Farming Today

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Farming Today: 19/09/23 Fruit and veg growers campaign; Seeding by drone; Cider.

19/09/23 Fruit and veg growers campaign; Seeding by drone; Cider.

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 19/09/23 Fruit and veg growers campaign; Seeding by drone; Cider.

Fruit & veg growers campaign for fair dealing; Sowing seed by drone; Cider.

Farmers' campaign for fair dealing by supermarkets.
Re-seeding oil seed rape crop by drone.
Cider maker sells direct to customers by creating new restaurant.

A survey commissioned by the organic veg box group Riverford says nearly half the fruit and veg growers who took part, fear they could close within a year. The report shows three quarters of the responders who felt they didn't have a long term future, point to supermarket behaviour as the main reason. Some of the accusations against supermarkets include cancelled orders for crops which have already been grown to order and failure to pay farmers within 30 days of delivery. Riverford is now launching a campaign calling for supermarkets to act, and for government to back that action. 

A farmer who lost nearly three quarters of his oil seed rape because of flea beetle, re-seeds his fields by drone - the farm in Yorkshire is one of the first in the UK to use a drone rather than a tractor to sow a crop. 
 
All week we're lifting a glass to British booze, from beer, to cider and wine. Earlier this year the British Growers Association reported costs for cider producers had risen by nearly a quarter, forcing some to question if they have a future in the industry. One cider maker in Herefordshire has decided to tackle the crisis head on, investing in a state of the art restaurant on his farm to help make it more viable. 

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

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19/09/23 Fruit and veg growers campaign; Seeding by drone; Cider.

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