How will climate change affect our farms?

Will we still be able to grow enough food as temperatures rise and rainfall becomes more erratic? What changes will farmers need to make to keep feeding the nation? As Radio 4 marks 75 years of the farming drama The Archers, David Aaronovitch examines the future of British farming. Models suggest large parts of the South East of England will no longer be favourable for growing cereals like wheat and even barley, important for things like beer and whiskey. Strawberries may be far too difficult to grow at all. Some areas of the UK may become better for farmers and new crops may grow that we've never been able to grow before, but it presents a huge challenge for farmers who will have to change their entire way of working. What must farmers do to adapt and what do we need to do to ensure we keep the food on our plates?

GUESTS:

Charlie Ireland, a farming consultant at Ceres consultancy, who advises Jeremy Clarkson on Clarkson’s Farm Professor Nicola Cannon, Royal Agricultural University. Neil Ward, Professor of Rural and Regional Development at the University of East Anglia Tom Lancaster, Head of Land, Food and Farming at The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit