25/02/25 - Land classification, UK grown tulips and driverless tractors
As farmers know, not all fields are equal, and in England and Wales the Agricultural Land Classification system is used to define how productive farmland is. The best land has more protection from development in the planning system. But according to a report commissioned by the CPRE - the countryside charity - that classification system in England, is based on data from as long ago as the 1940s...so it's somewhat out of date.There’s only one farm left in the UK that still grows its tulip bulbs outdoors - PS and J Ward, near Kings Lynn. Anna Hill visits the farm to see the process: after the tulips have flowered in the field, the bulbs are harvested and stored, then they’re brought into glasshouses, where they produce the flowers we buy in the shops. And we dive straight into the future, to see a crop of parsnips, sown, grown and harvested - by robots.Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons
As farmers know, not all fields are equal, and in England and Wales the Agricultural Land Classification system is used to define how productive farmland is. The best land has more protection from development in the planning system. But according to a report commissioned by the CPRE - the countryside charity - that classification system in England, is based on data from as long ago as the 1940s...so it's somewhat out of date.
There’s only one farm left in the UK that still grows its tulip bulbs outdoors - PS and J Ward, near Kings Lynn. Anna Hill visits the farm to see the process: after the tulips have flowered in the field, the bulbs are harvested and stored, then they’re brought into glasshouses, where they produce the flowers we buy in the shops.
And we dive straight into the future, to see a crop of parsnips, sown, grown and harvested - by robots.
Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons
