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Warwick HRI – Jane Kennedy letter to Hilary Benn
Science & Technology News
Apple genome is cracked by geneticists
A team of 86 global scientists have sequenced the genome of the Golden Delicious apple for the first time. The DNA breakthrough could result in new and improved apple varieties which are more resistant to disease. Scientists from 20 institutions took two years to unravel the apple's code - the largest plant genome uncovered to date. More
BBC News, 30 August 2010
Major scientific breakthrough will increase wheat yields
A TEAM of British researchers has cracked one of the toughest genetic codes of any plant with the first mapping of a wheat genome – a genome five times larger than its human equivalent.
Plant experts have described the breakthrough, which reveals 95 per cent of all wheat genes, as ‘a major scientific discovery’ which will help farmers across the world increase wheat yields to meet growing global demand for food. More
Farmers Guardian, 27 August 2010
Energy prices, speculation to blame for recent food price hike, says World Bank
A EU-World Bank analysis of the causes of the 2007-2008 food price crisis blames energy prices and financial speculators for the hikes, downplaying the role of biofuels and increased demand in developing countries.
The report on the 2006-2008 commodity price boom argues that energy prices and commodity speculation played the biggest roles in the unexpected food price hikes of three years ago.
It concludes that a stronger link between energy and non-energy commodity prices is likely to be the dominant influence on developments in commodity, and particularly food, markets. More
Euractiv, 26 August 2010
'Few disadvantages' to large herds, say Government welfare advisors
THE Government’s farm animal welfare advisers have concluded that there are ‘few disadvantages’ to cows being housed in large herds.
In newly published advice to UK Ministers, the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) says cows kept in large, permanently housed herds can enjoy a ‘satisfactory standard of welfare’, defined as, ‘at the very least, a life worth living’. More
Farmers Guardian, 17 August 2010
Artificial meat? Food for thought by 2050
Artificial meat grown in vats may be needed if the 9 billion people expected to be alive in 2050 are to be adequately fed without destroying the earth, some of the world's leading scientists report today.
But a major academic assessment of future global food supplies, led by John Beddington, the UK government chief scientist, suggests that even with new technologies such as genetic modification and nanotechnology, hundreds of millions of people may still go hungry owing to a combination of climate change, water shortages and increasing. More
The Guardian, 16 August 2010
Sheep immunity study offers hope of savings for farmers
Scientists are a step closer to combating a stomach worm infection in sheep that costs UK farmers £80 million every year.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the Moredun Research Institute have discovered a molecule that may help the worm beat the sheep’s natural defences. More
Farm Business, 11 August 2010
Rice yields falling under global warming
Global warming is cutting rice yields in many parts of Asia, according to research, with more declines to come. Yields have fallen by 10-20% over the last 25 years in some locations.
The group of mainly US-based scientists studied records from 227 farms in six important rice-producing countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, India and China. This is the latest in a line of studies to suggest that climate change will make it harder to feed the world's growing population by cutting yields. More
BBC News, 9 August 2010
EU scientists concerned by broiler welfare
EU scientists have identified a number of concerns relating to the genetic selection of broiler birds and to the management of parent stock.
According to a new report from the European Food Safety Authority, the growth rate of broilers increased by 400% in the second half of the last century, and this has led to a number of welfare problems. More
Farmers Weekly, 5 August 2010
Costs of animal disease outbreaks rising steeply
Urbanisation and growing demand for animal products in developing countries are causing the potential costs of animal disease outbreaks to rise steeply, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Monday.
"We are expecting the costs to human, animal and plant health of these pathogens, and their overall economic costs, to rise substantially over the next decades," Juan Lubroth, FAO's Chief Veterinary Officer said in a statement.
With more than half of the world's population now living in cities, urban areas are sprawling closer to intensive farming operations, while at the same time, the consumption of animal products is on the rise. More
The Independent, 27 July 2010
Boost for biomass power in first energy statement
Renewable energy projects generating electricity from wood or waste received a boost today (27 July) when the government announced extra support for the biomass sector.
In the first Annual Energy Statement to Parliament, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne set out 32 actions being taken to accelerate the transformation of the energy system and wider economy.
Among them was a decision to "grandfather", or fix, levels of support under the Renewables Obligation for 20 years after completion, subject to the 2037 end date for the RO. This brings most bioenergy projects into line with other technologies such as wind. More
Farmers Weekly, 27 July 2010
Fuelling sugar beet’s future
UK farmers could be at the forefront of a massive growth in bioethanol production, according to speakers at this week's World Association of Beet and Cane Growers conference in Cambridge.
The International Sugar Organization's Peter Barron predicted a doubling of global ethanol by 2015 to 130-150bn litres and trade in fuel ethanol could jump from 4bn litres to 21-25bn as government policies favoured greener fuels. More
Farmers Weekly, 21 July 2010
Waitrose backs food security research
Research into global food security problems has been given a boost thanks to a new partnership between Waitrose and Aberystwyth University.
The supermarket is funding the Waitrose chair of sustainable agriculture at Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS). Professor Gareth Edwards-Jones has been confirmed in the role and will take up the post in September 2010. More
FreshInfo, 19 July 2010
Power to ban GMs handed to member states
EU Commission plans, to hand individual member states the power to decide whether to grow or ban GM crops, would set a dangerous precedent, industry leaders have warned.
EU health commissioner John Dalli said governments needed more freedom and flexibility to organise the cultivation of GM crops next to unaltered or organic crops.
Mr Dalli said the EU should step in only if GM crops posed a health or environmental danger.
But the NFU said such a move would set a dangerous precedent for the European regulatory system and threatened both the internal market and farmer choice. More
Farmers Weekly, 15 July 2010
GM crops – individual governments to have responsibility
EU countries would decide for themselves whether to allow authorised genetically modified crops to be grown at home. The commission is proposing to give EU member countries the freedom to decide whether to grow genetically modified crops, an issue that has divided the bloc for decades.
The EU would continue to approve genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for cultivation based on scientific recommendations about their safety. But individual governments would be free to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of any or all EU-authorised GMOs – on all or parts of their territory. More
EU Commission, 13 July 2010
'Curry for sheep could curb global warming'
Research has found that coriander and turmeric - spices traditionally used to flavour curries - can reduce the amount of methane produced by sheep by up to 40 per cent.
Working a bit like an antibiotic, the spices were found to kill the methane-producing ''bad'' bacteria in the animal's gut while allowing the ''good'' bacteria to flourish.
The findings are part of a study by Newcastle University research student Mohammad Mehedi Hasan and Dr Abdul Shakoor Chaudhry. More
Daily Telegraph, 6 July 2010
Innovative crop protection R&D may help farmers cope with new EU regulations
Over thirty innovative projects put forward by business led consortia from across agriculture and the crop protection industry are to receive support of over £13.5m from the Government to carry out applied research and development.
The investment, from the Technology Strategy Board, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), has been awarded to thirty two consortia in a recently concluded competition entitled ‘New Approaches to Crop Protection’ .
The projects will develop new technologies to help farmers and growers adapt to the specific challenges posed by recent changes to EU pesticide regulations that threaten the withdrawal of a number of key crop protection products, as well as supporting the broader aims of the Technology Strategy Board’s recently established Sustainable Agriculture and Food Innovation Platform (SAF IP). More
Farm Business, 1 July 2010
'Step-change' needed for green goal
The UK has been warned it will fail to meet legally binding targets to cut emissions over the next decade without a step-change in making electricity, homes, transport and agriculture greener. The recession has created the "illusion" that the UK is tackling climate change, but substantial declines in emissions are almost entirely the result of lower economic activity in the last year, the Committee on Climate Change's chairman Lord Turner said.
While greenhouse gases fell by 8.6% last year, only a fraction of that was the result of measures to tackle climate change such as renewable energy or making homes more energy efficient. The latest progress report from the Government's advisory committee reiterated the call it made last year for a step-change in the pace of efforts to drive down emissions to meet legally binding budgets to cut greenhouse gases. More
Aol News, 1 July 2010
Role of science in boosting efficiency underlined
THE boss of a Scottish agricultural research institute spoke about the role science can play in helping farmers to become more efficient.
Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, chief executive of Edinburgh’s Moredun Foundation, said a properly funded research sector could deliver better breeding, improved feeding regimes and address endemic diseases to reduce unnecessary costs and boost output. More
Press & Journal, 29 June 2010
Agriculture’s next revolution - perennial grain - within sight
Earth-friendly perennial grain crops, which grow with less fertilizer, herbicide, fuel, and erosion than grains planted annually, could be available in two decades, according to researchers writing in the current issue of the journal Science.
Perennial grains would be one of the largest innovations in the 10,000 year history of agriculture, and could arrive even sooner with the right breeding programs, said John Reganold, a Washington State University Regents professor of soil science and lead author of the paper with Jerry Glover, a WSU-trained soil scientist now at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. More
Farm Business, 25 June 2010
Loss of bees could be 'a blow to UK economy'
If bees and other pollinators were to disappear completely, the cost to the UK economy could be up to £440m per year, scientists have warned. This amounts to about 13% of the country's income from farming.
In a bid to save the declining insects, up to £10m has been invested in nine projects that will explore threats to pollinators. The Insect Pollinators Initiative will look at different aspects of the insects' decline.
The initiative brings together specialists from a number of UK universities, as well as from the Food & Environment Research Agency and the Natural Environment Research Council's (Nerc) Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. More
BBC News, 22 June 2010
EU urged to 'do more' to tackle global food crisis
TTop BBC journalist George Alagiah has urged Europe’s decision makers to do more to address the global food "crisis." The news anchor told a Brussels conference that the world needs to increase food production by 100 per cent by the year 2050 "in order to sustain itself."
He said, "As the world’s population continues to grow, and more and more households in emerging economies join the world’s middle class, the demand for animal protein is expected to double by 2050. More
The Parliament, 21 June 2010
Slash livestock numbers to eliminate emissions, says report
The UK's greenhouse gas emissions could be cut to zero by 2030 if livestock numbers were slashed by 80%, according to a report on the country's energy production.
The study, published by the Centre for Alternative Technology, says British agriculture could take steps to help eliminate emissions within 20 years, creating thousands of jobs and securing the countries energy supplies. More
Farmers Weekly, 16 June 2010
Higher farm prices expected, food security concerns persist, say OECD, FAO
Farm commodity prices have fallen from their record peaks of two years ago but are unlikely to drop back to their average levels of the past decade, according to the annual joint report from the OECD and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2010-19 sees average wheat and coarse grain prices over the next 10 years between 15-40% higher in real terms (adjusted for inflation) than their average levels during the 1997-2006 period. Real prices for vegetable oils are expected to be more than 40% higher. Dairy prices are projected to be on average between 16-45% higher. More
Farm Business, 15 June 2010
Intensive farming 'massively slowed' global warming
Fertilisers, pesticides and hybrid high-yielding seeds saved the planet from an extra dose of global warming. That, at least, is the conclusion of a new analysis which finds that the intensification of farming through the green revolution has unjustly been blamed for speeding up global warming.
