21/12/24 - Inheritance tax row, poinsettia troubles and ancient carols
Caz Graham updates you on the week's rural news - from the challenges of growing poinsettias to the impact of Christmas veg discounts.
Carrot and sprout discount wars are in full swing as the supermarkets vie to be the best value for Christmas. While growers acknowledge what's becoming an annual pricing competition can be helpful for hard-up shoppers, they're worried that this sends the wrong messages to consumers.
As many as 7.5 million poinsettias are sold in the UK every year, and 4.5 million of them are grown here. But UK poinsettia growers say next year's crop could be under threat from what they call "disproportionate" plant hygiene rules, which mean crops are being destroyed unnecessarily. They want Government action.
And carols - in the pub. It's a tradition that sprang up in Yorkshire in the nineteenth century, where people would go to the village pub and sing carols to the old tunes.
All week we've been looking at the fortunes of rural pubs. And to celebrate Christmas, locals in the small market town of Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire are reviving village carols from Somerset, Wiltshire and Cornwall.
Presented by Caz Graham
Produced by Heather Simons
Last on
Broadcast
- Saturday 06:30大象传媒 Radio 4
Podcast
-
Farming Today
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside