New agricultural TV series targets the commerical farmer

A new television programme dedicated to agriculture is to be launched this autumn.

Called Farming Sunday, the series will feature a half-hour weekly programme running for seven weeks beginning at midday on Sunday, 15 October and will be broadcast on Information TV – satellite channel 181.

The series will return on 4 March and run for a further 17 weeks before breaking for July and August. There will be a total of 30 episodes in 2007.

The show will include three nine-minute features covering farmer profiles, an interview with someone from the industry and technical expertise from agronomists and veterinary surgeons.

Some familiar faces from the industry have already been recruited for the show, including NFU president Peter Kendall and junior DEFRA minister Lord Rooker.

The programme is a result of independent research for Information TV which found that 45-52% of UK farmers have satellite television.

From this, the broadcaster conducted further research to establish the level of interest in a dedicated farming programme among satellite viewers.

Series producer Alan Powell said the show was not seeking to follow the BBC’s Countryfile, but was aimed at commercial farmers and would contain detailed content beyond the interests of most people outside agriculture.