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Country Focus

BBC

Programme serving everyone living in the countryside and tackling the issues affecting them. With rural, farming and environmental news

Location:

Cardiff, United Kingdom

Networks:

BBC

Description:

Programme serving everyone living in the countryside and tackling the issues affecting them. With rural, farming and environmental news

Language:

English


Episodes

Astro Trail

3/24/2024
Spreading out through the heart of Wales, the Cambrian Mountains contain some of our darkest skies. It's a perfect location for stargazers but also for remote rural communities to embrace astro-tourism. Dark Sky Wales run regular astronomy weekends, a chance for guests to come and discover the glories of the night sky. Pauline Smith joins them for an evening of stargazing at the Meddins' family farm near Staylittle, in Montgomeryshire.

Duration:00:27:53

Country Focus: Astro Trail

3/23/2024
Stargazing in the Cambrian Mountains.

Duration:00:32:00

Oats and Cow Cwtches

3/17/2024
Scientists at Aberystwyth University have produced four new varieties of oats which have been approved for growing in the UK. We speak to the team leader about growing oats for the future. Time for a spring clean - we talk to a wildlife officer with RSPCA Cymru about the dangers and distress caused by litter on wild animals like hedgehogs, deer and foxes Our bird of conservation concern for this month is a bird of prey - the Kestrel And Cow Companions - the cow-hugging therapy service at a cow sanctuary in Mydroilyn, near Lampeter, Ceredigion

Duration:00:27:53

Shifting Seasons and Perfume

3/10/2024
A cross-party investigation into the Welsh rural economy calls for the re-establishment of a Rural Development Board and greater flexibility on the Sustainable Farming Scheme. Those were just two of a raft of recommendations made in the publication this week of a blueprint for rural growth in the Welsh countryside. We speak to the Director of the Country Land and Business Association about the findings. We hear how an ambitious conservation project on the river Dee gives local children the chance to learn about the life cycle of the trout. Shifting seasons - the Head gardener of the National Trust's Dyffryn Gardens plays "spring flower roulette" as climate changes alters growth patterns ...and Ortir Apothecary, near St Dogmaels in Pembrokeshire, takes inspiration from the natural world and uses local botanicals to create perfumes anchored in a sense of time and place

Duration:00:27:53

Farmers' Frustration

2/11/2024
Farmers and suppliers gathered in Carmarthen Mart this week amid growing uncertainty and concerns over the future farming policy for Wales, cuts to rural budgets and what they see as an attack on their way of life. Country Focus presenter, Caroline Evans attends the meeting. Meanwhile, the rural affairs minister Leslie Griffiths has rejected calls to pause the consultation into the Sustainable Farming Scheme and urges everyone to reply with their views by 7th March 2024. And the circle of life - the natural burial ground in Pembrokeshire seeking volunteers to plant trees.

Duration:00:27:53

A Rare Cone and a Goat Club

2/4/2024
Upland hill farmers fear for the future existence of their farm businesses in light of Welsh government’s scheme proposals. We visit Blas Farm - an organic vegetable farm on the Gwent Levels aiming to produce food in a sustainable way for the local community and to encourage young people into the industry. We hear how one of the world’s rarest and most endangered species of fir tree ‘coned’ for the first time in decades at Hergest Croft Gardens on the Powys-Herefordshire border and how about joining the goat club in the city of Swansea? It's for the benefit of conservation but warning - they could be too cute to resist!

Duration:00:27:56

Waders and Poetry

1/28/2024
Forget trees, perhaps the answer lies in the soil? Could fields be farmed to store more carbon? We speak to Dr Non Williams of the Welsh Soil project. Campaigners fear the closure of visitor centres at three beauty spots. Natural Resources Wales say Ynyslas visitor centre near Borth, Bwlch Nant yr Arian, near Ponterwyd, and Coed y Brenin, near Dolgellau are under review due to financial pressures. Birds of Conservation concern - we continue our monthly look at birds at risk in the company of Wales' ornithologists - this month we have a trio of waders at RSPB Point of Ayr reserve. The poetry trail in Pembrokeshire - why boxes are popping up on our coastal path inviting passers-by to stop and create a poem inspired by the natural world

Duration:00:27:54

Farmhouse Breakfast

1/21/2024
It's the Farmer's Union of Wales' Farmhouse breakfast week! Up and down the country, rural communities this week have been joining together around the farmhouse kitchen table, for what can perhaps be described as the most important meal of the day - Breakfast! Caroline Evans visits the village of Capel Gwynfe in Carmarthenshire where the farming and rural community have gathered to eat and chat, all in support of a rural charity - this year the Air Ambulance.

Duration:00:27:52

A Council Farm and Signs of Spring

1/14/2024
From dairy to mixed farming - we visit Bremenda Isaf Farm in Llanarthne, a Carmarthenshire Council owned holding. where they'll be growing fruit and veg for schools and care homes. We visit the village of Hermon in Pembrokeshire where they're breathing new life back into empty buildings for community use. Wales is blessed with an extensive coastline but we ask how ocean literate as a nation are we? and snowdrops, catkins and frogspawn - we're spotting the first signs of spring!

