12/01/22 - River pollution investigations reduced, shellfish exports and beef prices

Farming Today

• Episode: 12/01/22 - River pollution investigations reduced, shellfish exports and beef prices
• Website: Farming Today
• Feed URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj8q/episodes/downloads.rss
• Duration: 00:13:36
• Published: 2022-01-12 07:00

The Environment Agency has said it’s reducing it’s response to low-level water pollution incidents because of a lack of funding. A leaked document seen by the ENDS Report magazine and the Guardian, reportedly shows the EA is directing its staff NOT to investigate category 3 and 4 incidents - that's things like farm pollution or hazardous dumps by business. It appears breaching of permits held by Water Companies WILL still be looked into, as they are funded separately. While UK shellfish exporters have faced many challenges in the wake of Brexit, the insatiable demand for live shellfish hasn’t wavered in Spain and France. As part of our week long focus on shellfish, we visit MacNeill Shellfish - one of Scotland's biggest exporters - which sends 12-15 tonnes of live shellfish to Europe every week. And, we look into what impacts the price of beef. ASDA has backed out of a commitment, made 4 months ago, to stock exclusively British Beef in its stores. It will be importing Irish beef instead, saying the decision is based on the rise in British Beef prices. So why is Irish beef cheaper? Presented by Anna Hill Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol is Heather Simons