Hands-Free Harvest, Willow Weaving and Ancient Farming

Farming Today

• Episode: Hands-Free Harvest, Willow Weaving and Ancient Farming
• Website: Farming Today
• Feed URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj8q/episodes/downloads.rss
• Duration: 00:13:33
• Published: 2017-09-08 06:58

The first harvest gathered at a special arable plot in Shropshire has given the world a glimpse at the future of farming. The hands-free hectare at Harper Adams University is an experimental field of barley sown, grown and harvested by robots and drones alone. The crop will now be sent for malting to create the first hands-free beer. Willow weaving is one of the oldest country crafts and in Scotland it's playing a part in the revival of another tradition. Highland ponies have returned to some large estates to accompany shooting parties in the hills. Now the animals are equipped with panniers made of willow which has been grown and woven by Karen Collins in Moray. Long-lost secrets of the ancient farming world have been revealed by using one of the most advanced technologies. Archaeologists are working with scientists at Harwell in Oxfordshire where a giant particle accelerator, the synchrotron, is looking inside seeds which are thousands of years old to discover how they've adapted over the centuries. Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Vernon Harwood.