A cross-party group of MPs is urging the government to safeguard UK food security as the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme is set to end on 31 December 2025 with no replacement planned. In a letter to Defra secretary Emma Reynolds ahead of the Autumn Budget, MPs warn that ending the £40m scheme risks undermining a £4.3bn sector, reducing domestic production, harming rural jobs and increasing reliance on imports. They also argue growers in England and Wales will be disadvantaged compared with those in the EU, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which are retaining the support scheme.

Eastern Daily Press reports that Norfolk MP George Freeman says gene-editing technologies could help protect poultry from the severe bird flu outbreaks that have led to mass culls across the eastern region this autumn. With seven cases in Norfolk and five in Suffolk, Mr Freeman is calling for early implementation of the new Precision Breeding Act for farmed animals. Promising UK-based research is estimated to be just two years away from developing gene-edited chickens which are fully immune and which do not pass on the virus. But those potential benefits will remain unrealised in practice until the government brings forward the legislation needed to activate the Precision Breeding Act for farmed animals, as it has for plants.

Farming UK reports that Britain’s farmers risks losing ground unless the industry rapidly improves how it shares and uses data, farm leaders warned at a Map of Ag roundtable. Leading industry figures said fragmented, duplicated data is holding back profitability, environmental improvememts and access to finance. They called for whole-sector collaboration, shared metrics and farmer-led standards. Better data could cut paperwork, boost productivity and unlock investment, but the industry still lacks clarity on what “good quality” data means. Speakers urged creating a trusted home for farm data, reducing duplication, and ensuring farmers benefit from contributing information.

Farming UK reports that UK livestock farmers have cut veterinary antibiotic sales to the lowest level on record, marking major progress in tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The latest VARSS report shows a 57% reduction over ten years, driven by improved herd and flock management and coordinated industry action. Resistance levels are also falling across species, bringing both health and financial benefits for farms. The UK remains one of Europe’s lowest users of veterinary antibiotics, strengthening its position with retailers and supply chains.

Farming UK reports that the Precision Breeding Act, which comes into force today, creates a new, more streamlined regulatory pathway for gene-edited crops in England, opening up prospects to boost yields, disease resistance, climate resilience and reduce chemical use. The APPG on Science and Technology in Agriculture welcomed the move as an important step towards accelerating innovation, strengthening food security and aligning the UK with countries already regulating gene-edited crops separately from GMOs. But the Group cautioned that these hard-won gains must not be compromised by future UK–EU alignment discussions or any cross-border Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.

Farmers Weekly reports that the UK government’s planned Brexit “reset” and a fast-tracked SPS deal with the EU could remove more than half of British farmers’ herbicide options by mid-2027, industry leaders have warned. At a meeting with the Cabinet Office this week, industry representatives were told prime minister Sir Keir Starmer wants the government’s SPS agreement with the EU to be implemented by June 2027, with no transition period. This would mean immediate UK alignment with EU rules, and key autumn herbicides such as flufenacet and cinmethylin - vital for blackgrass control - would disappear, risking major yield losses and costs estimated at £1bn annually.

Farmers Weekly reports that a £1 million UK research initiative, the Pea Protein Project, has developed new pea varieties with higher protein quality, fewer allergens, and no traditional pea flavour - offering a sustainable home-grown alternative to imported soya. Funded by Defra and Innovate UK, the collaboration includes Germinal, the John Innes Centre, IBERS Aberystwyth University, and PGRO. The project aims to reduce reliance on the 3–4 million tonnes of soya imported annually by improving pea taste, nutrition, and functionality. Researchers will now scale up seed production for field testing, marking a key step forward for the UK’s locally produced plant protein sector.

Farmers Weekly reports that Baroness Minette Batters has urged a reassessment of British agriculture’s economic value, saying its 0.6% GDP share “grossly underestimates” its true contribution to growth, jobs, and food security. Presenting her upcoming farm profitability review, she called for collaboration between Defra and the ONS to recalculate farming’s full impact, aiming for agriculture to generate 10% of GDP within a decade. Her six-month review includes 50+ recommendations on planning reform, labour shortages, taxation, and innovation.

The Scottish Farmer reports that a new parliamentary report warns the UK could lose up to 32% of its food output by 2050 unless urgent reforms are made to farming and land-use policy. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture (APPGSTA) found that competing land demands—such as housing, rewilding, tree-planting and solar projects—could remove 25% of farmed land, much of it prime arable. The group urges adoption of its “30:50:50 mission” to produce 30% more food with 50% less environmental impact, plus a statutory 75% self-sufficiency target. Chair George Freeman MP warns that fragmented policies and weak translation of innovation into practice threaten food security amid global instability.

Farmers Weekly reports that a new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture calls for a radical reset of UK food production policy to improve food self-sufficiency and cut environmental impact. It warns that without reform, the UK could lose up to 23% of farmland and 32% of output by 2050, increasing reliance on imports. The report advocates a statutory 75% food self-sufficiency target, protection of high-yield farmland, and greater use of new farming technologies. It criticises fragmented policies, and urges a unified strategy focused on “producing more from less” through innovation and productivity improvement.