There's a growing focus on helping children to understand where food comes from.

Gloucestershire farmer Clifford Freeman says there is a disconnect these days because the practice of flying food into the UK from all over the world means what were once seasonal items are available all year round.

He welcomes visits to his farm in Redmarley from school children and young scouts to show them the whole process.

"We like to bring them into the yard and see where the cattle are, then we take them into the butchery where we’ve got the meat hanging so they can see the other side of it," he says.

"We do a bit of mincing and they all they make their own burger in the kitchen. Then we cook them and they eat their burger, so they understand the process and that meat doesn’t necessarily come out of a plastic package."

Back at Manby Grange Farm, near Louth, Emma (as promised) has shared pictures of the family's other dogs - Floss and Elsie.

Earlier, Emma told the BBC how important dogs were to the family and the farm.

Image source, Emma Billings

Tregullas Farm on the Lizard peninsula in west Cornwall is mainland Britain's most southerly farm.

It's run by husband and wife couple Rona and Neville Amiss, neither of whom were born into farming.

"I've always wanted to be a farmer and I left school and worked on a farm and went to college to study agriculture... My husband Neville... he also decided to go into farming, again I met him at college," Rona says.

Tregullas opened a farm shop to sell meat, which grew into a cafe serving cream teas. When their newsagent closed, they took that service on too.

The 250-acre farm holds cows, beef, sheep, and goats used as pets for school visits.

Asked whether her dream of becoming a farmer matched up to the reality, Rona says: "Oh yeah, I'm living the dream. I love it!"

Elsa, Rona's daughter, spins her own wool at The Natural Fibre Company in Launceston, making it "100% Cornish".

"I've got two amazing ladies that do some knitting for me, because that's way beyond my skills," she laughs.

"It smells just like sheep!"

A small area of land at Manby Grange Farm, near Louth, has been re-planted with wild flowers as part of a scheme to encourage farmers to use a percentage of their land to encourage wildlife.

"This particular crop is for wild bird food," Emma says, adding: "It is going to be the best paying crop of the whole season."

Image source, Emma Billings

However the scheme has brought mixed feelings among farmers - with many juggling concerns about the impact on food production while looking after the environment.

"There is no right or wrong," she adds.

It is important the public understands why they are seeing these "beautiful wild flowers" and what it might mean for the future of the industry, she says.

"There’s no more land – so if we start using more for wild flowers there will be less for food production," she says.

Image source, Emma Billings

At Berwick farm near Shrewsbury, Erin Gailey looks after a herd of 400 high quality cream producing Jersey cows.

The 23-year-old isn’t from a farming background, so getting up at 5am took some getting used to, but she does admit to have a lunchtime nap.

Social media means it is less rare now to have farm workers who did not grow up in the industry, she says.

Erin says she loves "every aspect of the job”, particularly working outside and rearing the calves, but doesn’t want to progress up the career ladder to manager as it would take her away from the animals.

“Jersey cows are very friendly, they’re like dogs” she says.

Her favourite is Biscuit, who’s become a farmyard pet. She was so named after breaking into the office and eating all the biscuits.

Thank you for joining us for Farmwatch. If this is your first visit to the live page then here are some of the key moments so far:

• The death of a young farmer inspired today's focus on farming- Radio Lincolnshire presenter Sean Dunderdale explains how
• Tom Martin talks about the importance of educating children about farming
• Farmers tell us what action they want from the government
• Farmers Guardian editor Olivia Midgley explains why food security matters
• Kate Armstrong talks us through the impact of flooding on her farm
• The highs and lows of farming are the talking point at Louth Livestock Market

Direct sales to the public are crucial to business viability, farmers say.

Erin and Robin Shreeve from Mautby, Norfolk, own farm shops as well as producing crops and rearing livestock.

The Shreeves took up tenancy of a Norfolk County Council-owned county farm in 2012.

Erin says: "We wouldn't be doing the dairy if we weren't selling [direct] from the farm, not just because of the raw milk but because of the scale that we can do it in."

Farm shops are essential for viability, say farmers

Image source, Luke Ablitt

Luke Ablitt from Daintree Farm near Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, has been having a look at the weather forecast and he's hoping to get out on his combine to harvest wheat later, but is worried it could rain.

"The weather has been erratic this year, but the quality of stuff we're producing is good," he says.

He is known as 'Farmer Luke' on social media, sharing daily life on his farm and says social media is the "easiest way to bridge the gap between what farmers are doing and what the consumers are eating".

"With Clarkson's Farm as well, people are starting to realise what farming's like and the pressures we're under, and how farming's changed over the years," he says.

"I like showing people what we get up to and how food is produced, and I just love doing it, it gives me a bit of a boost."

Image source, Luke Ablitt

Luke echoes the sentiments of other farmers we've spoken to, who say that the wet weather over the past year has caused a delay to harvests.

"Last year, September, October, November time was extremely wet, we were struggling to get winter wheat in the ground to start growing.

"And now we're coming to harvest it, the 8th of August, we should really be kicking off by now and starting to get into it, but we're not.

"The only thing we've cut so far is the oilseed rape... the barley, which has gone to make animal feed this time, it didn't quite meet the spec to make whiskey."

Luke says he's now at a "bit of a standstill, trying to find something to harvest" and he doesn't have "much to cut at all".

Stonebridge City Farm in St. Anns, Nottingham boasts an array of farm animals, along with Kevin the tortoise, who has his own pad.

The farm is a registered charity and relies on donations and volunteers.

"We couldn't run the farm without them," the farm says.

BBC reporter Viraj Soni has a look round.

Katy Lewis
BBC News Online

Poor mobile and broadband connectivity are causing major issues, a farming leader says.

A recent survey by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) revealed the issues are continuing to "significantly hinder" farmers’ ability to run effective, food-producing businesses.

NFU Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire chair Freya Morgan said in some areas, people are "unable to do basic tasks like answer calls and read emails".

Suffolk farmer Tom McVeigh said it was a "huge frustration".

Image source, National Farmers’ Union

Ms Morgan, who farms in north Bedfordshire, says many parts of the county have had "poor or non-existent mobile phone connections for years" which is "continuing to be a real hinderance".

"Having reliable mobile and broadband connectivity is essential to enable these businesses and the rural economy to thrive," she said.

Connectivity issues hinder farmers, union says

Seeing Henry Ward waving from the top of his combine harvester really puts into perspective how massive these machines are.

Kaz and Tom Halton run Chance Hall Farm in Congleton, Cheshire, a dairy farm with around 850 animals including 500 cows, 230 young cattle known as ‘followers’, and some calves.

But for all the work that goes into milk production, Kaz says farmers aren’t getting a fair price.

“Our milk price is under our cost of production. We’re a good farm, we’re in the top 25% in the country... like in every other industry, the cost of everything is going up, but the only thing in the supermarkets coming down is dairy.

“It’s weird, I don’t make money. But if I produced a plastic handbag, I’d be a multi-millionaire! It’s bonkers!”

The variable English weather causes issues for them too, Kaz says, with cows going into “heat stress” when it’s hot, causing them to produce less milk as they reduce their activity.

And with so many cows, things can get pretty toasty in the milking parlour.

“One year I put a thermometer between them to see what heat was coming out and it was getting up to 60 degrees. Outside the temperature had got to 28 degrees,” Kaz says.

“So what we do is we have fans at the back of parlour, and then we run a pipe across the top with sprinklers on it and as they stand and wait the fan blows the sprinklers onto them.

“I stand under it sometimes, it’s lovely!”

Jane Thynne
Reporter, Farmers Guardian

Sustainability is at the heart of farming today. Much more than a buzz word, it is not only driving post-Brexit agricultural policy but it has also been adopted by many farmers as a means of maintaining food production, environmental management and as a viable business model.

