09/09/20 Plumpton College fined over pollution, Robots on soft fruit farms
An agricultural college in Sussex has been fined £50,000 and ordered to pay another £45,000 in costs, after being prosecuted for polluting a river with slurry.
An agricultural college in Sussex has been fined £50,000 and ordered to pay another £45,000 in costs, after being prosecuted by the Environment Agency for polluting a river with slurry. The pollution from Plumpton College killed 1,500 fish in 2016, at a site which is important for breeding brown trout. Anna Hill talks to both the Environment Agency and the college's principal, to find out what went wrong.
Continuing a week-long look at automation on farms, we find out about a new research project which has just been given two and a half million pounds of government money to test a range of different farm robots for the fruit-growing sector.
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Emma Campbell.
Last on
Broadcast
- Wed 9 Sep 202005:45BBC Radio 4
Farming Tomorrow: Another Country with James Rebanks
A document of the lives of rural workers in and around three English villages.
Farming Tomorrow: AI on the Farm
Charlotte Smith explores how artificial intelligence is transforming agriculture.
Farming Tomorrow: The Briefing Room asks How will climate change affect our farms?
Will we still be able to grow enough food as temperatures rise and rain patterns change?
Farming Tomorrow: Kiri's Farm
A stand-up comedian, a vegan and a farmer walk into a bar.
Podcast
![]()
Farming Today
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
