‘ 36 ”51; degrees. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. borisjohnson has said the chances of a brexit deal are "touch and go", ahead of his meeting with the eu council president at the g7 summit. so the preparations we are making, between now and october the 31st, are, under no circumstances, going to be valueless, they need to be done anyway. let's get them done in a fast, professional and confident way. president trump says "a very big trade deal" after brexit is on the menu as the two men hold a working breakfast. that was very, very good meeting. we will have a fantastic deal once we clear up some of the obstacles in our path. the uk's biggest airports will install 3—d baggage scanners to make security checks quicker.

now on bbc news. a special report on the big issues facing uk agriculture, including the possible effects of brexit and climate change. hi there and welcome to this special programme putting the focus on farming. bbc news has just spent a week looking at the industry that, of course, feeds us, shapes our countryside, and is an important contributor to the national economy. and we've been talking to farmers, around the uk, about their hopes and fears for the future. we'll start by looking at brexit. the uk's farming unions have warned that with no—deal there could be severe disruption to the industry. the farm business consultancy, andersons, says that in the event

of no—deal, up to £850 million a year could be lost in profits. but could there be opportunities too? as a former sheep farmer myself, i was keen to find out and i started myjourney on the border in northern ireland. brexit has brought uncertainty to agriculture, but nowhere more so than here, on the irish border. owen martin's family have farmed dairy cattle in south armagh, on the very edge of northern ireland, for nearly 100 years. you would not think there was a border. many times you're across the border and you don't realise it. the no—deal is chaos — it's going to be. nobody seems to know what we can do. stock you can hold on, but your milk has to... our tank's full every other day. second day, at the border, the hard border, we have to throw it all out. that's our livelihood. so what do you need to see, what's the best possible outcome? a deal and a transition period. hundreds of thousands of animals and millions of litres of milk cross

the irish border every year. it's somewhere around here, but there's nothing to show exactly where it is. for the businesses and for the people on both sides, it's practically invisible. unlike here, between sweden and norway, where you simply can't miss the border. this crossing from an eu country into a non—eu country is not only a physical barrier, but also impacts the decisions made by the norwegian government and their farmers. norway isn't in the eu, but it is a key trading partner — a situation the uk would be keen to replicate. the country's agricultural policy is focused on guaranteeing food prices and supporting norwegian farmers. one of the biggest challenges forfarmers like bjorn is competing against the size of the european union. we feel that it's always in favour of the eu, because we are not able to compete on the eu market. there is a strong support for agriculture in norway by the consumer and by the government and parliament.

so, the best paying market is right here outside my barn door. back in the uk, farming unions have called on the government to strike a deal with the eu and do more to support british farmers. we spent three years planning for a no—deal brexit. we're going to do everything we can to make sure that the border flow continues and we're also going to put in place support for sectors like sheep that may be affected through that short—term turbulence. confidence in westminster, but even among farmers who support brexit, there are calls for clarity. yeah, i probably would vote the same way. the problem is we've let politicians take over and do it and that's where the problems arise. it doesn't matter what happens come 31st of october, we just need to know what's going to happen. that's, just knowing. this uncertainty has been the biggest challenge. forfarmers, dealing with brexit is like dealing with the weather. the question being asked across the sector — what's coming next? when it comes to brexit, there are many things to consider,

not least of all the fact that many seasonal workers are required from overseas. catherine has been to a strawberry farm in herefordshire to find out more. we actually have 35 hectares of strawberries. beautiful british ones. strawberries are peter's business. at his farm in herefordshire, it's the height of picking season and, at this time of year, up to a50 tonnes a week are harvested. that means a large workforce. we have 1500 guest workers, who are coming predominantly from romania, bulgaria, poland. our staff add immeasurably to the value of the business and its success. without them, we wouldn't have a business. their knowledge, their spirit, their energy and their work rate just adds immensely to what we do. the national farmers' union says there was a 10% shortfall of seasonal workers picking things like strawberries on british farms in the first half of this year.

