大象传媒

Charlotte Smith goes to Cereals 2015 in Lincolnshire, a showpiece for arable farming in the UK. From the threat of black grass to winter wheat, new research in plant biology, and attitudes to GM, she hears about the latest developments that farmers are facing.

Last summer the Lincolnshire showground was a potato field. Agronomist Peter Brumpton explains how he set about laying out demonstration plots of over 200 different varieties of wheat and other cereals, as a shop window for the 25,000 visitors.

GM is still currently very much restricted in Europe with just one type of maize for animal feed being grown mainly in Spain, but in the US GM crops are much more widely grown. Jack Bobo, senior advisor for agricultural policy at the US Department of State, explains why he's surprised that people in the EU aren't aware they are already one of the biggest importers of GMs in the world. Helen Browning of the Soil Association responds with her concerns about the potential spread of GM.

Among the many stands at the show was that of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council - BBSRC - who provide funding to research institutes and universities across the country. Its head of agriculture, Adam Staines, explains that increasing plant yields is just one of their areas of work.

And Charlotte meets the Claydon brothers from Suffolk, part of a Suffolk-based family firm that develops farm machinery, founded by their father Geoff in 1980.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Mark Smalley.