Steven Davis of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Palo Alto, California, and colleagues calculated how much greenhouse gases would have been emitted over the past half-century if the green revolution had not happened. More
New Scientist, 14 June 2010
Science budget must be protected says NFU
The government's need to slash spending to deal with the country's massive debts must not be allowed to further damage agricultural research, the NFU has warned.
Speaking at Cereals 2010 event in Cambridgeshire on Wednesday (9 June), union president Peter Kendall said the decline in research and development was compromising farmers' abilities to produce food and manage the environment.
And while farming could not expect significant investment in research when the budget deficit was so huge, any funding available had to be spent effectively. More
Farmers Weekly, 9 June 2010
Plant breeders call for new approach to R&D funding
NEW sources of investment and improved collaboration between public and private sector research is needed if crop yields are to meet food security goals into the future, the British Society of Plant Breeders warned ahead of Cereals 2010.
“Our expanding knowledge of plant genetics certainly opens up major new opportunities to develop crops with increased yields. But the investment needed to exploit this rapidly advancing knowledge base remains greater than commercial plant breeders can manage alone,” said BSPB chairman Nigel Moore.
The warning comes as BSPB publishes the findings of a major economic impact study, which suggests the annual contribution of plant breeding exceeds £1 billion in additional value within the UK farming and food supply chain, in addition to safeguarding an additional £1.2 billion of economic activity in the UK each year. More
Farmers Guardian, 9 June 2010
Pesticide legislation needs a light touch
NFU vice-president Gwyn Jones has called on the new coalition government to treat pesticide legislation with a light touch to help farmers deliver a secure and sustainable food supply.
Speaking at Cereals 2010, Mr Jones said the Sustainable Use Directive, which covers on-farm use of pesticides, would be the first test of government support, with ministers now considering the results of a DEFRA industry-wide consultation.
“They said they would support the industry on this matter when in opposition – they now need to put that into practice,” said Mr Jones. More
Farmers Weekly, 9 June 2010
Stakeholders welcome crop research centre plan but have questions over funding
A document assessing the viability of an applied crop research centre to replace the University of Warwick's Wellesbourne research station has been welcomed by stakeholders. Concerns have been raised, however, that funding issues have yet to be addressed.
The document outlines a potential model for the centre that would see up to eight key scientists supported by around 20 staff. According to the proposal: "The centre will be closely linked to the new (life sciences) school, providing the opportunity to translate some of the more fundamental crop-based research into industry and the commercial sector."
The potential areas of expertise proposed in the document include crop improvements and genetics, entomology and integrated pest management, waste management, crop physiology and agronomy, pathology, environmental accounting and plant nutrition. The document was introduced at a stakeholder meeting last week. More
Horticulture Week, 4 June 2010
FSA under pressure to abandon GM debate
THE Food Standards Agency (FSA) is coming under pressure to abandon its plans for a national GM debate, following the resignation of another member of the project’s steering group.
Professor Brian Wynne, a sociologist at Lancaster University and an expert on public engagement with science, became the second person to quit over claims of FSA ‘bias’ towards the GM industry. More
Farmers Guardian, 3 June 2010
UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet
A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report said today.
As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable, says the report from United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management. More
The Guardian, 2 June 2010
Extreme droughts to be 'more common'
Britain is heading for water shortages and crop failures as extreme droughts like that of 1976 become more frequent, experts have warned. A Met Office study on how climate change could affect the frequency of extreme droughts in the UK has found they will become more common by 2100, and to put the droughts in context, conditions seen in 1976 were used as a benchmark - one of the worst droughts on record. More
The Independent, 27 May 2010
Fungus threatens world wheat production
Scientists have warned that the global supply of wheat could be under threat from a new strain of fungus capable of destroying an entire harvest. The UG99 fungus is already endemic in Kenya, where it's destroyed about 80 per cent of the wheat crop over several seasons. The reddish-brown wind-borne pathogen was discovered a decade ago in east Africa. More
ABC Rural, 27 May 2010
Crisis may be over for honey bees as more survive winter
More honey bee colonies made it through this winter than last year despite the harsh conditions, the British Beekeepers' Association says today. But while there was a "small and encouraging improvement" in survival rates this year, the UK's honey bees are still not healthy enough, the organisation's president Martin Smith warns.
According to figures collected by the BBKA, 17 per cent of colonies across the UK were lost over the winter. However there were significant regional variations, with losses of more than a quarter of colonies (26 per cent) in the north of England compared to just 12.8 per cent in the South-west. In 2008-09, 19 per cent of colonies did not make it through the winter, while "disastrous" losses in 2007-08 saw 30 per cent die. More
The Independent, 24 May 2010
DEFRA approves GM potato trial
Following a public consultation, DEFRA has given approval to the Sainsbury Laboratory to conduct a research trial this year of GM potatoes. The research is on potatoes that have been genetically modified to resist late potato blight.
The Sainsbury Laboratory application has been evaluated by the independent expert group the Advisory Committee of Releases to the Environment (ACRE). It is satisfied that the proposed trial will not result in any adverse effect on human health or the environment.
In line with ACRE’s advice, precautionary conditions have been attached to the statutory consent for the trial. These aim to ensure that GM potato material does not persist at the trial site. The harvested GM potatoes will not be used for food or animal feed. More
Farm Business, 24 May 2010
Scots scientists scour barley strains for genetic benefits
SCOTTISH cereal plant breeders are checking up on some of the country's oldest strains of barley to see if they have any useful genes that can be used in more modern cultivars.