they say growers are concerned that that shortfall will only escalate, post—brexit. your staff tend to want to come back, normally? the really exciting bit is we've created a real community sense in our business and we know that the staff want to come back to the uk next year and the year after and they want to continue coming back. the bit we don't know at this point is whether we're able to bring them back and, if we can bring them back, on what terms and conditions we can bring them back. to try and mitigate any shortfall, the government's come up with the seasonal agricultural workers scheme. it's allowed 2,500 non—eu migrants into the country this year, but there are calls for that to be up to 30,000 next year. for peter, though, it's not the biggest issue. why i do i want to go outside europe, when i've got talented people inside europe who can come and do a greatjob for us? unfortunately, in the modern world in britain, people don't want to work in horticulture. we welcome them and we're more than happy for them to come and work in our business,

but, actually, they don't apply for jobs. and when they do come and join, they don't stay too long. so, for all of those reasons, a british workforce isn't necessarily the solution. what are the consequences, post—brexit, for this kind of business, if you can't get the amount of guest workers that you've had in? it simply is that we can't prosper. we won't be able to bring the crop in, we won't to be able to do the husbandry that would give us good quality product, that we can then sell to the british consumer as a better quality, british strawberry, on a shorter supply chain that isn't coming from spain, isn't coming from holland and other countries. so, a truly british solution. but that can only be achieved if we've got the resources available to us to make sure that the quality is as it should be. peter says he's concerned about the uncertainty for his workers, but also for the future of the business. it's not a bad day here in northamptonshire, but farming leaders say that climate change poses a threat

to british farming — from droughts to heat waves, to the unpredictable nature of our weather. and then there's the un report and the debate around meat consumption and dairy consumption and the impact on our environment. claire marshall has been to the fens, in the east of england, to find out how farmers are responding. the rich produce of the fertile fens. of the fertile fens. more than a fifth of england's flowers and bulbs are produced here and more than a third of its fresh veg. but this is a manmade landscape. it's been drained for centuries. it's a constant battle to keep water levels down. climate change, with predictions of sea—level rise and flash flooding, could tip the balance. from up here, it's really clear to see just how vulnerable these areas of eastern england are. all that you've got protecting this land from the sea are these tiny little defences that, frankly, from up here, look quite puny. when the tide turned,

the water ran over that bank. farmers here are worried. they want more investment. we need to make sure that our sea defences on the wash are fit for purpose for the next 50 to 100 years. whether that's adding a metre to them, or widening them, strengthening them. but we should plan and start doing it now. at the moment, it's piecemeal. lincolnshire in june. this is what happens when flood defences fail. the government says it has put aside £2 billion for climate change. agriculture is a key driver of global warming. nitrogen fertilizers can lead to emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. in the amazon, the astonishing rate of deforestation is largely fuelled by beef production. trees absorb carbon dioxide, but the cattle that have replaced the forest emit methane, which also warms the planet. we went to a country show to see what people thought.

it worries me, because thinking about the future and my children and my grandchildren. we will have to change our farming practices. we will have to adapt to the changes that are happening. i'm not on a one—man crusade. i'm not a tree hugger. fred wanted to lower his farm's emissions and so designed his own electric quad bike. he now exports to 20 countries. we can't all stand back and anonymously throw our arms in the air and say this is not my problem, because this is our problem. you know, we're starting to see the problems occurring now in the environment and we all have a responsibility to try and do something about this. scientists agree, saying humans must change how they use the land, or the current cycle of rising temperatures will never be broken. for shepherds across the uk, shearing their sheep is a vital part of caring for their flock.

but some consider the practice cruel and harmful to the animals, including ethical vegans, who reject any animal by—products, including wool, in their clothes. earlier this year, the online clothing retailer boohoo temporarily stopped selling woollen products, and farmers were furious. i went to north wales, to meet one farmer angered by the decision and brought him face—to—face with an ethical vegan to hear both sides of the debate. as a former sheep farmer myself, i know that here in the uk, wool isn't as profitable as it once was. so i want to find out why gareth feels so passionately about defending the industry. not only do they produce us meat, but they produce wool as well. i want people to understand that this is a fantastic product and a by—product. no sheep will be killed to get that wool off. it's just another day on the farm. the animals have been fed, the sheep dogs are raring to go, and an ethical vegan — fundamentally opposed

to the farming of animals — has come to the farm to meet gareth. i believe that humans and animals have the same rights. i don't wear silk. i don't eat honey. i don't wear wool. nearby, gareth is preparing to shear a sheep. we need to be quite careful when we're shearing this part. you never try to harm the sheep. you are keeping it at the least stress as possible. it is a natural process and that's what we are doing now. it is not natural. if it was natural they would shed it themselves. my absolute bottom—line issue is that we should not be using animals. we just shouldn't be using animals. we shouldn't put them through the fear of sending them off in big trucks to abattoir. if gareth isn't going to farm them, what do we do with them? because they could live ten, 12, 15 years.

we would continue to raise these sheep and just allow them to die naturally. they may never see eye to eye on this subject. although they both care for the environment, they have vastly differing visions of how it should look and how we should live. but, biggest of all, the role of animals in society. for our week of special reports, we wanted to look at the biggest issues affecting farming. mental health is one of those, but it's not often discussed in the industry. bbc analysis of the latest figures show around one agricultural worker takes their own life every week. phil mackie has been to shropshire, where a 24—hour help line supports farmers, during periods of anxiety and stress. there are people who work in farming — a lot of people are probably envious of them — but, actually, they face daily struggles and it can be a very lonely life, which means that there needs to be a support network to help those

with mental—health problems. now let's go talk to ruth hughes whose family own the farm. she runs shropshire rural support, which provides that kind of service. ruth, you've been in farming all your life, what kinds of problems do people ring you up with and what kind of things can you offer to help? we are a network and we help people living in rural shropshire with confidential support for any anxieties or stress they're facing during troubled times. the sort of calls i seem to be getting is mostly financial and dealing with farming, family businesses and generally living in the countryside, which is prone to isolation and loneliness. you have a close family network, you probably know some of the local farmers quite well, too. but, beyond that, it's quite a rural, quite a remote part of the country, so not a lot of other things to look for in terms

of mental health support. no, not really. we are a small charity, made up of about eight volunteers who are spread around the county. my role is to signpost any caller to one of the volunteers, who, initially, goes out and visits the person who has made the call to see what we can do. and it's all confidential. because there has been some startling figures that show that there's a very high rate of depression amongst people who work in the farming community, and people who have taken their own lives as well. yes, farmers are in the high—risk group category for suicide and what it is, we're trying to get the message across that there is somebody to talk to and they should never feel they're alone and please don't suffer in silence. and what kind of specific issues might you be having at this time of year, or is this a quiet time of year and perhaps there are other times where things get worse? in, but during the winter months, when the days are shorter, yeah, it is quiet during the summer periods. everybody's busy focusing

on the farm and harvesting silage in, but during the winter months, when the days are shorter, people have got more time to think and this is when sort of call rate starts to escalate. and obviously the service that you provide, that's not just in shropshire — there will be something similar elsewhere in great britain. yes, there are other organisations. we are unique to shropshire, but we have partners. there's the farming community network, there's the dp] foundation in wales and also there are agricultural chaplaincies dotted around the country, as well. but we all work together for the same cause. during the course of the past week, we've been exploring the relationship between farmers, their livestock and with nature. it meant we were able to bring you cow—cam — a live feed on the bbc news website, that allowed viewers to watch the cows and follow their movements and daily life. after the success of cow—cam, we went one further and set up bee—cam, which looked

inside the hive and allowed people to see the bees, in a very unusual way. despite some concerns about modern farming methods, it's clear that many farmers care deeply about their livestock and about the environment. so with the bee—cam in place, i went to the bee farm in buckinghamshire, to see how they look after their insects and how they produce honey. i met up with bee farmer, rebecca marshall, and asked her how this year's weather was affecting the harvest. so far, so good. quite pleased with how it's gone and this has been our last week, bringing in all our honey. we haven't done a tally up yet, but hopefully it's good for us and good for the bees. we're going to take a look inside one of these hives, which means that the rather attractive, but rather necessary, hoods need to go on and trying to keep out the wasp that's coming in at the same time. what are we going to see inside here? inside here, you can see load loads of worker bees. they are all female worker bees working away.

this is all on top of the crown board and in the roof you can see they've built up real strong at this time of year. because the weather has been good, they've all been out foraging. so you're lifting then this plastic lid off the top. what makes a healthy colony? what are you looking for? so, you want it to be big and strong. so like this — you want it to have a good queen in it, still laying really well and keeping the temperament nice and calm like this. you can see, just at the back here, all the honeycomb that they've built, trying to fill up every space they can with honey. now you produce honey but these are very small hives because you have a different side to your business — breeding and selling queens. correct, yes. so these actually are artificially small. we just use these to rear queen bees in, so they're actually only full and active like this from march through till the next few weeks and then we'll put all the bees into big hives, so they can all have a bigger colony for winter.

