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Farming Today: 25/10/23 Floods; Sale of country estate; Scottish auction

25/10/23 Floods; Sale of country estate; Scottish auction

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 25/10/23 Floods; Sale of country estate; Scottish auction

Flooded farmland; Sale of Rothbury Estate; Western Isles livestock mart.

Farmers count the cost of flooded land. Sale of a Northumberland estate. Auction mart in the Western Isles of Scotland.

As thousands of acres of farm land have been affected by flooding after Storm Babet, the NFU is calling on the government to set up a comprehensive water management strategy to improve flood resilience, and more investment so productive land does not get flooded, washing away crops.

The nine and a half thousand acre Rothbury Estate is on the market for £35 million and that means uncertainty for the tenant farmers who farm nearly half the land. It's currently owned by the Duke of Northumberland's youngest son. Local campaigners are  concerned, because although around half the land is in the Northumberland National Park and protected, they fear that elsewhere land use could change, and public access could be restricted. 

All this week we're looking at auction marts and the central role they play in farming communities. Most major centres hold regular sales - often several times a week -  but in the Western Isles it's very different.  Here, livestock production tends to be small-scale and sales of sheep and cattle only take place on a few days in autumn when stock is ready for market.

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

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