Bere barley is a Scottish landrace form of barley which is nowadays only grown in a few parts of the north and west of the country, such as Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides. It is a spring six-row barley that is quite unusual in a UK context and the overall acreage grown is quite small.
Now work at the Scottish Crop Research Institute, at Invergowrie, under barley plant geneticist Dr Luke Ramsay, is looking at possible benefits from bere’s background. More
The Scotsman, 21 May 2010
'Artificial life' breakthrough announced by scientists
Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first living cell to be controlled entirely by synthetic DNA. The researchers constructed a bacterium's "genetic software" and transplanted it into a host cell. The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species "dictated" by the synthetic DNA.
The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms. More
BBC News, 20 May 2010
EU told to invest more in agricultural research
The EU has been urged to invest more on agricultural research, which it has been accused of “neglecting” in recent years. The demand comes in a new report which also calls for more “efficient use” of agricultural land in the EU to prevent “land-grabbing” outside its borders. The report, “EU agricultural production and trade,” comes as a major commission review of the much-criticised Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) gets underway. More
The Parliament, 17 May 2010
EU pesticide rules pose challenge for developing countries, says CPA
By restricting the use of key crop protection tools, new EU rules on pesticide approvals could have a significant impact on the future development of agriculture and food production in developing countries such as South Africa, says the Crop Protection Association.
That was the central message delivered in a keynote speech by Dominic Dyer, chief executive of the UK CPA, to a large gathering of senior representatives from the crop protection, agriculture and food production industries in Johannesburg last week. More
Farm Business, 14 May 2010
Coalition plans a key energy role for farming
Farmers could be given a key role as energy producers under plans unveiled by Britain's fledgling coalition government. Ambitious plans to promote a huge increase in energy from waste through anaerobic digestion were announced ahead of the appointment of Tory MP Caroline Spelman as DEFRA secretary. The coalition agreement reached by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats includes a pledge to fulfil joint ambitions to create a low-carbon economy. More
Farmers Weekly, 13 May 2010
New study finds organic could be worse for biodiversity
CONVENTIONAL farming is better for the environment than organic farming when food yields are taken into account, according to a controversial new study released today (Wednesday, May 5).
The two year study by Prof Tim Benton, conservation expert at the University of Leeds, asked which production methods could increase food yields with the least impact on biodiversity.
With UN estimates that production must increase by 70 per cent by 2050 to feed a growing population, experts around the world are desperately searching for the most environmentally friendly options. More
Farmers Guardian, 5 May 2010
Paper reveals EU plan to boost GM crop cultivation
BRUSSELS Europe faces a major overhaul in the way it deals with genetically modified (GM) crops, after the European Commission sparked controversy with new plans to circumvent its cumbersome legislative review process.
The EU executive wants to let national governments decide whether or not to grow genetically modified crops without a long drawn-out review of the bloc's current GM legislation, an initial impact assessment seen by Reuters showed.
Details of the plan, which would open the door to widespread GM cultivation in Europe, provoked a furious reaction from environmentalists already angry at the EU executive's decision to approve the commercial growing of a GM potato in March. More
Reuters, 3 May 2010
RASE report draws attention to “broken links” between science
and practice
Over the last 25 years UK government policy has tended to separate science and practice to the extent that the partnership between scientists and practical farmers, one which has underpinned agricultural success for nearly two centuries, is now under serious threat.
This is the key message delivered in a report published by the Royal Agricultural Society of England and written by the chairman of RASE's Practice with Science Committee, Professor David Leaver. The report is to be circulated to each of the main political parties during the election campaign. More
RASE, 26 April 2010
Dairying blamed for 4% of greenhouse gas
Dairy farming accounts for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a United Nations report. The study, which covers the global dairy business, was published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Samuel Jutzi, director of the FAO's animal production and health division, said the report covered everything from nomadic herds to milk processing plants. "This report is fundamental to understand and identify opportunities for reducing the environmental impact of the dairy sector." More
Farmers Weekly, 22 April 2010
UN based policy of doubling food production on ‘flawed data’
A declaration that global food production needs to double to feed the world by the middle of this century provoked shock when it was announced by the UN food chief. It has since become a founding pillar of food policy, cited by leading British politicians and government scientists, farming leaders and some of the world's biggest agricultural companies.
But the source of the now infamous statistic did not actually say that, claims a new report by the Soil Association, the UK's leading organic group. The study, entitled "The big fat lie about doubling food production", traced the original source of the doubling claim back to a report published by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation in 2006. However, using the FAO's own figures, the Soil Association says the forecast increase needed in production would be closer to 70% by 2050. More
The Guardian, 21 April 2010
Internet grows as farm business tool
Some 56% of all farmers are online and an increasing number are using the internet to purchase farm inputs, according to the study by the National Farm Research Unit (NFRU).
They found that 57% of growers are now using the internet, with 47% saying they had gone online to get information about farm inputs. Some 40% said they had bought some farm inputs online. The trend is for more farmers to seek information online, with 42% doing so four years ago. Using the internet for purchasing farm inputs is increasing, with just 17% buying farm inputs online four years ago. More
Farmers Weekly, 19 April 2010
Defra approves GM potato trial
THE Government has approved a second application from British scientists to plant GM potatoes in a field trial at the University of Leeds. In effect the researchers have been given the green light to continue their research on a pest resistant potato that started in 2008.
They say the genetic technology, to resist infection by potato cyst nematodes, could save British growers up to £40 million a year. More
Farmers Guardian, 8 April 2010
Flowers bloom earlier as UK warms
British plants are flowering earlier now than at any time in the last 250 years, according to new analysis. Researchers stitched together nearly 400,000 first flowering records covering 405 species across the nation.
Writing in the journal Proceedings B, they show that the average first flowering date has been earlier in the last 25 years than in any other period. Flowering dates are closely linked to temperatures recorded in the Central England Temperature Record. More
BBC News, 7 April 2010
Research identifies energy savings for dairy farmers
Morrisons has collaborated with leading scientists and dairy farmers to produce the UK dairy industry’s first independent guide to using environmentally friendly renewable energy sources.
Experts from Newcastle University believe renewable energy forms, such as wind turbines, light energy PV panels and anaerobic digestion, could help dairy farmers cut electricity bills by as much as 30%, a yearly saving of over £3000 on a typical dairy farm.
‘Renewable energy and energy efficiency options for UK dairy farms’ is the latest report to come from the Morrisons Farm Programme, a long term initiative with a strong research focus aimed at helping develop a sustainable British farming industry. More
Farm Business, 1 April 2010
All-Party Group focuses on UK agri-food research targets and needs
Rt Hon Jane Kennedy MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture, has announced plans for a major report later this year on UK agri-food research targets and needs.
Presenting the All-Party Group’s second Annual Report, Ms Kennedy welcomed the strong policy emphasis over the past year on the measures needed to secure future food supplies. Government, NGOs, policy think-tanks and scientific institutions were as one in highlighting the importance of agricultural research in helping farmers become more resource efficient – producing more, using less.
However, she warned that public sector research funding had to deliver a demonstrable return on investment through practical improvement on the ground if the objectives set out in the Government’s recent Food 2030 Strategy were to be achieved. More
Farm Business, 29 March 2010
All-Party Group highlights threat to horticultural research at Warwick HRI
An influential cross-party grouping of MPs and Lords is calling for an independent review of the potential impact on the UK’s agricultural science base of the planned merger between Warwick HRI and the University of Warwick’s Department of Biological Sciences.
Rt Hon Jane Kennedy MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture, and herself a former Defra Minister, has this week written to Environment Secretary Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP and University of Warwick Vice-Chancellor Professor Nigel Thrift, to express the Group’s concern that the merger places the internationally renowned Warwick HRI site at Wellesbourne under threat of closure. More
Farm Business, 26 March 2010
Jane Kennedy leads fight for Warwick HRI
FORMER Farming Minister Jane Kennedy has warned that a merger involving the UK’s leading horticulture research facility could damage the UK’s food science base.
Ms Kennedy has asked Defra Secretary Hilary Benn to intervene in the planned merger between Warwick Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) and the University of Warwick’s Department of Biological Sciences.
Ms Kennedy, who will step down as an MP at the General Election, is acting in her capacity as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture. More
Farmers Guardian, 26 March 2010
Pressure mounts on Defra's Hilary Benn over Warwick HRI
Pressure is mounting on Defra secretary Hilary Benn to review the impact of changes at the Wellesbourne site on the UK's ability to meet the Government's food strategy.
A call has gone out from researchers at the University of Warwick to halt the redundancy process taking place as part of the planned merger of Warwick HRI with its department of biological sciences to create a new school of life sciences.
In addition, former Defra food and farming minister Jane Kennedy has this week tabled an early day motion on the threat to horticultural research at Warwick HRI. She is also writing directly to Benn and University of Warwick vice-chancellor Nigel Thrift in her role as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science & Technology in Agriculture. More
Horticulture Week, 26 March 2010
Food and farm waste can help power the nation, says Benn
Businesses and local authorities are being offered help to turn food, farm and other organic waste into energy and fuel.
Defra has published a plan to boost biogas production from anaerobic digestion to help tackle climate change and produce renewable energy.
‘Accelerating the Uptake of Anaerobic Digestion in England: an Implementation Plan’ sets out actions to help businesses, local authorities, farmers and food producers to adopt the technology, which transforms organic material like manure and waste food into fuel. More
Farm Business, 25 March 2010
UN body to look at meat and climate link
UN specialists are to look again at the contribution of meat production to climate change, after claims that an earlier report exaggerated the link. A 2006 report concluded meat production was responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions - more than transport.
The report has been cited by people campaigning for a more vegetable-based diet, including Sir Paul McCartney. But a new analysis, presented at a major US science meeting, says the transport comparison was flawed. More
BBC News, 24 March 2010
Food policy advisors recommend "focus on power of consumer"
The Council of Food Policy Advisors has published its second report to the Government, recommending that efforts to promote healthy diets and environmentally sustainable food production should focus on the power of consumer demand to bring about change.
“Food: a recipe for a healthy, sustainable, and successful future” also calls for a debate about land use in the United Kingdom in order to find the best way to balance the needs of agriculture with other demands such as housing, energy and infrastructure.
In addition the Council highlighted the importance of the food sector in economic strategies, as well as the need for continued research and development across the entire food chain. More
Farm Business, 16 March 2010
Mega-dairies: Farming solution or big problem?
The plan for Britain's first "factory farm" for cows has stirred up the debate on the future of farming in Europe. Similar "feedlot" dairies are commonplace in the U.S., but plans for a complex housing up to 8,100 cows in England is the first proposal on such a large scale in Western Europe. It is still far from clear whether they will be accepted on a continent increasingly obsessed with where its food comes from.
