Farming Today

Friends of the Earth claim a no-deal Brexit will leave the UK without the environmental rules to protect vulnerable sites, and nobody to enforce the rules that exit. Planning permission's been granted for a 7.5 acre glasshouse to grow medicinal cannabis in Wiltshire. It is now legal in the UK for specialist doctors to prescribe cannabis-based medicines. Researchers at the University of Illinois have found a way around the problem of photosynthesis, and they believe this could boost crop growth by 40 percent. Carmarthenshire College is developing a new slurry dewatering and purification system that could reduce the volume of slurry by 80%, making it easier to store and spread. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

As the Fisheries Bill makes its way through the House of Commons, an investigation by MPs says it's short on detail and recommends an independent advisory body is put in place. We hear reaction from the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations. This week we're talking about the future of agricultural technology. Earlier this month the newest and shiniest bits of kit were all gathered together under one roof at farm machinery show, Lamma 2019. A three year farm trial run by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board has just ended, to find out how to grow better cooking potatoes with less impact on the environment. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Food writer says report from the EAT Lancet Commission, telling us to eat less meat, is dangerous to health. Joanna Blythman says farmers and food producers should have been involved. How data and artificial intelligence will change farming. Sheep farming family in Kent revive the fortunes of wool on the Romney Marsh.

Veganism can be a polarising topic. With this year's 'Veganuary' campaign firmly underway, Charlotte Smith visits a dairy farm in South Wales, to find out whether it's possible for vegans and farmers to have constructive conversations around such an emotive subject. Abi Reader is a third generation dairy farmer, Vice Chair of the NFU Cymru Milk Board, sits on the Wales Animal Health and Welfare Framework Group and is Chair of Cattle Health Certification Standards. Tony Wardle is associate director of the animal rights campaign group VIVA and the man behind their in-house magazine - who says his original decision to go vegan was down to his experience of living next to a dairy farm... Charlotte joins them for a tour of the farm and a frank discussion of dairy farming, agriculture as a whole and the rise of veganism in the UK. She also hears from Dr Jutta Tobias Mortlock, a senior lecturer in organisational psychology at London's City University, about why this topic is so divisive; and Dr Wayne Martindale, a Lecturer in Food Insights and Sustainability at the University of Lincoln, on what sort of diet has the smallest environmental impact. Meanwhile Anna Hill visits Bedfordshire, where partners Amanda Veal - a vegan - and Michael Jobson - a sheep farmer - have managed to find some middle ground. Presented by Charlotte Smith; produced by Lucy Taylor.

Caz Graham concludes a week of programmes about veganism with a debate about the the environmental impact of different foods. We join a train driver on a rural line in Scotland, and find out what happens when livestock get onto the tracks. And can technology designed for use in space help farmers reduce their ammonia emissions? Presented by Caz Graham. Produced by Heather Simons.