Farming Today - 19/11/25 Antibiotic resistance, rice straw, Food & Farming Awards winner
Download 19/11/25 Antibiotic resistance, rice straw, Food & Farming Awards winner
The use of antibiotics in treating livestock in the UK has fallen, according to a new report published by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, which is a government agency. Using high levels of antibiotics in farming can lead to people developing resistance to life-saving antibiotics.
The Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, which was set up to reduce antibiotic use in farm animals, through better livestock husbandry, has just published its own report into antibiotic drug use, particularly in pigs and poultry. It says poultry producers are still using too many ionophores, a kind of medicine to treat parasites, and it wants ionophores to be classified as antibiotics.
All week, we're taking a global perspective on farming as delegates at COP 30 in Brazil discuss food production and reducing its impact on the climate. One UK businessman has come up with a system for harvesting the straw left over from rice. It's usually allowed to rot in the fields, or it's burnt but Craig Jamieson has developed a special machine to harvest it and it's now being trialled in the Philippines.
We celebrate the farm business that's won the Future Farming award in the BBC's Food and Farming Awards.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Rebecca Rooney
Published on Wednesday, 19th November 2025.
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