There's a certain irony in the timing: Nocton Dairies has submitted its application to open the huge industrial dairy just as the anti-industrial farming movie "Food Inc." opens in cinemas across the UK. More
CNN, 16 March 2010
Research partnership to develop improved crops for food security
A new research initiative has been launched to accelerate the development of improved crops with higher yields and consistent, high quality products.
The £6M Crop Improvement Research Club (CIRC) is led by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the UK’s largest public funder of agri-food research and includes the Scottish Government and 13 companies representing plant breeders, farmers and food processors. More
Farm Business, 11 March 2010
Government launches food security project
THE Government has announced a joined-up approach between public bodies to tackle global food shortages. The Global Food Security project, launched today (Thursday, March 11), will coordinate research and policy between Government departments, research bodies and executive agencies.
Speaking at the project launch Professor John Beddington, the Government’s chief scientific advisor, said a joined-up approach was necessary to avert ‘a full food security crisis in the future’. More
Farmers Guardian, 11 March 2010
Tories unveil five-point plan for farming R&D
The Tories have unveiled a five-point plan to boost farming research and development. Lord Taylor, the Conservative spokesman in the House of Lords, set out the plans at the opening of a new research unit at Harper Adams University College in Shropshire.
The party's priority, if elected, would be to promote private-sector investment in agricultural research. The existing DEFRA budget would have a new emphasis on R&D and would be bolstered by a broader source of funding, Lord Taylor said. He also pledged to re-invigorate applied research with greater representation from the food and farming industry on the committees where decisions would be taken on public-sector research. More
Farmers Weekly, 10 March 2010
Perfect peas to push profits and cut carbon
Scientists, pea breeders and the food industry are collaborating to discover how taste and tenderness can be determined by biochemistry and genetics. They will work together to hone the make-up of a perfect pea.
In a £1.5M, 3.5-year project coordinated from the John Innes Centre, the project partners will find new ways to develop improved pea varieties for the high profit margin food market. They will also study the likely impact of greater uptake of legume farming on nitrogen fertiliser use. More
Farm Business, 8 March 2010
Intensive agriculture is the green option
A WELSH think-tank has recommended intensive dairy, beef and sheep farming as the best way to reduce agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The report published today (Friday, March, 5) recommends an especially radical approach to dairy and beef farming where the nation’s cattle herd would remain housed and its methane emissions captured and used as fuel. By 2040 the report says agriculture and land use sectors could make substantial progress to carbon neutrality. More
Farmers Guardian, 5 March 2010
GM potato cleared for EU farming
The European Commission has cleared the way for a genetically modified potato to be grown in the EU - only the second GM product it has allowed.
The Amflora potato can be utilised for animal feed and industrial uses - such as its starch being used to make paper - but not for human consumption. More
BBC News, 2 March 2010
Future of Wellesbourne to be considered by stakeholders
Options for the future of Wellesbourne research station will be tabled during a stakeholder discussion at the University of Warwick next week.
Although the university's senate approved draft proposals for Warwick HRI Wellesbourne to be absorbed into a new School of Life Sciences last year, a new paper exploring an industry partnership will be presented at the meeting on 2 March.
The business plan is being finalised by a group of scientists at Warwick HRI in collaboration with Brian Jamieson, author of A Review of the Provision of Horticultural R&D. More
Farm Business, 25 February 2010
Study finds conditions tough for agrochemical innovation
A new study of Research and Development in the crop protection sector shows that, in a decade, the costs associated with the discovery, development and registration of new crop pest and disease agents have increased by 68.4 per cent to €189m.
The research, conducted by agribusiness consultant Phillips McDougall and commissioned by Crop Life America and the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), sheds new light on the costs of agrochemical innovation encountered by major R&D driven companies. More
Farm Business, 25 February 2010
Innovation key to agriculture’s future says Environment Agency chief
GM crops and new technologies to support ‘precision farming’ could both have a role to play in helping the UK cope with climate change, Environment Agency Chairman Lord Smith says in his speech to the NFU conference today.
Lord Smith tells farmers that climate change “will create new demands on land and environmental resources” and “could provide opportunities for novel crops and systems.” More
Farm Business, 24 February 2010
Global GM plantings rise
PLANTINGS of GM crops rose by seven per cent last year, as farmers around the world continued to turn to technology to boost crop yields.
According to new figures released today by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), 14 million farmers in 25 countries are now growing 134 million hectares of GM crops around the world. More
Farmers Guardian, 24 February 2010
Biofuel breakthrough on non-food crops
MOTORISTS could soon be running their cars on affordable ethanol produced from wheat straw or woodchips after a biofuel breakthrough.
Current methods of converting agricultural by-products into ethanol are too expensive to consider at a commercial level, while biofuels produced from food crops have been blamed for pushing up commodity prices and leaving the world’s poorest people short of food. But a Danish biotechnology company, Novozymes, says it has cultivated a new enzyme that could convert maize, wheat, straw and woodchips into ethanol for as little as 32 pence per litre. More
Farmers Guardian, 23 February 2010
BCPC calls for multi-pronged approach to the ‘Crop Protection Crunch’
The British Crop Production Council has warned that the EU Pesticide legislation (EC 1107/2009) will seriously affect the industry and that a coordinated approach will be needed to address the challenges.
The Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (2009/127/EC) and the Water Framework Directive will create an additional burden.
“We must get the message out about the negative impact that all this legislation will have on the production of good quality, nutritional food, at affordable prices – a ‘Crop Protection Crunch’,” says Dr Colin Ruscoe, Chairman of BCPC.
“We need to inform the whole of the food chain from producers to retailers and the general public, as well as finding ways to help food producers deal with the impact. And if we are going to make further attempts at regulatory reform, both in the UK and EU, continued lobbying of government will be crucial.” More
Farm Business, 18 February 2010
Dairy industry sets out demands for MPs
The next government needs to combat bovine tuberculosis as a priority if the future of the dairy industry is to be secured. Dairy UK said farmer confidence and milk output needed to be improved by urgently tackling TB in cattle.
Setting out a blueprint of what the industry needs if it is to prosper, Dairy UK said government also needed to increase research and development to increase productivity and secure food supplies. More
Farmers Weekly, Wednesday 17 February 2010
Defra considers GM potato trial
THE Government is considering an application from British scientists to plant GM potatoes in a field trial in Norwich.
Scientists in the Sainsbury’s Laboratory at the John Innes Centre hope to get approval from Defra in order to start their three-year trial in May.
The researchers aim to genetically modify a potato resistant to blight – a disease estimated to cost the global potato industry £3.5 billion every year. Blight resistance would also save farmers from spraying fungicide on the potatoes, the scientists said. More
Farmers Guardian, 17 February 2010
£15M scheme to train hundreds in vital food security R&D
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council is committing up to £15M to establish training for food security research and development.
The Advanced Training Partnerships scheme is announced at the same time as the launch of the new industry-led AgriSkills Strategy, which is being launched by Lantra (the sector skills council for environmental and land- based industries) and NFU with support from the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The AgriSkills Strategy aims to ensure the UK can equip itself with the right skills to enable a profitable and sustainable agricultural industry for the future and is complementary to the new BBSRC scheme. More
Farm Business, 11 February 2010
Biofuel breakthrough as scientists sequence grass genome
SCIENTISTS in the US have completed sequencing the genome of a wild grass which they claim will shed light on the genetics behind hardier varieties of wheat and improved varieties of biofuel crops.
The grass - Brachypodium distachyon - can be used by plant scientists as a model organism similar to key agricultural crops, including wheat and barley. The genome is also similar to the potential bioenergy crop switchgrass, allowing researchers to identify genes linked to specific traits and apply the knowledge to the development of biofuel crops. More
Farmers Guardian, 11 February 2010
Culling badgers ‘not a cost-effective way to stop TB'
Culling badgers is unlikely to be a cost-effective way of combating TB in cattle, according to latest research into controlling the disease.
A study published by scientists from Imperial College London and the Zoological Society of London says that, while widespread badger culls initially cut the incidence of bovine TB, any benefits disappear within four years of the cull being carried out. The financial costs of administering trapping and killing badgers also means any savings made in cutting herd infections are cancelled out, the study says. More
Farmers Weekly, 10 February 2010
Climate change could bring new disease threat
GREATER vigilance is needed as climate change alters the seasonality of endemic infections and the likely appearance of formerly unseen parasites, warned vet scientists at a North West Livestock Health and Welfare Conference held at Liverpool University’s vet school.
Jan van Dijk said work he was involved in at the vet school to monitor temperature and rainfall changes showed disease patterns had already begun to alter. Data already suggests fluke has risen significantly in recent years, although this masks regional variations as parasites react and adapt to changes in localised weather conditions, he said. More
Farmers Guardian, 9 February 2010
Defra seeks views on new EU pesticides rules
A consultation on how to implement new European rules on pesticides was launched today, and seeks people’s views on how to ensure the continued sustainable use of pesticides.
The consultation is seeking views on how to implement the European Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides, which covers areas including the training of pesticide users, inspection of spraying equipment and minimising the risk of pollution from pesticides. The consultation also puts forward options on access to information about pesticides used near homes, and how people could be given the option to obtain this information. More
Farm Business, 9 February 2010
Britain facing food crisis as world's soil 'vanishes in 60 years'
British farming soil could run out within 60 years, leading to a catastrophic food crisis and drastically higher prices for consumers, scientists warn.
Fertile soil is being lost faster than it can be replenished and will eventually lead to the “topsoil bank” becoming empty, an Australian conference heard. Chronic soil mismanagement and over farming causing erosion, climate change and increasing populations were to blame for the dramatic global decline in suitable farming soil, scientists said. More
Daily Telegraph, 3 February 2010
Food security central to £2 billion bioscience plan
THE Government will pump more than £2 billion of taxpayers’ money into biological research as part of a new strategy to meet global challenges such as food security and fossil fuel depletion. The Government-funded Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), has drawn up a strategic plan to spend its annual £450 million budget over the next five years. Food security will be one of three key priorities for the money, alongside health and renewable energy. More
Farmers Guardian, 2 February 2010
Scientists create GM tomatoes 'which stay fresh for a month longer than usual'
Scientists have created genetically modified tomatoes which stay fresh for a month longer than usual. The fruits remained firm for 45 days, three times as long as normal tomatoes which start to wilt after just 15 days, researchers said.
The team believe that the breakthrough could also lead to an extended shelf life for other fruits, including bananas, and see the cost of their production tumble. They lengthened the life of the tomatoes by “turning off” genes linked to the production of two enzymes which cause the fruit to start to ripen. More
Daily Telegraph, 2 February 2010
Food science: Rewards of precision farming
The technological battle to raise agricultural productivity while reducing the environmental impact of farming is taking place across a broad front. Genetic engineering of crops receives the most publicity, as much because it is so controversial as because it has the most to offer, but there are many other promising approaches.
Precision farming – the use of information technology to monitor crops and guide the application of seeds and agricultural chemicals – is turning individual farmers into expert agronomists. More
Financial Times, 26 January 2010
Lack of GMOs costs lives, claims leading scientist
Many human lives have been lost due to the reluctance of some countries to accept genetically modified crops, former government chief scientific adviser, Sir David King has claimed.
