02/11/2026 Water management, milk price cut

Available for 28 days

After the UK's hottest summer on record and widespread drought, the Met Office is now warning of a heightened risk of wet and stormy weather this autumn. From drought to flooding, these extremes are raising urgent questions about how we manage water for food production. That's what we're looking at this week. We visit a group of graziers in Powys, hoping to tackle the issue by creating wetlands on Painscastle Commons, and hear from Jerry Knox, Professor of agricultural water managment at Cranfield University. Dairy farmers are facing another period of uncertainty, as fluctuating milk prices reflect the impact of that extreme weather, along with high input costs and turbulence in European markets. The dairy company Freshways is making a big cut to the basic price it pays; from December its farmers will get 7 pence a litre less. Dairy analyst Chris Walkland says this will mean farmers losing money. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.