大象传媒

The Moorland Association says the wet weather this year means it will be the worst grouse season for decades. Some shoots won't have a single day's shooting because there aren't enough birds. High rainfall during the nesting period means has had a big impact on red grouse. In turn, the association says there'll be far fewer seasonal jobs, and it'll have a big impact on local businesses which rely on the income shooting brings.

Fruit farmers in Kent are facing a glut of strawberries. The crop's all ripened at once instead of over several weeks through the summer and some growers are reporting a serious glut. Unable to sell all their fruit, tonnes of it are ending up in anaerobic digesters.

Which skills are essential to maintain the countryside? Hedging, walling, tractor driving, yes, they鈥檙e all important but there鈥檚 a far wider range of expertise required by farmers nowadays, taking in things like computer mapping, conservation and even drone flying. We鈥檙e going to be talking rural skills all this week and to start, we speak to the Royal Agricultural University at Cirencester where they鈥檙e currently updating their courses and thinking about what rural skills the next generation needs to be learning.

Presenter = Caz Graham
Producer = Rebecca Rooney