# 21/08/2026: Drought farmer, biodiversity on solar farm, choral work

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/farming-today-385282/21-08-2026-drought-farmer-biodiversity-on-solar-farm-choral-work
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/farming-today-385282/21-08-2026-drought-farmer-biodiversity-on-solar-farm-choral-work.md
Podcast: [Farming Today](https://stenobird.com/podcast/farming-today-385282)
Published: 2026-08-21T05:00:00+00:00
Episode link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0030cdn
Audio file: http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0p5k43g.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/farming-today-385282/episodes/21-08-2026-drought-farmer-biodiversity-on-solar-farm-choral-work
Duration seconds: 856

## Resource

We revisit a vegetable farmer who told us during the second drought in June that he was having to use extra water to try and get his crops established. Will Shakeshaft from Greens of Soham says he's had hardly any rain since then, and his potatoes and beetroot are struggling, with yields and quality down. A new report using information gathered over 12 years shows that biodiversity can thrive alongside a solar farm - if it's planned and managed correctly. The report was produced by Suffolk Wildlife Trust on the Broxted Estate. And we visit a sheep farm in the Yorkshire Dales, which featured in research to produce a new three-part choral work based on a full year in the life of a Yorkshire Dales shepherd. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Sally Challoner.

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## Transcript

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