07/12/21 - Seasonal Workers Pilot, Welsh farm payments and dog attacks

Farming Today

• Episode: 07/12/21 - Seasonal Workers Pilot, Welsh farm payments and dog attacks
• Website: Farming Today
• Feed URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj8q/episodes/downloads.rss
• Duration: 00:13:41
• Published: 2021-12-07 07:00

New research into the Seasonal Workers Pilot claims the guest workers get a "raw deal". It highlights concerns about the way it’s being run and the lack of protection offered to workers under it. The current Pilot has allowed 30,000 workers from around the world to come to the UK for 6 months to work on farms growing food. It finishes at the end of this year and the Home Office says a decision on any extension will be taken “in due course". The Welsh Labour Minister for Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, has told us she would have liked to have been further ahead with the introduction of new farming payments by now. The new sustainable farming scheme for Wales - which will replace payments under the Common Agricultural Policy - is set to be rolled out from 2025. Meanwhile, area-based payments to farmers will be maintained, unlike in England where they're already being phased out. And dog owners could face a fine of up to ten thousand pounds and six months in prison if their pets attack livestock. It follows a campaign by Dorset farmer Cameron Farquharson who started a petition after his pregnant cow Gladis died following a dog attack. Presented by Anna Hill Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons