06/05/20 - Small farms, market gardening and sheep shearers

Farming Today

• Episode: 06/05/20 - Small farms, market gardening and sheep shearers
• Website: Farming Today
• Feed URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj8q/episodes/downloads.rss
• Duration: 00:13:26
• Published: 2020-05-06 07:00

The Ecological Land Cooperative says small farms could and should play an important role in the future of our food system. It buys agricultural land, then divides it into small-holdings, gets planning permission for houses on each one then sells or rents the plots at well below market value. The idea is to allow new entrants into farming without the need for huge capital. We find out more and visit a vegetable farm in Devon that grows more than 50 varieties of veg on less than an acre. Although lambing is coming to an end, sheep farmers are still busy, and the next job is shearing the adults. Bigger farms often rely on teams of expert New Zealand and Australian shearers coming across, but this year they're having to find local help. And we catch up with goat farmer Charlie Cole in Northern Ireland to hear about some of his latest ventures. Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons