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Millions of people across Great Britain will be heading to the polls on May 6th in local and National elections. In Scotland and Wales, new devolved governments will be voted in, while across England, councillors, mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners will be chosen. We find out what role the rural vote will play.

Exports of animal products to the EU face new paperwork and delays since January. The figures, published by the Food and Drink Federation, show exports of dairy products like milk and cream were down 96% in February compared to the same month in 2020. We speak to a dairy ingredients exporter to find out why. Meanwhile, new checks on imports have not yet been introduced: the need for health certificates on imports like meat and milk will start in October, with in-person inspections on animal products due from January 2022.

The Â鶹ԼÅÄ Food and Farming Awards are back! The awards will give us a chance to celebrate the people or companies who’ve made a real difference, over the past year. With the Farming for the Future Award, we want to recognise the individuals and business who are going above and beyond to find solutions to the many challenges facing farmers and are working to build a more resilient and sustainable industry for the future. We’re accepting nominations now via the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Food and Farming Awards website – bbc.co.uk/foodawards – where you’ll find details of all of the categories, as well as our terms and privacy notice. Nominations close at one minute to midnight on Monday the 17th of May 2021.

And we find out about "Inns on the Edge" - a new project to record the history and heritage of pubs along the 50 mile Lincolnshire coastline between Grimsby and Boston.

Presented by Caz Graham
Produced for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons