27/09/26 'Shambolic' and 'disheartening' SFI application process; British baked beans

'Shambolic', 'disheartening' and 'carnage' - some of the words being used by farmers to describe the application process for England's biggest farm environmental scheme that opened, and closed, on Tuesday. This is the Sustainable Farming Incentive, which pays farmers for environmental work, like planting hedges or improving soil. On Tuesday, the total budget available was £233 million, it was a first come, first served system, with thousands of farmers applying and in six hours all the money had gone.

And baked beans - which we are talking about as part of our week looking at pulses. At the moment, all our baked beans are imported from China, Ethiopia, the USA and Canada. Three years ago, we visited Lincolnshire farmer Andrew Ward who was growing the first-ever British variety of baked bean. He's been working alongside the University of Warwick with a view to breaking into the market. This year he’s grown 42 acres nearly three times the amount he first planted in 2023.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.