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Farming Today: 15/01/2024 Cost of flooding, bluetongue meeting, machinery week

15/01/2024 Cost of flooding, bluetongue meeting, machinery week

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 15/01/2024 Cost of flooding, bluetongue meeting, machinery week

Vegetable growers recovering a harvest after winter floods.

The floodwater may have receded from much of the countryside - but now farmers are counting the cost. Over the past few months its been wet - and farmers across the country have been telling us what that means for their businesses
One major supermarket, Tesco, has said it will be temporarily accepting smaller vegetables from farmers affected by flooding. It's relaxing its size requirements on cabbages, cauliflowers, leeks and sprouts. We spoke to a grower, and the British Growers Association for reaction. 

Farmers in Norfolk are meeting to discuss Bluetongue. There are now 50 cases of the disease in Kent and Norfolk, where control zones have been set up to try to limit the spread. Its a virus which is spread by biting midges - because of the warm Winter they've been active until quite recently - and it affects cattle, sheep, goats and deer. So far all the cases have been in animals which haven't showed any symptoms but have been picked up in blood tests. 
Phil Stocker, the Chief Executive of the National Sheep Association explains why farmers are meeting. 

It's LAMMA the massive farm machinery show which started in a field in Lincolnshire but now fills halls at the NEC in Birmingham. we'll be there later this week to see what new, and what's selling, and all week we're going look at farm machinery.  to me that mainly means tractors and combines but Steven Howarth Agricultural Economist at the Agricultural Engineers Association points out, there is more to it than that.

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