Farming Today - 17/07/2009

Farmers are going to have to cut their carbon emissions by six per cent over the next ten years. But some are asking where they should start when they don't know how much carbon they are producing. The government's Low Carbon Transition Plan has been announced by energy secretary Ed Milliband and there has been a mixed response to the agricultural target. Anna Hill asks examines practicalities involved for farmers. How will they know what their carbon footprint is and what changes they will need to make to reduce it? Also, sheep farmers are breathing a sigh of relief after being told the costs they faced in electronically tagging their sheep have been dramatically reduced. A ruling by the EU means that farmers will not have to buy their own machines to read new electronic sheep tags.