麻豆社

Eastern Scotland is usually relatively dry but so far this year it's experienced record-breaking rainfall. Aberdeen last saw sunshine on 19th of January. We hear from arable and beef farmer Jack Stevenson in his, very wet, winter wheat fields on the East Coast. He tells us some parts of Aberdeenshire have seen about a quarter of their annual rainfall in a matter of weeks during January and February.

Artificial intelligence, AI, is starting to influence many aspects of everyday life. Farming is no exception, and this week we're looking at how the technology might be harnessed to help solve some tricky problems. Today: dairy cows' health and welfare. The University of Bristol vet school's farm is using AI and CCTV cameras to spot changes in behaviour among its dairy cows, to find out whether it can pick up potential issues sooner than human herd managers. The project has turned a barn into a bovine Big Brother House.

Beef cows grazing with their calves are a traditional part of the landscape, particularly in upland areas of the UK. But a new report says Welsh beef suckler herd numbers have decreased by nearly 40 percent over the last two decades. The National Farmers Union in Wales, - NFU Cymru - produced the report, and it says this approach to beef farming is in need of urgent support.

Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling