91Èȱ¬

John Craven is joined by Deborah Meaden from the 91Èȱ¬â€™s Dragon’s Den, comedian Rhona Cameron and wildlife cameraman Simon King, for the  launch of this year’s Countryfile Photographic Competition. The theme for the 2016 competition is ‘From Dawn Till Dusk’ and John and the others will be judging your entries later in the year. But, to get you in the mood, the four judges are in Somerset visiting Simon King’s nature reserve, where there’s a range of habitats and wildlife to be seen.  Simon’s experience as a wildlife cameraman comes in handy as he shows the others some handy hints and tips, but capturing the landscape and its wildlife `From Dawn Till Dusk’ is quite a challenge. 

Gentle, undulating land and beautiful open fields. Rutland isn’t just home to wonderful countryside; it’s a landscape perfect for windmills. Helen Skelton meets Nigel Moon, one of the last traditional corn millers in the UK. As she dons her coat to lend Nigel a hand, she discovers that it’s not just snow that turns a place white. Dusted with flour, the mill is working just as it would have done in the 18th century. Helen learns how Nigel harnesses the power of wind in the sails and through pulleys and cogs, how that power is used to drive stones that work the corn into fine organic flour. 

Matt Baker is exploring the mighty River Trent as it threads its way through the East Midlands. Abundant with wildlife and a mecca for people alike, he visits one of the river’s most famous spawning grounds. Here he meets Alan Henshaw, local fisherman and coarse fish expert at the Environment Agency, who remembers a time when the river was far less bountiful. Pollution from industry and expanding populations along its length had choked much of the life from the river, but with a lot of hard work and a little time however, the river has revived and life has slowly but surely returned.   

Once famous for its rich grassland and milk production, the East Midlands have a long history producing an item at the heart of every farm workers lunchbox: cheese.  Helen meets local farmers Alan and Jane Henshaw who are helping some of the regions traditional cheeses make a comeback. The milk from their herd of Red Poll cattle is perfect for making one such cheese, Colwick, a soft white cheese that would have been a staple in the area until its decline in the 20th century. Helen lends a hand in the dairy before being rewarded with a banquet of cheese served up the traditional way. 

Tom Heap investigates how a global human health crisis is affecting efforts to eradicate Tuberculosis in cattle. One way to help protect cows from TB is to vaccinate badgers, to stop them passing the disease on. But one dose for a badger can protect 20 children – so with a  worldwide shortage of the human vaccine, all badger vaccinations are on hold. Tom looks at the implications in Wales – where vaccinating badgers is a key part of the fight against bovine TB.

Just on the outskirt of Nottingham, Matt is exploring the nerve centre of coarse fish breeding. Here at Calverton, Alan Henshaw and his dedicated team are rearing fish with the wits to make it in the wild. As Matt discovers, this means more than simply feeding, growing and returning them to a river. In special training ponds the fish are made to swim against a strong current in order to develop the red muscle they need to survive in naturally flowing streams. They are also exposed to natural predators like kingfishers and cormorants so they develop the instincts to survive.

This week Adam Henson is visiting the Royal Bath and West Show to check out some of the best that farming has to offer in agriculture, livestock, food & drink. He meets up with 5 year-old Arthur, who is preparing to show some of his Poll Dorset sheep and in true West Country style, he learns what makes an award-winning cheese and how to judge a good cider from a bad cider.