i don't know whether the camera can pick up here. but these bees that have got their tails in the air and are busy buzzing away — what are they doing? you can see that what they're doing here is scent fanning. they have a little gland on the end, where their bottom is, and they fan their wings, sending out the scent. because we've moved them and disturbed, they know something's up, but they're just letting everybody know that they're here and what's going on. now it's a nice, sunny, bright day here in buckinghamshire. with regards to the weather and the climate, lots of talk about the variability and the unpredictability. what do you need in regards to the weather and the season to have productive hives and happy bees? you want moisture in the ground, which is from rain, because that produces the nectar in all the flowers, and you want it to be sunny, so the bees can fly and go and collect that nectar. it's always nice to be on a farm that seems in sync and in harmony with nature. this farm at the foot of somerset‘s mendip hills to trying to do just that. they've worked hard to create spaces like these to create a room for nature on the estate. sally has been there

to find out more. we're talking about nature, we're talking about biodiversity. we know that we've lost half the farmland birds since 1970. our pollinators also in trouble, so what can farmers do to make things better? i've come to meet the farmer, johnny alvis. this is beautiful. it's a lovely view, isn't it? and you've made this? well we've done a lot of work here. we put the pond in 30—odd years ago. the woodland behind us has four or five acres of trees. and then more or less natural, native trees to us. they went in not long after. we've just had a policy of making use of the ground that we can farm well and farming that, and then the small edges, the corners and the bits and pieces that we don't want to farm, that are not so easy to farm, we've wilded in some form or another. and is that deliberately to encourage nature back in? it's to encourage a bit of nature and is to break the ground up a bit.

providing bits of shelter all over the place is good for the nature. well, we were looking over there just now. we saw some deer. what other wildlife have you got here? obviously, we've got the deer. a lot of hares, quite a lot of rabbits. the sort of normal things you would expect to see in relatively diverse farmland. we were talking about the loss of farmland birds. i've heard a lot tweeting away today, but i suppose over in the east of the country, where you've got these big arable fields, it's more difficult? it would be more difficult over there, for sure. you can look at this and you see there's massive hedgerows, trees and all sorts of things here. and it's important that we look after that. it's important, not just for ourselves, as managers of land, but it's important that people who come out from the towns and things and walk the footpaths, they can actually see what we're doing and see a bit of nature and get engaged with the countryside. so, what does the future hold

for the farming industry? historically, those who run farms have had it in their blood for generations. but what about young farmers, who want to get into the industry, but don't have any experience or farming background? i went to meet one young couple, who have battled the odds to successfully run their own farm. farming can be a tough business. notjust battling against the weather, but also working long hours and trading in a challenging market. but life in the open air, working with animals and growing food for a living, is a dream for many. david and becka are bee farmers in cumbria. neither of them come from a farming background and it was their initial lack of finance and farmland that were the biggest hurdles to overcome. we actually sat down with the bank a couple of times and... they literally laughed at us. theyjust didn't get it. we were out there competing with people who had quite a lot of money and they could just go out and borrow a bit more to take on more land. so the pair got creative.

they lived in a yurt for years and even crowdfunded their cattle, all to get where they are today — running their own farm. the national federation of young farmers clubs says the industry's future depends not just on innovation, but also on more opportunities within biggerfarm businesses. we need new, excited young blood coming in, working as part of a business and, as they progress, progressing through the business structure. and there are opportunities for those people with the knowledge and experience who want to take on their own unit. that calf over there, we need to go get that one and bring it back in here. at 22, jessica swapped working behind a barfor a job on a 650—cow dairy farm. it's life—changing. i wouldn't ever change my life now. it's probably the best thing i've ever done. and that's the message farmers are keen to promote — that the uk's farmland is notjust pretty, but a perfect place to work. the advancement in technology has brought revolutions to many industries, and farming is no different.

