Farming Today

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Farming Today: 02/11/23 Insect feed for livestock, sustainable food supply chains, winter cover crops.

02/11/23 Insect feed for livestock, sustainable food supply chains, winter cover crops.

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 02/11/23 Insect feed for livestock, sustainable food supply chains, winter cover crops.

Insect farmers want to be allowed to feed processed maggots to pigs and chickens.

Insect farmers want to be allowed to feed processed maggots to pigs and chickens, like they do in the EU. But would we want to eat the meat?

The Government is reviewing livestock feed in the UK as we're out of step with the EU, and that includes feed made from insects.  Farmed insects are a potentially sustainable protein source for pigs and poultry, replacing feeds like soy that are linked to deforestation.  Processed insect feed is currently banned for livestock in the UK, but not in the rest of Europe. The concern here, is that insects can be disease vectors, particularly if reared on waste, and that using insect proteins could lead to outbreaks of diseases like BSE.  But British insect farmers want the law changed to be the same as in the EU, and also want more flexibility on what insects bred for fodder can eat.   

The Red Tractor food assurance scheme now says it won’t go ahead with its new green option until a National Farmers Union independent review of its governance has taken place. It also says further work on an environmental standard would “need to include more detailed dialogue with farmers and supply chains” and recognises it has been slow to fully understand the strength of feeling of its members on this issue. But consumers do increasingly want more information about the carbon footprint of food and retailers are keen to show they’re working with farmers who are doing their bit for the environment. 

It does feel like winter’s just around the corner, so all this week on Farming Today we are looking at how farms are getting ready for winter. We’re used to seeing bare fields of frosty stubble once the temperatures drop, but farmers are being encouraged to help their soil over the colder, wetter months by planting fields with cover crops.  We visit a farm in Fife that's been cover cropping for the last 8 years.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

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Farming Today

02/11/23 Insect feed for livestock, sustainable food supply chains, winter cover crops.

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