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Farming Today: 21/11/23 - Naked Clams, a regenerative field trial and a new Welsh National Park

21/11/23 - Naked Clams, a regenerative field trial and a new Welsh National Park

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 21/11/23 - Naked Clams, a regenerative field trial and a new Welsh National Park

A new type of farmed shellfish... without a shell!

We hear how scientists have designed a new way of farming a type of shellfish... which doesn't have a shell.

The shipworm is a bi-valve mollusc - like an oyster or a mussel - which is known as a marine pest because it eats through sea-water submersed wood. Now, scientists at Cambridge and Plymouth Universities have developed a system for farming them, in a highly controlled environment using waste wood for feed. To make them a more appealing meal, they're re-branding the shipworm as a Naked Clam!

Rothamsted Research is renowned for its Broad Baulk field crop experiment which is celebrating its 180th anniversary this year. Now, a new long term field trial is being developed, looking at Regenerative Farming. There is no agreed definition, but generally speaking regenerative agriculture focuses on improving soil health by reducing or removing cultivation, growing cover crops and using fewer chemical inputs. It can also involve re-integrating livestock into an arable system.

And the Welsh government has commissioned Natural Resources Wales to evaluate the case for a fourth national park, in the North East. Three Parks already exist - Eryri, The Pembrokeshire Coast, and Bannau Brycheiniog. We hear from people living and working in the proposed new park area about what it could mean for them.

Presented by Anna Hill
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol

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