07/05/21 - Potato mountains, vintage farm machinery and farming emus

Farming Today

• Episode: 07/05/21 - Potato mountains, vintage farm machinery and farming emus
• Website: Farming Today
• Feed URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj8q/episodes/downloads.rss
• Duration: 00:13:31
• Published: 2021-05-07 07:00

Its not a great time to be a potato grower - more than 20% of last year’s crop is still in storage on farms, as the pandemic and Brexit continue to affect sales. As we’ve reported, the ban on the export of seed potatoes to the EU has seen many growers having to store the crop - but growers of eating (or ware) potatoes are also facing problems due to the closure of restaurants over lockdowns. The levy body, the AHDB says there are 1.2 millions tonnes of potatoes in storage - nearly 100,000 tons more than is usual at this time of year. The appeal of vintage farm machinery is as strong as ever. We hear from a farmer who uses an old 1948 Massey Harris 726 combine harvester to ceremonially mark the end of harvest each year by bringing in the last strip of wheat with her. And from the creator of a social media page focused on UK farming history. And, we take a trip to Australia to visit an emu farm. In New South Wales, about 300 miles from Sydney, Phil and Penny Henley keep around 1,200 emus, which they hatch and rear on the farm. They produce emu oil, which is sold for medicinal purpose and used in skin care products. Presented by Charlotte Smith Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons