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In south armagh, on the very edge of Northern Ireland, for nearly 100 years. You would not think there was a border. Many times youre across the border and you dont realise it. The no deal is a chaos its going to be. Nobody seems to know what we can do. Stock you can hold on, but your milk has to. Tanks full every other day. Second day, at the border, the hard border, we have to throw it all out. Thats our livelihood. So what do you need to see whats the best possible outcome . A deal and a transition period. Hundreds of thousands of animals and millions of litres of milk cross the irish border every year. Its somewhere around here, but theres nothing to show exactly where it is. For the businesses and for the people on both sides, its practically invisible. Unlike here between sweden and norway, where you simply cant miss the border. This crossing from an eu country into a non eu country is not only a physical barrier, but also impacts the decisions made by the norwegian government and their farmers. Norway isnt in the eu, but it is a key trading partner a situation the uk would be keen to replicate. The countrys Agricultural Policy is focused on guaranteeing food prices and supporting norwegian farmers. One of the Biggest Challenges forfarmers like bjorn is competing against the size of the european union. We feel that its always in favour of the eu, because we are not able to compete on the eu market. There is a strong support for agriculture in norway by the consumer and by the government and parliament. So, the best paying market is right here outside my barn door. Back in the uk, farming unions have called on the government to strike a deal with the eu and do more to support british farmers. We spent three years planning for a no deal brexit. Were going to do everything we can to make sure that the border flow continues and were also going to put in place support for sectors like sheep that may be affected through that short term turbulence. Confidence in westminster, but even among farmers who support brexit, there are calls for clarity. Yeah, i probably would vote the same way. The problem is weve let politicians take over and do it and thats where the problems arise. It doesnt matter what happens come 31st of october, we just need to know whats going to happen. Thats the just knowing. This uncertainty has been the biggest challenge. Forfarmers, dealing with brexit is like dealing with the weather. The question being asked across the sector whats coming next . When it comes to brexit, there are many things to consider, not least of all the fact that many Seasonal Workers are required from overseas. Catherine has been to a strawberry farm in herefordshire to find out more. We actually have 35 hectares of strawberries. Beautiful british ones. Strawberries are peters business. At his farm in herefordshire, its the height of picking season and, at this time of year, up to a50 tonnes a week are harvested. That means a large workforce. We have 1500 guest workers, who are coming predominantly from romania, bulgaria, poland. Our staff add immeasurably to the value of the business and its success. Without them, we wouldnt have a business. Their knowledge, their spirit, their energy and their work rate just adds immensely to what we do. The National Farmers union says there was a 10 shortfall of Seasonal Workers picking things like strawberries on british farms in the first half of this year. They say growers are concerned that that shortfall will only escalate post brexit. Your staff tend to want to come back, normally. The really exciting bit is weve created a Real Community sense in our business and we know that the staff want to come back to the uk next year and the year after and they want to continue coming back. The bit we dont know at this point is whether were able to bring them back and, if we can bring them back, on what terms and conditions we can bring them back. To try and mitigate any shortfall, the governments come up with the Seasonal Agricultural workers scheme. Its allowed 2,500 non eu migrants into the country this year, but there are calls for that to be up to 30,000 next year. For peter, though, its not the biggest issue. Why i do i want to go outside europe when ive got talented people inside europe who can come and do a greatjob for us . Unfortunately, in the modern world in britain, people dont want to work in horticulture. We welcome them and were more than happy for them to come and work in our business, but, actually, they dont apply for jobs. And when they do come and join, they dont stay too long. So, for all of those reasons, a british workforce isnt necessarily the solution. What are the consequences post brexit for this kind of business if you cant get the amount of guest workers that youve had in . It simply is that we cant prosper. We wont be able to bring the crop in, we wont to be able to do in, we wont be able to do the husbandry that would give us good quality product that we can then sell to the british consumer as a better quality, british strawberry on a shorter supply chain that isnt coming from spain, isnt coming from holland and other countries. So a truly british solution. But that can only be achieved if weve got the Resources Available to us to make sure that the quality is as it should be. Peter says hes concerned about the uncertainty for his workers, but also for the future of the business. Its not a bad day here in northamptonshire, but farming leaders say that Climate Change poses a threat to british farming from droughts to heat waves, to the unpredictable nature of our weather. And then theres the un report and the debate around Meat Consumption and dairy consumption and the impact on our environment. Claire marshall has been to the fens in the east of england to find out how farmers are responding. The rich produce of the fertile fens. More than a fifth of englands flowers and bulbs are produced here and more than a third of its fresh veg. But this is a manmade landscape. Its been drained for centuries. Its a constant battle to keep water levels down. Climate change, with predictions of Sea Level Rise and flash flooding, could tip the balance. From up here, its really clear to see just how vulnerable these areas of Eastern England are. All that youve got protecting this land from the sea are these tiny little defences that, frankly, from up here, look quite puny. When the tide turned, the water ran over that bank. Farmers here are worried. They want more investment. We need to make sure that our sea defences on the wash are fit for purpose for the next 50 to 100 years. Whether thats adding a metre to them, or widening them, strengthening them. But we should plan and start doing it now. At the moment, its piecemeal. Lincolnshire in june. This is what happens when flood defences fail. The government says it has put aside £2 billion for Climate Change. Agriculture is a key driver of global warming. Nitrogen fertilizers can lead to emissions of nitrous oxide a potent greenhouse gas. In the amazon, the astonishing rate of deforestation is largely fuelled by beef production. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, but the cattle that have replaced the forest emit methane, which also warms the planet. We went to a country show to see what people thought. It worries me, because thinking about the future and my children and my grandchildren. We will have to change our farming practices. We will have to adapt to the changes that are happening. Im not on a one man crusade. Im not a tree hugger. Fred wanted to lower his farms emissions and so designed his own electric quad bike. He now exports to 20 countries. We cant all stand back and anonymously throw our arms in the air and say this is not my problem, because this is our problem. You know, were starting to see the problems occurring now in the environment and we all have a responsibility to try and do something about this. Scientists agree, saying humans must change how they use the land, or the current cycle of rising temperatures will never be broken. For shepherds across the uk, shearing their sheep is a vital part of caring for their flock. But some consider the practice cruel and harmful to the animals, including ethical vegans, who reject any animal by products, including wool, in their clothes. Earlier this year, the Online Clothing retailer boohoo temporarily stopped selling woollen products, and farmers were furious. I went to north wales to meet one farmer angered by the decision and brought him face to face with an ethical vegan to hear both sides of the debate. As a former sheep farmer myself, i know that here in the uk, wool isnt as profitable as it once was. So i want to find out why gareth feels so passionately about defending the industry. Not only do they produce us meat, but they produce wool as well. I want people to understand that this is a fantastic product and a by product. No sheep will be killed to get that wool off. Its just another day on the farm. The animals have been fed, the sheep dogs are raring to go, and an ethical vegan fundamentally opposed to the farming of animals has come to the farm to meet gareth. I believe that humans and animals have the same rights. I dont wear silk. I dont eat honey. I dont wear wool. Nearby, gareth is preparing to shear a sheep. We need to be quite careful when were sheraring this part. You never try to harm the sheep. You are keeping it at the least stress as possible. It is a natural process and thats what we are doing now. It is not natural. If it was natural they would shed it themselves. My absolute bottom line issue is that we should not be using animals. We just shouldnt be using animals. We shouldnt put them through the fear of sending them off in big trucks to abattoir. If gareth isnt going to farm them, what do we do with them . Because they could live ten, 12, 15 years. We would continue to raise these sheep and just allow them to die naturally. They may never see eye to eye on this subject. Although they both care for the environment, they have vastly differing visions of how it should look and how we should live. But, biggest of all, the role of animals in society. For our week of special reports, we wanted to look at the biggest issues affecting farming. Mental health is one of those, but its not often discussed in the industry. Bbc analysis of the latest figures show around one agricultural worker takes their own life every week. Phil mackie has been to shropshire where a 24 hour help line supports farmers during periods of anxiety and stress. There are people who work in farming a lot of people are probably envious of them but, actually, they face daily struggles and it can be a very lonely life, which means that there needs to be a support network to help those with Mental Health problems. Now lets go talk to ruth hughes whose family own the farm. She runs shropshire rural support, which provides that kind of service. Ruth, youve been in farming all your life, what kinds of problems do people ring you up with and what kind of things can you offer to help . We are a network and we help People Living in rural shropshire with confidential support for any anxieties or stress theyre facing during troubled times. The sort of calls i seem to be getting is mostly financial and dealing with farming, Family Businesses and generally living in the countryside, which is prone to isolation and loneliness. You have a close family network, you probably know some of the local farmers quite well, too. But, beyond that, its quite a rural, quite a remote part of the country, so not a lot of other things to look for in terms of Mental Health support. No, not really. We are a Small Charity made up of about eight volunteers who are spread around the county. My role is to signpost any caller to one of the volunteers, who initially goes out and visits the person who has made the call to see what we can do. And its all confidential. Because there has been some startling figures that show that theres a very high rate of depression amongst people who work in the Farming Community, and people who have taken their own lives as well. Yes, farmers are in the High Risk Group category for suicide and what it is, were trying to get the message across that there is somebody to talk to and they should never feel theyre alone and please dont suffer in silence. And what kind of specific issues might you be having at this time of year, or is this a quiet time of year and perhaps there are other times where things get worse . Yeah, it is quiet during the summer periods. Everybodys busy focusing on the farm and harvesting silage in, but during the winter months, when the days are shorter, people have got more time to think and this is when sort of call rate starts to escalate. And obviously the service that you provide, thats not just in shropshire there will be something similar elsewhere in great britain. Yes, there are other organisations. We are unique to shropshire, but we have partners. Theres the Farming Community network, theres the dp] foundation in wales and also there are agricultural chaplaincies dotted around the country, as well. But we all Work Together for the same cause. During the course of the past week, weve been exploring the relationship between farmers, their livestock and with nature. It meant we were able to bring you cow cam a live feed on the bbc news website that allowed viewers to watch the cows and follow their movements and daily life. After the success of cow cam, we went one further and set up bee cam, which looked inside the hive and allowed people to see the bees in a very unusual way. Despite some concerns about modern farming methods, its clear that many farmers care deeply about their livestock and about the environment. So with the bee cam in place, i went to the bee farm in buckinghamshire to see how they look after their insects and how they produce honey. I met up with bee farmer Rebecca Marshall and asked her how this years weather was affecting the harvest. So far, so good. Quite pleased with how its gone and this has been our last week, bringing in all our honey. We havent done a tally up yet, but hopefully its good for us and good for the bees. Were going to take a look inside one of these hives, which means that the rather attractive but rather necessary hoods need to go on and trying to keep out the wasp thats coming in at the same time. What are we going to see inside here . Inside here you can see load loads of worker bees. They are all female worker bees working away. This is all on top of the crown board and in the roof you can see theyve built up real strong at this time of year. Because the weather has been good, theyve all been out foraging. So youre lifting then this plastic lid off the top. What makes a healthy colony . What are you looking for . So you want it to be big and strong. So like this you want it to have a good queen in it, still laying really well and keeping the temperament nice and calm like this. You can see just at the back here all the honeycomb that theyve built, trying to fill up every space they can with honey. Now you produce honey but these are very small hives because you have a different side to your business breeding and selling queens. Correct, yes. So these actually are artificially small. We just use these two rear queen bees in, so theyre actually only full and active like this from march through till the next few weeks and then well put all the bees into big hives, so they can all have a bigger colony for winter. I dont know whether the camera can pick up here. But these bees that have got their tails in the air and are busy buzzing away what are they doing . You can see that what theyre doing here is scent fannings. They have a little gland on the end, where their bottom is, and they fan their wings, sending out the scent. Because weve moved them and disturbed, they know somethings up but theyre just letting everybody know that theyre here and whats going on. Now its a nice, sunny, bright day here in buckinghamshire. With regards to the weather and the climate, lots of talk about the variability and the unpredictability. What do you need in regards to the weather and the season to have productive hives and happy bees . You want moisture in the ground, which is from rain, because that produces the nectar in all the flowers, and you want it to be sunny, so the bees can fly and go and collect that nectar. Its always nice to be on a farm that seems in sync and in harmony with nature. Lycross farm at the foot of somesets mendip hills to trying to do just that. Theyve worked hard to create spaces like these to create a room for nature on the estate. Sally has been there to find out more. Were talking about nature, were talking about biodiversity. We know that weve lost half the farmland birds since 1970. Our pollinators also in trouble, so what can farmers do to make things better . Ive come to meet the farmer, johnny alvis. This is beautiful. Its a lovely view, isnt it . And youve made this . Well weve done a lot of work here. We put the pond in 30 odd years ago. The woodland behind us has four or five acres of trees. And then more or less natural, native trees to us. They went in not long after. Weve just had a policy of making use of the ground that we can farm well and farming that, and then the small edges, the corners and the bits and pieces that we dont want to farm, that are not so easy to farm, weve wilded in some form or another. And is that deliberately to encourage nature back in . Its to encourage a bit of nature and is to break the ground up a bit. Providing bits of shelter all over the place is good for the nature. Well we were looking over there just now. We saw some deer. What other wildlife have you got here . Obviously, weve got the deer. A lot of hares, quite a lot of rabbits. The sort of normal things you would expect to see in relatively diverse farmland. We were talking about the loss of farmland birds. Ive heard a lot tweeting away today, but i suppose over in the east of the country, where youve got these big arable fields, its more difficult . It would be more difficult over there, for sure. You can look at this and you see theres massive hedgerows, trees and all sorts of things here. And its important that we look after that. Its important not just for ourselves as managers of land, but its important that people who come out from the towns and things and walk the footpaths, they can actually see what were doing and see a bit of nature and get engaged with the countryside. So what does the future hold for the farming industry . Historically, those who run farms have had it in their blood for generations. But what about Young Farmers who want to get into the industry, but dont have any experience or farming background . I went to meet one young couple who have battled the odds to successfully run their own farm. Farming can be a tough business notjust battling against the weather, but also working long hours and trading in a challenging market. But life in the open air, working with animals and growing food for a living, is a dream for many. David and becka are bee farmers in cumbria. Neither of them come from a farming background and it was their initial lack of finance and farmland that were the biggest hurdles to overcome. We actually sat down with the bank a couple of times and. They literally laughed at us. Theyjust didnt get it. We were out there competing with people who had quite a lot of money and they could just go out and borrow a bit more to take on more land. So the pair got creative. They lived in a yurt for years and even crowdfunded their cattle, all to get where they are today running their own farm. The National Federation of Young Farmers clubs says the industrys future depends not just on innovation, but also on more opportunities within biggerfarm businesses. We need new, excited young blood coming in, working as part of a business and, as they progress, progressing through the business structure. And there are opportunities for those people with the knowledge and experience who want to take on their own unit. That calf over there, get that one and bring it back in here. At 22, jessica swapped working behind a barfor a job on a 650 cow dairy farm. Its life changing. I wouldnt ever change my life now. Its probably the best thing ive ever done. And thats the message farmers are keen to promote that the uks farmland is notjust pretty, but a Perfect Place to work. The advancement in technology has brought revolutions to many industries, and farming is no different. So what might a farm of the future look