Children growing up in the countryside may be familiar with the outdoors and farming life, but what if you're brought up in the centre of a town or city?

At Nunny’s Farm, based in the heart of a housing estate in Grimsby, the team teaches children about where their food comes from, as well as how to look after pigs, sheep, alpacas and chicken.

Farmer Neil Campbell tells us more about his urban farm and how it all began in the BBC Sounds interview below.

But back to sheep - farmer and director of Rugby Farmers Mart, Martin Woodward, is talking us through the journey of a sheep from birth to sale while we visit the Stoneleigh livestock auction.

“Most of the lambs are born February to April, and they start coming in at 12 weeks of age, so that’s about three months.

“They want to be over 20kg, live. They come in here and we grade them into different types and they get sold into different uses,” he adds.

The head auctioneer at Rugby Farmers Mart adds a "good auctioneer knows near enough what it’s worth before he’s even started to sell it."

"He’s got a good idea of who’s going to buy it, then it’s his ability to hold his trade. Trade can drop from one hour to the next,” he says.

Listen to BBC News journalist Olly Hilton's full report below.

Jonathan Fagg
BBC England Data Unit

And speaking of alpacas, the number of alpacas in the UK has grown sharply over the past three decades.

According to research by the Royal Veterinary College, there were only 145 of the animals in the UK in 1992.

But the British Alpaca Society (BAS) estimated there were 60,000 of the creatures in 2023.

Though alpacas appear to outnumber llamas significantly - the British Llama Society estimates there were between 2,000–4,000 llamas in the UK, as of 2023.

Image source, Supplied

Although being on a farm can bring serious challenges, it can also be calming.

Anstey Alpacas in Leicestershire is using its animals to help young people with special educational needs.

Matt Rogers says the "calming nature" of alpacas helps those with anxiety. The farm's volunteers also teach children how to look after the animals there.

And as well as youngsters, the farm also provides experience for older people, including visits to residential homes.

"For those of maybe a certain age who cannot get around on an alpaca walk, the alpacas will come to them instead," says Mr Rogers.

"That's really great to see, the smile on the faces of 70, 80, 90-year-olds who might be in a wheelchair or have a walking frame with them," he adds.

Listen in full on BBC Sounds.

Mollie Perella
BBC Newsbeat, reporting from Devon

Zoe, who helps her mum run their family farm in Devon, is also speaking about the toll farming can take.

“You’ve got the pressure of wanting to go out and socialise, but you’re still being isolated because you’re on a farm," the 25-year-old tells BBC Newsbeat.

“Being able to afford that side of it and finding a work-life balance is really difficult," she adds.

After struggling with her own mental health, particularly after the death of her dad, she now volunteers to help others going through similar difficulties.

The National Young Farmers' Club says it’s launching a new counselling service, whilst another charity, RABI, says demand for its own service rose by 17% year-on-year.

Being a farmer right now is "horrific", says Nick Eastwood, who runs a 200-acre farm in East Sussex with his wife Anna.

"Making money... is nearly impossible," he adds.

Nick tells the BBC the couple had "no choice" but to move into glamping and open up a cafe just in order to stay afloat.

The government says it is investing billions in food production and nature's recovery.

But, amid record closures of farming businesses last year, can diversification help save British farmers?

Read in full here.

Robby West
BBC Norfolk

To help children learn about farming, sometimes you need to bring a piece of the farm to them.

Children at a school in Norwich recently got the chance to climb on a tractor parked outside their building.

“Their experience will be going to the local supermarket… that’s where they think food comes from, they’ve got no idea it’s actually grown, it’s produced by people in Norfolk,” says farmer Tim Papworth.

The school's head teacher hopes the visit inspires the youngsters.

“A lot of children’s attitudes to education are formed by the age of seven.

"We really want children to understand the job opportunities that are available for them,” she adds.

• Listen to the full story here: Children surprised with an unusual visitor

Emily Ashworth
Online editor, Farmers Guardian

Knowledge is power, as the saying goes, and if there is one thing farming needs, it is for people to know what truly goes on in the industry.

Education around food and farming could just be a silver bullet for many of the issues we are facing as a society – health, climate change, sustainability - but agriculture never seems to be seen as part of the solution.

As a sector, we have banged the education drum for a very long time, knowing that if school children had access to the countryside and the opportunity to get hands-on with food, it would help boost mental health and encourage healthier eating choices, as well as creating that vital link back to how food choices impact the world around us.

And, of course, we also want to build a strong workforce for the future, and to do that, we need to inspire young minds and showcase the vast array of careers there are within agriculture, particularly at government level.

Yes, we need the food producers, the scientists, the vets and those driven by technology, but we also need people passionate about farming to become future policy makers, and maybe that one lesson at school will be the catalyst.

Keeping with the watery theme, Phillip Mart's farm supplies trout to rivers, reservoirs, and fishing clubs all over the UK.

He says his work at Dunsop Bridge Trout Farm near Clitheroe, Lancashire, is a "wonderful way of life and a great passion".

"But trout farming isn't as big as it used to be mainly because we are getting older and the job gets heavier as you age," he explains.

He says costs are making it harder to operate.

"The electricity costs have quadrupled in the last 12 months, and you always have to prepare for disease too. Feeds costs are also a challenge."

Listen to Phillip's full interview on BBC Sounds below.

We've talked about farming in a city, but how about farming... at sea?

Deep in Kent, a seaside town is known for its oysters which have been popular since Roman times.

And Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company is inviting members of the public to find out how its oysters are farmed and processed.

Tour manager Renny Hall says: “We want to teach people about how oysters are farmed, how they are graded and how they are purified.

“Basically, how they end up on your plate."

Listen in full on BBC Sounds below.

It's afternoon tea time, so while our farmers make a brew, let's take a look back at some of the stories we've heard so far:

• Bethany, a 29-year-old farmer, told us about taking over the family farm and the fruit and veg shop after her dad was diagnosed with lung cancer, just a year after her mum died
• Our data teams have crunched the numbers on business closures (6,365 in the year ending June 2025) and mental health (a third of survey respondents indicated possible depression)
• Roving rural chaplain Richard said he attends livestock markets to offer farmers a chance to discuss their worries
• Aminu, a refugee from Nigeria, showed us how he recites traditional Nigerian poems to bring good weather
• The dairy industry is doing well, with consumers spending 4% more on dairy products last year

Tim Stokes
BBC News

Image source, Sophie Harbinson

We've been talking a lot about farms in the countryside, and with its urban sprawl and expensive land prices, few would consider London to be a good place to set up a farm.

Yet growers can be found across the city - some new, some well established - providing crops and produce to Londoners.

Harvest London uses vertical farming to grow salad and herbs for restaurants, with crops being grown indoors, stacked in layers.

Since starting in 2017, the firm’s produce has proved popular and it has expanded into two much larger farms in Lea Bridge and Canada Water.

"We grow all year round, we don't use pesticides, everything is super-local so there's no air miles, it lasts for ages, it's really clean and we're super-consistent," explains co-founder Matt Chlebek.

"The reason why we are where we are is because we can harvest something, and it's in the kitchens three to four hours later, every day, without fail," he adds.

Read more about London's farmers here.

Jonathan Fagg
BBC England Data Unit

Image source, Defra

So, when we're talking about farming in England - where are we looking?

Defra data for 2023 shows the North East has the largest farms on average in England, at 145 hectares.

That’s more than double those in the West Midlands, which has the smallest average farms at 67 hectares. The average size across all of England was 88 hectares.

But it is the South West that had the highest proportion of England’s total agricultural labour force, at 22%. Meanwhile, the South East (including London) had the most workers per farm, at 3.6 per farm.