so, what might a farm of the future look like? claire marshall has been to find out. what are these pigs thinking? how do they feel? this scanner acts as an eye for a machine that is analysing their expressions. soon, it should allow us to understand the pig's emotions. this technology, in its research phase, was conceived in the west country. the vision of the future of farming is one where the wellbeing of the animals and their comfort is the priority. just look at the facilities here. so the cow passes underneath this camera... the cow's movement is monitored to check its health. this tech is already on the market. the facial recognition is coming next. we'll be able to see whether or not an animal that's lame will be — you can infer that it's going to be an unhappy animal and whether that animal has a different face to an animal that isn't in pain.

so we're looking to try and tease out those differences between the faces. here's another glimpse into the future. watch this disease spore. it enters a sensor biologically engineered to mimic the crop. like a kind of fire alarm, the sensor sets off an early alert. they can all be linked up, warning otherfarmers weeks before any damage is visible. and they can be 3d printed. we've got some very clever cutting—edge engineering, but, at the same time, there's cutting—edge biology as well. and only by bringing those two together can we actually start addressing what will need to be done in the future. 1.3 million broccoli plants are growing on this land near doncaster. we were given exclusive access to field trials of a scouting device that gathers data about each specific plant. it's the latest in precision farming. most of us, as consumers, we don't buy wonky veg. if it's too big or too

small, or misshapen, the supermarkets won't accept it. we can know which plants are of saleable quality directly and we can then, if it's too small, we can leave it behind. if it's just right, we can harvest it. this could save millions of tonnes of food from being wasted and cut pesticide use. as the climate grows more unstable, scientists warn humans do need to take more care of the land. that's all we've got time for for this bbc news special. but farming is a really diverse, dynamic and vibrant industry. we've got loads more on our website. go to: bbc.co.uk/focusonfarming and join in the conversation yourself. use the hashtag bbcfarmingfocus. from me, that's it. goodbye.

we will get the next match of weather observations in the next immense before the team being 32.7 is the height we seeing today. it has not been wall—to—wall sunshine. they have been some cloudy bits for wales and also south—west england. this was a few months ago in the isles of scilly where the slump of cloud had wafted its way in. for the rest of the uk it is a stunning prospect for the rest of the day. glorious in the sunshine with barely a cloud in the sky around the fort william area. in the highlands. during this evening and overnight we will keep the clear weather for the most pa rt will keep the clear weather for the most part but we will see some cloud forming around some of the western coasts and it will begin to move inland as well. otherwise after such a one day, temperatures will be slow to following overnight. 11pm, still up to following overnight. 11pm, still up ataround

to following overnight. 11pm, still up at around 18—21. the countryside will kill off a bit more quickly so that you are comfortable there. —— cool off. these pressures stop the atla ntic cool off. these pressures stop the atlantic are getting into the weather will stay hotter for longer across eastern of england. the high—pressure atmosphere will bring some thunderstorms which i will show you ina some thunderstorms which i will show you in a moment. monday will be a bit more cloud across western parts of england and wales. perhaps parts of england and wales. perhaps parts of northern ireland and scotland where it will get cooler. temperatures dropping on into the low 20s in edinburgh. the highest temperatures east wales and england, still peaking at around 33 or maybe 34 still peaking at around 33 or maybe 3a across the south—east. tuesday, some changes in the weather. northern ireland, outbreaks of rain began to move on as this atlantic weather front begins to push its way eastwards. it will eventually bring some colour in your book for the time being, another hot day across eastern england. —— bring some

colour in here for the time being. thunderstorms threw tuesday evening which will push northwards. variable amounts of rain, some with hardly any and some others could see a heavy bass. we will probably have a lot of lightning in the sky. tuesday night could be quite a spectacular display. on wednesday, quite a mucky picture as the storms clear allowing the atlantic front to move then bringing fresh but also cloudy weather without breaks of rain. temperatures falling even though we will see some sunshine temperatures will see some sunshine temperatures will be done into the mid 20s and back to normal as we head into thursday with highs in london of about 22 degrees.

this is bbc news, i'm julian worricker. the headlines at 3.00: boris johnson says the chances of a brexit deal are "touch and go" ahead of his meeting with the eu council president at the g7 summit. ido i do think that they understand that there is an opportunity to do a deal, but i think they also... do you think it is more likely than it was? it is going to be touch and go. president trump says "a very big trade deal" after brexit is on the menu as the two men hold a working breakfast. we are having very, very good