Farming Today - 15/11/25 EFRA questions, report on farming in Wales, drought, potato harvest, mushrooms, truffles, cider
Eight weeks after taking up her post as DEFRA Secretary of State, Emma Reynolds has faced her first barrage of questions from the cross-party group of MPs at the EFRA select committee. MPs quizzed her about farming profitability, fishing policy, water pollution, border controls and illegal meat. They asked about environmental payments too and she acknowledged that mistakes had been made and lessons learned when the Sustainable Farming Incentive was suddenly suspended earlier this year.
A report by the House of Commons’ Welsh Affairs Committee is calling for the Government's inheritance tax on farmers to be halted, because it says the tax will have a detrimental impact on Welsh farming.
The Environment Agency's warned that unless we see some serious rain, England will be in drought next year. We find out how this year's lack of water has affected the potato harvest.
Mushroom growers face many challenges: rising energy costs; sourcing the staff to pick them; and finding alternatives to peat for growing the crop. We visit a family farm in Northern Ireland that's become one of the UK's biggest producers of organic mushrooms.
Truffle cultivation isn't usually associated with Scotland but milder, wetter summers are providing new opportunities, according to one professor who's developing new methods of cultivating truffles.
This year's apple harvest has been a bumper one, but with a small orchard on a small landmass, the family producing cider on Guernsey have had to find a creative way to supplement their crop.
Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
Published on Saturday, 15th November 2025.
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