13/08/22 Farming Today This Week: Crop fires, Livestock welfare, Rydal Show

As drought is declared across several parts of England, fires have been breaking out on arable farms where the harvest is well underway. Farm insurer NFU Mutual says so far this month it's already received more than 150 reports. We speak to some affected farmers - including one who says she could not call 999 when she first spotted a fire because there was no signal on her mobile phone.

The hot weather is also a challenge for livestock farmers - who need to keep animals cool and fed when grass is parched. The British Poultry Council says the extreme temperatures have "led to very high mortality events in some poultry flocks". The campaign group Compassion in World Farming is warning farmers to take extra measures to protect livestock, and is calling on the Government to suspend journeys for farmed animals unless absolutely necessary.

And away from worries about the hot dry weather, it's full steam ahead for farm and country shows at the moment. Caz Graham visits the 118th Vale of Rydal Sheepdog Trials & Hound in the heart of the Lake District to see what was happening there.

Presented by Caz Graham
Produced in Bristol by Natalie Donovan