Farming Today

Farmers at Rathfriland market in County Down still practise an old tradition when livestock changes hands. Farmers selling their animals hand money back to the buyer, to seal the deal. It's known as the luck penny and is a way of wishing the customer success with the stock and building up a trustworthy business relationship. At the old fairs, a couple of coins would be handed over - today it could be a £20 note. The tradition, said to have originated in Ireland and lives on in modern insurance policies covering livestock after sale. And in Rathfriland, it is celebrated with a sculpture of a giant bronze penny in the town square.Produced and presented by Kathleen Carragher.

Elise Sutton is a new entrant to farming, but the herd of Longhorn cattle she looks after have a blood line that goes back 85 years. The Stoke herd, which graze the chalk grassland of Salisbury Plain, are seen as integral to the protection of rich and varied flora and fauna, including some orchids not found anywhere else in the world. Marie Lennon has a tour of Cherry Lodge Farm with Elise, as well as Debbi Dan from the Longhorn Cattle Society. Produced and presented by Marie Lennon.

This year, Anna Hill marked her 30th anniversary as a presenter of Farming Today. Talking to her fellow presenter Charlotte Smith, Anna reflects on three decades of reporting on farming life, from Mad Cow Disease and Foot and Mouth to the lighter side of life on farms and her love of rural East Anglia. Produced by Beatrice Fenton and Chris Ledgard for BBC Audio Bristol

Britain’s pubs and bars will be busy with Boxing Day drinkers enjoying a seasonal pint or two today. But how many will give a thought to the way the beer they’re enjoying arrived in the store room or cellar? In this festive programme, Vernon Harwood visits one of the last breweries in the country to continue the tradition of delivering beer by horse-drawn dray. Hook Norton Brewery in Oxfordshire owns a trio of magnificent Shire horses named Brigadier, Balmoral and Cromwell who live in stables on site and graze the fields nearby. They have become local celebrities and crowds of spectators gather every time they appear in public to pull the brewery dray, loaded with kegs of ale, through the winding village lanes.At the start of the 20th century Shire horses were a common sight in the British countryside as well as in our towns and cities. Around a million Shires worked the fields as plough horses, pulled canal barges and omnibuses, transported goods and carried passengers for the railway companies, among many other tasks. But those days are long gone and it’s almost impossible to see heavy horses genuinely employed to do a job of work today. The Shire Horse Society says only 250 foals are born each year which puts the breed firmly at risk of extinction. So why is the brewery so passionate about keeping its Shires, who looks after the animals and what are the advantages of delivering a horse-powered pint?Produced and presented by Vernon Harwood.

Farms for City Children was set up by the writer Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare 50 years ago. They were both young teachers and wanted to help children connect with farming and the countryside. We find out how their vision became a reality and hear from children visiting their farm in Devon. Produced and presented by Fiona Clampin.