River Wye pollution progress, gene-edited soya, falling livestock numbers & Great British Harvest...

In this episode, we examine new farm-level evidence suggesting phosphorus is coming into balance on farms in the River Wye catchment – and ask what it means for water pollution. We visit a field trial where precision breeding could make UK-grown soya commercially possible. We examine the continuing decline in cattle and sheep numbers, and run the rule over the latest livestock and arable markets. And we discover why some of Britain’s biggest music names are heading to Suffolk for a harvest festival with a difference. This episode is brought to you by Bayer Crop Science – weeding out uncertainty. Chapters 00:00 – Introduction 00:51 – River Wye: are farmers turning the tide on pollution? 10:18 – Bayer autumn drilling update: tackling weeds field by field 12:20 – Could gene-edited soya become a UK break crop? 21:51 – Farming news: El Niño, Asian hornets and SFI26 26:07 – Why are Britain’s beef and sheep herds shrinking? 32:21 – Markets: beef firms as grain prices rise 34:59 – A Great British Harvest Festival (https://gbhf.co.uk/) with a difference 42:13 – That’s all for this week Guests • Dan Smith – farm facilitator, Herefordshire Rural Hub • Rachel Banks – technical manager, Bayer Crop Science • Dr Frank Röber – Europe Breeding Alliances lead, Corteva Agriscience • Philip Case – Farmers Weekly • Prys Morgan – beef and lamb sector director, AHDB • Andrew Sunnucks – farmer and music producer Useful links River Wye nutrient balance project (https://councillors.herefordshire.gov...) River Wye water quality – Environment Agency (https://engageenvironmentagency.uk.en...) SFI26 Window 2 (https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2026...) AHDB Beef & Lamb (https://ahdb.org.uk/beef-lamb) Bayer Crop Science (https://cropscience.bayer.co.uk/) Great British Harvest Festival (https://gbhf.co.uk/) This episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast is co-hosted by Johann Tasker, Louise Impey and Hugh Broom. Edited and produced by Johann Tasker. To get in touch with the Farmers Weekly Podcast: - Contact or follow Johann: linkedin.com/in/johanntasker/ (  / johanntasker  ) Contact or follow Louise: linkedin.com/in/louise-impey-95470b20b/ (  / louise-impey-95470b20b  ) Contact or follow Hugh: linkedin.com/in/hugh-broom-9b11906a/ (  / hugh-broom-9b11906a  ) For Farmers Weekly, visit fwi.co.uk (https://fwi.co.uk/) or follow linkedin.com/company/farmers-weekly (  / farmers-weekly  ) To contact, sponsor or advertise on the Farmers Weekly Podcast, email podcast@fwi.co.uk (mailto:podcast@fwi.co.uk) . In the UK, you can also text the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0.  See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.