Following the UK’s withdrawal from the Common Agricultural Policy, the devolved nations of the UK have sought to transition to a more sustainable model.

In England that has led to the introduction of the Environmental Land Management schemes which sees farmers receiving ‘public money for public goods’ in a bid to boost nature and biodiversity.

In Wales, the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme has been met with frustration from farmers who say their businesses will be put at risk by enforced tree planting and habitat restoration targets.

Farmers are working hard to farm more sustainably and achieve net zero goals. There is less reliance on synthetic fertilisers, a real drive to reduce emissions and a notable rise in regenerative farming, which involves farming more closely with nature, monitoring and restoring soil quality.

Farmers are also the starting point in a more sustainable supply chain as retailers push for more eco-friendly practices.

But with falling farm business numbers - predicted to fall 20% this decade, what has to be remembered is that farmers can only commit to all these actions if they are paid properly for the food they produce.

Batemans Brewery, which is celebrating 150 years, has scooped a range of top awards over the years for its ales.

Based in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, it's a popular destination for visitors keen to sample the beers and take a tour of the Victorian brewhouse and Theatre of Beers.

Image source, Ross Carrick/BBC

Head brewer Buster Grant says the brewery was also popular with the local cows.

After explaining the process of brewing beer, he told BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s Ross Carrick that the spent grain was collected and used in feed.

“Our local farmer will pick it up when we’ve finished brewing, and his cows will be happy cows,” he added.

“It’s a firm favourite [with them].”

Farmers across the region come to Louth Livestock Market to buy and sell.

But the historic market also provides a place for them to meet up for chat.

Listen below to farmers talking about the highs and lows of the industry while on a visit.

If you’ve been watching the livestream at the top of this page, you might be wondering who is driving.

This is Jack, who is busy harvesting peas in Lincolnshire using a pea viner - a machine that gently pulls pea pods from the ground and prises the peas from the pods.

You can watch the view from the cab throughout the day by clicking the 'Watch live' button at the top of this page or click here if you'd prefer to watch it in a separate tab on iPlayer.

East Yorkshire pig farmer Anna Longthorp has been talking to BBC Radio Humberside about life on the farm.

Back at Manby Grange Farm, near Louth in Lincolnshire, they're busy muck spreading.

"The muck has come from the cattle - so this is sustainable farming," Emma says.

"The manure they make enriches the land - all this goodness is going back into the soil."

Emma adds that it has to be done during dry weather - so they were "cracking on with it" today.

Image source, Emma Billings

“I was born this way, I’ve just had it in my blood,” says 11-year-old Holly when asked why she wants to be a farmer.

She works on Moscar Cross Farm in Sheffield, and her favourite animals are sheep - probably because she has been given them for her birthday since she was four years old.

“Did it ever upset you knowing where they go?” BBC Radio Sheffield presenter Ellie Colton asks Holly.

“Never, I’m just used to it now,” she replies.

The lambs she cares for need bottle-feeding through the day and night – a lot of work for someone who is also still at school.

“We feed the lambs in the morning and the pigs, and then come back after school and do them as well,” Holly says.

“During the lambing time, we get up in the night and go and check round all the sheep in the barn, and [in] the calving period as well.”

Dave Harvey
Business Correspondent, BBC West

Farmers are counting the cost of the long, wet winter as they start to bring in record low harvests of grain.

The amount of wheat planted has fallen by nearly a tenth, and two thirds of British farmers say they have lost money.

Mike Wilkins, an arable farmer in Wiltshire, lost about half his wheat. He said: “We have lost thousands and thousands of pounds this year, it has been catastrophic.”

On Mike’s farm, they had several fields so waterlogged they missed the moment to plant wheat. Later, as the fields dried out, he got some beans in which will go for cattle feed.

“Financially they will make hundreds and hundreds of pounds less per hectare,” he says.

• 'A catastrophic year' on farms