29/08/2011

A new internet scam has been swindling farmers out of thousands of pounds. Anna Hill hears that improvements in on-farm security have resulted in a drop of 34% in high value machinery theft, but farmers are being warned bogus agricultural websites are now conning people out of tens of thousands of pounds.

Wheat yields of 20 tonnes per hectare could be possible in the UK in the future, according to the National Institute for Agricultural Botany, but it still won't be enough to feed the growing population. As farmers drill seed for next year's harvest Anna Hill finds out from NIAB how new seed varieties are being developed for better yields and drought and disease resistance.

And fruit trees could soon be grown on grass verges and on land reclaimed by local residents. Farming Today hears of a Government initiative to encourage a network of community orchards.

Presented by Anna Hill. Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.