Farming Today

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Farming Today: 14/08/23 Hedgerows, potatoes, farm stays.

14/08/23 Hedgerows, potatoes, farm stays.

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 14/08/23 Hedgerows, potatoes, farm stays.

Why the Defra and the Climate Change Committee are big fans of hedges.

Why the Defra and the Climate Change Committee are big fans of hedges. And what makes the perfect potato for the farmers growing them?

A hedge to the uninformed eye might just look like a line of bushes, trees and weeds marking out a field, but there’s much more to them than that. So much so that the independent body which advises all of the UK governments on climate change, the Climate Change Committee, has called for a 40% increase in hedgerows in the UK by 2050 to help tackle global heating.  DEFRA says it wants 45000 miles of hedges in England by 2050, and ministers are currently consulting on how to make that happen. It’s a far cry from the post war farming policies that led to hundreds of thousands of miles of hedges being ripped out. All this week we’re looking into hedges, starting with their ability to sequester carbon.

King Edward, Maris Piper, and Shetland Black; just some of the varieties of spuds that were on display last week at the UK potato industry's biggest field-based event, Potatoes in Practice, which takes place annually in Scotland. 

Interest in UK farm holidays has doubled over the last decade according to the farm holiday co-operative, Farmstay, which has just clocked up 40 years of supporting and advising farmers who welcome holiday makers onto their farms.  

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

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14/08/23 Hedgerows, potatoes, farm stays.

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