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Farming Today: 25/04/23 Payments to improve the environment; water bosses and river pollution; grass trials

25/04/23 Payments to improve the environment; water bosses and river pollution; grass trials

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 25/04/23 Payments to improve the environment; water bosses and river pollution; grass trials

Paying to improve the environment, river pollution, seeds and grass breeding.

Farmers can 'stack' environmental payments. 
River quality and bonuses for water company bosses.
Seed company research to develop new grass varieties.

The Government's confirmed that landowners and farmers will be able to have multiple payments if several different environmental improvements are made on one piece of land, it's known as stacking and an expert explains how it works.

After a Herefordshire farmer was jailed for wrecking the River Lugg as it ran through his land, water companies have come under renewed criticism for failing to stop sewage polluting rivers. Wessex Water is paying a total of more than £200,000 to executives, despite discharges of foul water into its rivers after heavy rain. Wessex Water has defended the bonuses, saying the company has exceeded its targets.

This week we're looking at seeds, and we visit a trial site where one of the UK's largest grass seed breeders plants thousands of different grasses to develop new varieties. 

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

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25/04/23 Payments to improve the environment; water bosses and river pollution; grass trials

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