Using census data, we can see which local authority district in 2021 had the highest percentage of its working population in the farming industry.

In England, that’s Eden District Council, now part of Westmorland and Furness, with 3.6% of workers in farming. But two councils in Wales had higher rates – Ceredigion at 3.8% and Powys at 4.2%.

After his village was ransacked and burnt, Aminu Ahmed fled to the UK from Nigeria.

He still doesn't know if his family are alive.

Now the former farmer, turned refugee, visits East Yorkshire farmer Tamara Hall.

Together they hope for one thing - good weather.

As dark clouds gather, Aminu recites traditional Nigerian poems to encourage the sky to give what "makes farmers smile".

"I miss farming," he says.

One of the people trying to help farmers with their mental health is Reverend Richard Kirlew.

He is a roving rural chaplain who attends livestock markets to offer farmers a chance to discuss their worries.

"My role is to befriend farmers and, above all, to listen," he says.

He adds farmers are facing "a huge combination" of problems at the moment, such as disease in livestock, government regulations and personal stress.

Listen to the full interview with him on BBC Sounds below.

Jonathan Fagg
BBC England Data Unit

Farming can be tough on both your body and mind. While there’s limited data on mental health challenges by occupation, what there is for farming suggests an issue.

A survey by charity Farm Safety Foundation suggests 95% of farmers under 40 said poor mental health was one of the biggest hidden problems facing the industry.

Though the survey’s sample was small, at 450 farmers, it does suggest a mental health issue within farming.

A larger survey in 2021, of 15,000 people in UK farming, also indicated mental health struggles in agriculture.

Conducted by the University of Exeter and the charity Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, it found just over a third of respondents had mental wellbeing scores suggesting they were probably or possibly depressed.

One young farmer who has gone the extra mile to keep the family farm open is Bethany Sharpe.

The 29-year-old took on the family business after her dad was diagnosed with lung cancer, just a year after the death of her mum.

"You have to find ways of coping and getting through it. Life tests your resilience sometimes, doesn't it," Bethany says.

As well as running the farm at Langworth, Lincolnshire, she has a thriving fruit and vegetable shop which means she is up at 02:30 sorting out produce.

Her dad, who has completed his treatment, still helps out by spraying and fertilising the fields while Bethany does the land work.

In February, she was a finalist at the National Arable and Grassland Awards in London.

“To this day, I still don't know who nominated me. It’s nice to be recognised for what you do,” she says.

Read more about Bethany's story here.

Jonathan Fagg
BBC England Data Unit

As we've seen, it's not easy keeping a farm open.

Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows 6,365 businesses in the industry of agriculture, forestry and fishing closed in the year ending June 2025 across the UK.

That’s the highest figure since the ONS started tracking quarterly figures in 2017.

That is offset by 3,190 such businesses created in the same period. But it is still a net drop of 3,175.

"You have to love it."

That is how dairy farmer Andrew Jones explains why he gets up at the crack of dawn every day to milk his herd of cows on his 630-acre farm near Launceston in Cornwall.

Andrew, his wife, and two sons resumed dairy farming in 2022 after leaving in 2004 due to falling milk prices.

Milking takes place twice a day, every day, on the Jones' farm, including Christmas Day.

"It's seven days a week, but it's a process that we really enjoy. We can work 90 to 100 hours a week," he says.

Emma Curtis, 20, who helps operate the equipment, says: "People can't believe it."

"They're like: 'You milk cows twice a day? Every day? You get up early? How do you do it?'."

• Read the full story: 'Dairy farming is a 100-hour working week'

Amy Hayes works at one of the world's few dairies allowed to produce Stilton cheese, near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.

But despite the farm being in her family for five generations, she says there was "never any pressure" on her.

However, after studying at university in Leeds and then living in London, she finds herself back at Bridge Farm.

She has spoken about how important Stilton is to the area and how she juggles motherhood and farming.

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds below.