Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news!

Subscribe I am already a subscriber

You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker).

As we provide the news for free, we are relying on revenues from our banners. So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.
Thanks!

Click here for a guide on disabling your adblocker.

Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news!

Subscribe I am already a subscriber

UK: A look at the past, present, and future of growing in the West Country

The West Country has rich ties with farming. It's the birthplace of agricultural education and farming here remains a significant contributor to the local economy. Farming has dramatically evolved over generations. ITV has been exploring these changes in a three-part series looking at the past, present, and future of farming in the region.

"Technology, climate change and rural crime are transforming our oldest industry. Rural crime, particularly in Somerset, is rife. and some farmers have taken to 24-hour monitoring of their livestock, to keep them protected. Technology is transforming arable farming too. Climate change is making crops increasingly unreliable, which has led to the development of vertical farming, a controlled environment where no crop fails", the team explains.

Temperature and lighting are controlled on these farms - to save a huge amount of space and time. Experts at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester are looking into how best to grow outdoor crops- to teach adapted techniques to tomorrow's farmers.

"Vertical farms save space and speed up growth. But it's hard to see them being an economical way to grow big crops - the grains, potatoes and rice that the UK's 68 million people depend on. In terms of the future of farming I don't think it looks good for traditional family farming I grew up with. Farming is getting harder; there are rising costs, post-Brexit changes to support payments, unpredictable weather, inheritance tax changes."

Click here to watch the video.

Read more at ITV News