SFI payments and farm diversification

With pig prices up and the backlog easing, is the pig industry starting to recover?

Pig prices are up and the backlog of animals stuck on farm is down - but is it too late?

The pig industry has seen a backlog of animals stuck on farm because of a shortage of butchers in processing plants, but this is starting to ease, and pig prices are going up. After months of talking about the crisis in the pig industry, this should be good news - but farmers worry that with increased costs of feed, they’re still losing money on every pig. 

DEFRA, along with Pasture for Life and Landworkers' Alliance, has funded a "Your Farming Future" programme, which is running a series of farm visits, offering farmers a chance to see how schemes can help them adapt and become more sustainable - both economically and environmentally. 

The new Sustainable Farming Incentive - which is replacing subsidy payments in England - has been analysed by the levy body AHDB, which says for many farmers the scheme will only offer a small financial benefit.

And this week on Farming Today we're looking at growing crops undercover. We speak to Martin Emmett, the newly appointed Chair of the National Farmers' Union's horticulture and potatoes board, about the current state of the growing industry and what the impact of rising gas prices is. 

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced for BBC Audio by Caitlin Hobbs

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