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Farming Today: 16/06/23 Farm deaths, tree planting targets, estate tourism

16/06/23 Farm deaths, tree planting targets, estate tourism

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 16/06/23 Farm deaths, tree planting targets, estate tourism

18 people have died on farms this year, almost double at this time last year, we ask why.

Farmers question whether machinery manufacturers could do more to improve farm fatalities. Tree planting figures are published. Tourism on a big farming estate.

18 people have died on UK farms so far this year, nearly double the number at this time last year. After years of campaigning, why are more people dying? Some farmers are asking if one of the problems is the design of agricultural machinery and the cost of buying and fitting safety measures to it. 

England has missed the government's tree planting targets - again. The goal is for 7,500 hectares of woodland to be planted every year - but the new figures show that in the past year 3,100 hectares have been planted. The government says this puts tree planting at a record levels - and is a 40 per cent increase year-on-year - others, like The Woodland Trust, are less impressed.

All week we've been looking at how a Norfolk estate juggles farming with conservation and tourism. Even for smaller farms, diversifying into venues, camping or bed and breakfast, can be an important part of bringing in new income. On the estate we've been visiting, they employ more than three hundred people, and welcome nearly a million visitors to the house, the grounds, and the beach.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

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16/06/23 Farm deaths, tree planting targets, estate tourism

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