Farming Today - 18/05/26: Grow more British flowers, new hands at the wheel of Red Tractor, hare coursing crackdown
Today is final judging day at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, ahead of the show's opening to the public tomorrow. This year, the Great Pavilion will include a mini flower farm, to promote British production. The display's been created by 8 growers from the organisation Flowers From The Farm. It says, after years of the market being dominated by cheaper imports, interest in British flowers is burgeoning. Now, more producers are needed to keep pace with the new demand.
The UK's largest food and farm assurance scheme, Red Tractor, has had a difficult couple of years. Its new Chief Executive, Paul McLaughlin, tells Anna he's confident a standards overhaul will make the scheme work better for farmers and consumers.
Hare coursing has been a long-standing problem for farmers, damaging crops, fencing and land. New sentencing guidelines for hare coursing will come into effect next month taking into account the impact of the crime on farms and rural communities. We hear from a farmer in Essex says he’s been targeted almost 200 times in eight months.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling
Published on Monday, 18th May 2026.
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