大象传媒

This morning we're looking at the battle against slugs - the scourge of farmers and gardeners across Britain. It's estimated that the humble slug munches its way through a hundred million pounds of crops every year. There are two battle fronts in the fight against the slug. In Eastern England, Anglian Water is paying farmers to use a new kind of slug killer which causes less pollution in the company's drinking water reservoirs and in Shropshire, scientists are fitting slugs with micro trackers to plot their every move.

This week we're looking at the future of farming and we hear about a new eighty million pound research centre that's opening in 2018 in Norwich. It will concentrate on new innovations in crops and food.

We also report from the National Farmers' Union Conference in Birmingham where Pembrokeshire farmer Meurig Raymond was re-elected as president. He faces another testing time in office as farmers tell us about the challenges that lie ahead. As well as fears over the 'in or out' EU Referendum, farmers are also worried about the prices of milk and grain, the future for Britain's young farmers and the chances of survival for farmers whose businesses are under pressure.

Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Sybil Ruscoe.