Farming Today


Farming Today is a radio programme about food, farming, and the countryside broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom.
It is broadcast each weekday morning from 5.45 to 5.58, and a longer programme is broadcast on Saturdays between 6.30 and 6.55. Around one million people listen to the programme.

History

Farming Today began life on 20 September 1960 as a weekly 15-minute programme subtitled A review of current affairs in agriculture at home and abroad and broadcast at 19.15 on Tuesdays as part of the BBC's Third Network's sequence of educational broadcasting known as Network Three. From 3 October 1961 the programme's start time was moved to 19.00, and from 7 January 1964 it changed again, to 19.45.
The run of weekly programmes on Network Three came to an end on 25 August 1964 and from 31 August Farming Today moved to a 6.35–6.50 slot on Monday to Saturday mornings on the BBC Home Service, where it replaced the 10-minute Farm Bulletin which had been broadcast on that network at 6.40 on six mornings a week since 10 July 1962.
Between 1964 and today, with the lengthening of the Home Service / Radio Four broadcast day, the start time of the weekday programme has gradually shifted earlier, and now stands at 5.45.

Content

The programme explores matters of current concern to farmers, fishermen, and others with an interest in countryside issues.
Farmers, environmentalists, politicians, the Soil Association, and National Farmers Union leaders are amongst those regularly interviewed for the programme.

Range of topics

Recent topics have included
The programme's main presenters are Anna Hill and Charlotte Smith. Caz Graham, Sybil Ruscoe and David Gregory-Kumar also present occasionally.

Former presenters