01/11/19 Floods, dung beetles and root veg

Farming Today

• Episode: 01/11/19 Floods, dung beetles and root veg
• Website: Farming Today
• Feed URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj8q/episodes/downloads.rss
• Duration: 00:13:40
• Published: 2019-11-01 11:28

Around 30 farmers in Yorkshire are still clearing up after floods that washed away stone walls and contaminated their land three months ago. The Association of Drainage Authorities has published a seven point plan for preventing floods in the future. They say co-operation and long term investment are going to be needed to manage water more effectively. A farmer from Wiltshire has created a haven for insects on the family arable farm. Sally-Ann Spence is a leading expert on dung beetles. She says they break down dung and keep pasture land healthy as well as encouraging more bio-diversity. By grazing carefully selected cattle and sheep, she's restored ancient chalk downlands near Swindon. As part of our week-long look at root vegetables, we find out how to prepare the soil for the perfect crop of parsnips.