Duration:00:27:56

Shoresearch

1/7/2024
Where the land meets the sea there is a rich, but fragile habitat - but what can it tell us about the health of our shores? The Shore Search Intertidal Surveys project monitors that sea life to better understand the effects of pollution, climate change and invasive alien species. Pauline Smith joins the marine team of the North Wales Wildlife Trust and volunteers at Criccieth beach on the Llŷn peninsula to discover more.

Duration:00:27:39

Gentle Giants

12/31/2023
Before the introduction of steam engines and tractors to work the land Shire horses were once essential for the farm. Today, however, these heavy horses are considered to be a rare and endangered breed. Caroline Evans visits a tourist attraction in Pembrokeshire, where the family have increased the number of breeding shires they keep in order to try and sustain the breed. Indeed, on the day Country Focus visits a new arrival has just been born! The Dyfed Shire Horse Farm in Eglwyswrw boasts royal links, providing horses to the Household Cavalry over the years, with Major Apollo, or Ed as he was known on the farm, this year leading the horses in procession for King Charles III's coronation.

Duration:00:27:52

Mistletoe

12/24/2023
With its white berries and rounded drooping leaves, mistletoe is often used in our Christmas decorations - but where do those traditions come from? Caroline Evans visits the mistletoe auctions in Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire and an orchard in Gwent to hear how this distinctive plant is good for wildlife and how it has become steeped in our folklore and festive traditions. And the Country Focus team would like to wish all our listeners a joyous and healthy Christmas!

Duration:00:27:54

Hennels and the Soil Artist

12/10/2023
Rebranding Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to National Landscapes to reflect their natural beauty and important role in climate change, conservation and wellbeing. We head to the rocky shores of Anglesey for our bird of the month. The purple sandpiper is a wader that likes our winters! Are you away for Christmas? Who's looking after the hens? We hear from the Cosy Hen Co in Monmouthshire providing Hennels, or hotels for poultry! And earthy paints - we meet an artist from Powys who has taken her love of the natural world and started a business making paint from soil

Duration:00:27:47

The Winter Fair

12/3/2023
For many it's the start of the festive season in the agricultural calendar of rural Wales as livestock, producers, exhibitors and vistors all gather at the Royal Welsh showground for this year's.... Winter Fair! Caroline Evans visited the event in Llanelwedd to discover more about the issues facing agriculture and the Welsh food industry.

Duration:00:27:54

Heathland and Racehorse Retirement

11/26/2023
Ahead of the Royal Welsh Winter Fair we catch up with the Welsh Government's Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths, amid challenging times for the agricultural industry. The restoration of a rare heathland habitat in Hensol Forest, in the Vale of Glamorgan. Sheep farming in Wales as you've never seen it before - "A Hardy Breed: Sheep Farming in Wales" a photography book by Bruce Cardwell And a thoroughbred census to establish what happens to the horses when their racing days are over.

Duration:00:27:43

The Tree Nursery

11/19/2023
The national call to plant trees to fight climate change requires a good stock supply! This week we're at the largest commercial tree nursery in the UK – selling approximately 35 million trees a year from it's base just outside Wrexham. We've all heard the mantra "the right tree in the right place", well behind that is a lot of research and science. Caroline Evans visits Maelor Forest Nurseries at Bronington, close to the Welsh border, where they are sowing the seeds to success specialising in home grown trees.

Duration:00:27:56

Shearing and Sycharth

11/12/2023
At a crossroads - the family farming organically in Pembrokeshire, trying to make sense of the Habitat Wales scheme and uncertainty around future funding. Renowned as the ‘voice of Welsh shearing’ Tom Evans from Beulah, Radnorshire recounts his memories from over nearly 40 years of commentating on Welsh shearing. The community woodland in Knighton encouraging more people to visit and get involved with the conservation. Our bird of the month is the somewhat elusive Woodcock. And Sycharth Castle - we go in search of ancestral home of Owain Glyndwr but would a little signage help?

Duration:00:27:48

An Experience of Falcons

11/5/2023
From falcons and hawks to eagles and owls - Falconry Experience Wales is home to around 30 different birds of prey. It's a popular Powys wildlife tourist attraction but for owners Barry MacDonald and Luce Green their endeavours are with the conservation work and raising public awareness of the plight of raptors in the UK and abroad.

Duration:00:27:55

Habitat, Plastics and the Willow Tit

10/29/2023
Plastic plates, cutlery, polystyrene takeaway food containers... just some of the items newly banned from being sold across Wales. Welcome news perhaps for Yr Wyddfa's ambition to be the world's first plastic-free mountain? We hear graziers concerns about the future of farming on the tops of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. Why there are fears that the habitat Wales scheme could lead to a significant contraction in organic farming. And for this November's bird of the month we're off to Pembrokeshire to hear about one our fastest declining native resident birds, that nevertheless seem to love our wet, damp, woodlands!

Duration:00:27:46

Lichen and Asteroids

10/22/2023
The Wales Real Food and Farming Conference that gets underway this week at Llysfasi in Ruthin - sure to cause a buzz is a discussion on the Welsh Dark Honeybee and its role in sustainable food production. We hear how the historic ban on use of snares and glue traps which came into force this week will be policed in rural Wales. We meet the lichenologist transplanting rare lichen back into the countryside to save some of our most endangered species of the complex lifeform And the observatory in Powys that hopes to spot dangerous, new asteroids - if they fix the telescope!

Duration:00:27:21