like . Claire marshall has been to find out. What are these pigs thinking . How did they feel . How do they feel . This scanner acts as an eye for a machine that is analysing their expressions. Soon, it should allow us to understand the pigs emotions. This technology in its Research Phase was conceived in the west country. The vision of the future of farming is one where the wellbeing of the animals and their comfort is the priority. Just look at the facilities here. For the cow pastures underneath this camera. The cows movement is monitored to check its health. This tech is already on the market. The facial recognition is coming next. Well be able to see whether or not an animal thats lame will be you can infer that its going to be an unhappy animal and whether that animal have a different face to an animal that isnt in pain. So were looking to try and tease out those differences between the faces. Heres another glimpse into the future. Watch this disease spore. It enters a sensor biologically engineered to mimic the crop. Like a kind of fire alarm, the sensor sets off an early alert. They can all be linked up, warning otherfarmers weeks before any damage is visible. And they can be 3 d printed. Weve got some very clever cutting edge engineering, but, at the same time, theres cutting edge biology as well. And only by bringing those two together can we actually start addressing what will need to be done in the future. 1. 3 million broccoli plants are growing on this land near doncaster. We were given exclusive access to field trials of a scouting device that gathers data about each specific plant. Its the latest in precision farming. Most of us, as consumers, we dont buy wonky veg. If its too big or too small, or misshapen, the supermarkets wont accept it. We can know which plants are of saleable quality directly and we can then, if its too small, we can leave it behind. If its just right, we can harvest it. This could save millions of tonnes of food from being wasted and cut pesticide use. As the climate grows more unstable, scientists warn humans do need to take more care of the land. Thats all weve got time for for this bbc news special. But farming is a really diverse, dynamic and vibrant industry. Weve got loads more on our website. Go to. From me, thats it. Goodbye. Most of the uk was bathed in blue sky and sunshine yesterday. In fact, the warmest Late August Bank Holiday weekend day on record, temperatures at heathrow in london 33 celsius, something similar expected today. After that, turning cooler, weather front sitting in the atlantic moving eastwards a cross front sitting in the atlantic moving eastwards across the whole country by the time we get to the middle pa rt by the time we get to the middle part of the week. Introducing cooler air. Expect to see some wet weather, showery outbreaks of rain, just about everywhere through the middle of the week. There could even be thunderstorms on tuesday and eventually cooler conditions. Showers are possible today, particularly parts of devon and cornwall, rain edging into the Western Isles by lunchtime. Other than that, try and largely fine. Cloud, mist and fog towards western coasts gradually clearing. Heat holding on central southern england, east anglia, 32 33. Coolerfor scotland, Northern Ireland and wales. Monday night, whetherfront edging into Northern Ireland, outbreaks of rain, some could be heavy. Showers moving into wales, heavy. Showers moving into wales, heavy and thundery, but for most dry and clear, uncomfortable night for sleeping towards the east again given the heat we have seen during the day. On tuesday, the sunshine hangs on towards the south east of england, elsewhere cooler and cloudier. The showers, some heavy, thundery, may some flashes of lightning. Pushing away easterly. Temperature just nudging 30 lightning. Pushing away easterly. Temperaturejust nudging 30 or 31 celsius. Turning cooler here by the time we get to wednesday. Again, thunderstorms possible on tuesday night, threatens to be a stormy night, threatens to be a stormy night, rumbles of thunder, heavy downpours, flashes of lightning, storms moving north eastwards. Then, the main cold front pushing its buy eastwards through the day on wednesday. Most of us likely to see some showery outbreaks of rain and a drop in temperature, quite dramatic for south eastern areas of england bya for south eastern areas of england by a few degrees, brighter by thursday. This is bbc news. Im carrie gracie. The headlines at noon. The International Response to the devastating amazon fires the g7 discusses an emergency deal to tackle the crisis. As the fires continue to spread, brazil steps up its Emergency Response and deploys its military after concern that not enough was being done. The largest earthquake to be caused by a fracking site in the uk has been felt in lancashire. The Prime Minister tells the bbc to cough up and pay for tv licences for all over 75s, notjust those on low incomes. Essex police are trying to establish what caused a number of people to develop breathing difficulties on the seafront at frinton and clacton yesterday

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