麻豆约拍

Will there be a pumpkin shortage at Halloween next week? We hear from a grower in Lincolnshire who describes that up to 40% of the crop is rotting in the fields around Spalding, the 'Pumpkin Triangle'. However, it's a very different picture in Kent, where pumpkin growers are reporting a bumper crop.

Concluding our week's theme on the pros and cons of using manure as a natural fertiliser, Charlotte Smith speaks to Chris Tuckett of the Environment Agency who describes the damage caused by slurry entering streams and watercourses.

Also, given the numbers of accidents that occur in agriculture, we hear a report from Aberdeenshire farmers who're attending a First Aid course.

And it's farewell to Farming Today's 'Friday Funny'. In a close-run ballot, listeners have voted 54% against 46% to discontinue the end of week gag. So this is the final one, sent in by Jon Hunt of Gloucester:
"I don't buy fat-free milk because I don't want to encourage cows with negative body image."

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Mark Smalley.