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Farming Today

22/10/26 Grazing and arable, apples and agroforestry, BBC Food & Farming Awards

Oct 22, 2026 · 14m

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About this episode

Farmers in Scotland have been taking part in a four year scheme to get more arable farmers to have sheep on their land. Instead of leaving fields bare over winter, cereal growers have been planting cover crops, things like oats or turnips. They then invite a shepherd to graze sheep on the fields. The sheep farmer gains extra grazing, and for the arable farmer, the sheep help fertilise the soil, keep down the weeds, and get rid of the cover crop by the end of the season. All week we're taking a closer look at the top fruit harvest - that means apples, pears and plums. Keeping an orchard profitable can be difficult at the best of times. We visit a Herefordshire farmer who was seriously…