Addressing the annual City Food Lecture in London's Guildhall this week, Sir David cited the example of flood-resistant rice which had taken over five years to develop using conventional breeding techniques and genetic markers, when it could have been done in two using GM technology. The drop in rice production in 2007, due to flooding just after planting, was a major factor behind the price hike in 2008 that led to food riots and starvation in some parts of the world, he said. More
Farmers Weekly, 20 January 2010
Farm emissions 'far higher than thought'
Livestock farming accounts more than half of all agricultural greenhouse emissions, according to a new report. The study, by WWF-UK and the Food Climate Research Network, estimates the food we eat accounts for 30% of the UK's carbon footprint. Previous estimates put the figure closer to 20%, but this latest study is the first to incorporate the impact of land use changes overseas. More
Farmers Weekly, 18 January 2010
Plant could save millions from malaria
Scientists from the University of York have confidently predicted they will have high-yielding anti-malaria crops available for wide spread plantation in developing countries within two years. The discovery of the genetic map of the medicinal herb Artemisia annua has been hailed as a significant breakthrough that could save countless lives. More
Daily Telegraph, 15 January 2010
GM crops to be planted in Britain again this year
A new wave of genetically modified (GM) crops are to be planted in the British countryside this year as the Government increases its support for the technology. Leeds University, where a successful trial was carried out last year, is to apply for a licence for a new field trial of GM potatoes.
Meanwhile the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) want to plant GM crops on a demonstration farm as part of a new drive to boost public understanding of the latest developments in plant breeding. More
Daily Telegraph, 11 January 2010
McDonald’s seeks to cut cows’ methane emissions
McDonalds has long been the butt of jokes about what goes into its burgers, but now it is to spend thousands of pounds investigating what comes out of its beef cows.
The fast food chain, which uses beef from 350,000 cattle a year for its burger meat, is to conduct a three-year study into methane emissions from cattle on 350 farms across Britain. More
The Observer, 10 January 2010
'Climate change resistant crops' move nearer after gene breakthrough
In a breakthrough that has the potential to help feed billions of people, scientists from the John Innes Centre in Norwich have found the "thermometer gene" which plants use to sense temperature.
Laboratory tests on a mustard seed plant showed that the gene that plants use in order to know when to grow in the warmer months can be manipulated by taking away a histone protein. More
Daily Telegraph, 8 January 2010
UK research 'not good enough'
EXPERTS from across the food chain have valued agricultural research in the UK at a lowly five out of ten, delegates were shocked to learn at the Oxford Farming Conference this week.
In a survey carried out by the IGD, a select group of retailers, processors and wholesalers warned a failure to improve research would cause a rise in food prices, a rise in imports and an erosion of the UK’s competitive advantage. More
Farmers Guardian, 7 January 2010
Business as usual won't feed the world
A "business as usual" approach to increasing food production would be useless against the challenge of feeding a growing world population.
John Parker, globalisation correspondent for The Economist, told delegates that agriculture needed to achieve the kind of technological breakthroughs in plant breeding and livestock development last seen in the 1960s and 70s.
"The UN predicts a world population of around 9bn by 2050 - that's about 30% more people to feed. And for a 30% population increase, world wheat yields will need to increase by the same amount over the next 20 years." More
Farmers Weekly, 6 January 2010
Government science strategy launched
The Government’s chief scientific adviser has launched a new science strategy designed to help improve the security and sustainability of the UK’s food system. The strategy, launched by Professor John Beddington at the Oxford Farming Conference today (Wednesday, January 6), will aim to ensure research into various elements of food production is better co-ordinated across the scientific community.
The strategy is intended to feed into the new Government food strategy, Food 2030, launched by Defra Secretary Hilary Benn on Tuesday (January 5). The Food and Innovation Research Strategy provides an overarching framework across the UK Government and Devolved Administrations. More
Farmers Guardian, 6 January 2010
Investment in research vital
Britain's farming industry will be seriously threatened and the government's Food 2030 strategy risks being undermined without better investment in agricultural science.
Crop protection was cited as the most important past advancement by 29% of farmers who put it top of a list compiled during research specially commissioned by the Oxford Farming Conference.
It was followed by plant breeding and machinery. Plant breeding scored 18% as the most important future development with GM technology scoring 15%. But one in four farmers remains unsure what scientific advancements are needed. More
Farmers Weekly, 6 January 2010
Consumers can help secure Britain’s food future
Ensuring food security is just as important to Britain’s future as energy supply, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Hilary Benn told delegates at the Oxford Farming Conference today as he unveiled the Government’s food strategy, Food 2030.
Farming and food businesses contribute more than £80 billion to the economy and represent the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, employing 3.6 million people.
The Food Strategy sets out the challenges facing Britain in maintaining a secure food supply at a time of rapid population growth and climate change, and following the big price increases seen in 2008 following droughts and the rise in the price of oil. More
Defra News Release, 5 January 2010
UK Cross-Government Strategy for Food Research and Innovation
A new science strategy to help improve the security and sustainability of our food system has been launched today by the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser Professor John Beddington.
The UK Cross-Government Strategy for Food Research and Innovation aims to provide the evidence to support effective, joined-up policies, and ensure the development and dissemination of new knowledge, technologies and skills.
The UK has a world leading science base which can contribute significantly to the new Government food strategy, Food 2030, which sets out a clear vision for achieving a sustainable and secure food system. More
BIS News Release, 5 January 2010