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24/10/22 - River Wye pollution, sugar beet campaign and UK seed and nut production

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

Pollution levels in our rivers are now so bad that tens of thousands of planned new homes in England and Wales are on hold - a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Wales investigation has found. One of the causes is phosphate - an essential and major nutrient for crops and animals, but damaging to our eco-systems if too much gets into rivers and streams courses. That's what's happened along the River Wye, where as we've reported, the high number of chicken farms is being blamed - but farmers say they're being unfairly targeted.

Sugar beet yields are likely to be down on the annual average this year as the campaign gathers pace after a delayed start in some areas, by campaign I mean the harvest. Some farmers are finding the beets smaller this year because of the summer drought, and some of the processing factories opened later to allow the crop more time in the ground.

And could a growing demand for seeds and nuts for human consumption provide new opportunities for British farmers?

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

11 minutes

Broadcast

  • Mon 24 Oct 2022 05:45

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