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Farming Today: 05/02/2024 Trees burnt after budget cuts, funding crisis in agtech, sheepdog training

05/02/2024 Trees burnt after budget cuts, funding crisis in agtech, sheepdog training

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 05/02/2024 Trees burnt after budget cuts, funding crisis in agtech, sheepdog training

Millions of saplings are being burnt instead of creating new Scottish woodlands.

Millions of saplings are being burnt instead of creating new Scottish woodlands, after budget cuts.

A forester from Moray in North East Scotland says he may have to destroy millions of trees after the Scottish Government slashed the budget for new tree planting.  Ronald Christie from Fochabers says unless ministers change their mind, ten million young trees will have to be burnt followed by a similar number next year. 

The Small Robot Company were hailed as the future of small-scale automation for UK farmers. But in May last year their major investor withdrew its funding. They did find another and launched a crowdfunding campaign, but couldn’t raise the amount needed in time, and now the company has gone into liquidation.  One of the founders tells us there's a crisis in UK agtech funding. 

All this week we're going to be hearing about working animals, and today it's sheepdogs, Vernon Harwood meets a champion sheepdog handler who has been working with dogs since he was nine years-old.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

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