07/01/2014
As the Oxford Farming Conference calls for UK livestock farmers to seek alternatives to the 'tried and tested', we ask if they could earn more if they acted like New Zealanders.
As the Oxford Farming Conference calls for UK farmers to seek alternatives to the "tried and tested", Farming Today looks at what lessons could be learned from New Zealand - a country with similar climate and similar farming techniques that continues to outstrip the UK in production.
We visit two farms praising New Zealand's techniques. Robert Craig runs a dairy farm in Cumbria, and says controlled grazing is boosting his bottom line. While on the Black Mountains in Wales, sheep breeder Penny Chantler says New Zealand Romneys do better than traditional breeds on less.
But the sheep and beef industry body, EBLEX, says the UK isn't that far behind, and progressive farmers are already borrowing a lot of ideas from New Zealand.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Willy Flockton.
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Broadcast
- Tue 7 Jan 201405:45BBC Radio 4
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