A cross-party group of 29 MPs and peers has written to the prime minister demanding immediate action to protect high-quality farmland from large-scale solar farm development across England.

The letter, co-ordinated following a recent roundtable of MPs representing areas where 1% or more of the land is occupied by existing or proposed solar farms, is backed by SolarQ, an apolitical group of UK-based solar experts.

Their data shows solar panels are disproportionately built on top-grade agricultural land, posing risks to national food security.

A new £1.5 million research facility at the University of Exeter is giving scientists the power to summon wind and rain on demand — all in the name of food security.

Launched on Friday, July 11, the Global Meteorological Simulator (GMS) allows researchers to recreate diverse weather systems within four advanced plant growth chambers. The goal is to understand how changing climates affect crops, pollinators and plant diseases — and find ways to feed a growing global population.

Funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the university, the GMS can simulate everything from tropical storms to cool mist. It is believed to be the only facility of its kind in a university setting worldwide.

Record breaking and extreme weather has become increasingly commonplace in the UK as our climate has changed over the last few decades.

The latest assessment of the UK’s climate shows how baselines are shifting, records are becoming more frequent, and that temperature and rainfall extremes are becoming the norm.

The latest State of the UK Climate report, published by Wiley in the Royal Meteorological Society’s ‘International Journal of Climatology’, provides insight into the UK’s changing climate.

Weetabix has slashed carbon emissions from its wheat production by 50% in a pioneering trial that could reshape sustainable cereal farming in the UK.

The company’s Lower Carbon Wheat Project, involving six local farmers from its Weetabix Growers' Group, successfully demonstrated how emissions from wheat cultivation – Weetabix’s largest single ingredient – can be halved.

Held at Duncan Farrington MBE’s farm in Northamptonshire, the trial shared results with 47 growers. Working with Map of Ag and the European Food and Farming Partnerships, farmers reduced synthetic nitrogen – a major carbon contributor – by 20% in three years, using cover crops, natural manures, and biological treatments.

With new, streamlined regulations, innovators finally have the green light to bring next-gen seeds to market faster than ever before.

For over a decade, Canada’s biotechnology industry and government regulators have been working behind the scenes to solve a growing problem: how to regulate a new generation of plant breeding technologies — particularly gene editing — without choking off innovation.

The result is a set of recently released guidelines that may now represent one of the world’s most balanced, science-based, and innovation-friendly regulatory frameworks for plant biotechnology. And it’s already reshaping how crops are developed, tested, and commercialized — both in Canada and abroad.

A new generation of strawberry-picking robots is being trialled on a farm in Essex as part of a £1 million initiative aimed at addressing labour shortages in UK agriculture.

The project, led by the University of Essex and funded by Defra, is currently testing second-generation robotic pickers at Wilkin and Sons’ vertical strawberry farm in Tiptree.

The initiative marks a significant advancement in the development of automated solutions for horticultural labour challenges. The latest robot design is significantly smaller and more cost-effective than its predecessor, while maintaining high levels of performance.

A new industry group, the UK Fruit and Vegetable Association (UKFVA), has been formed to represent UK growers and try to secure crucial funding for the horticultural sector.

It is calling for clear commitments from government to strengthen domestic food production and protect UK food security.

The group will urge government to engage with growers and provide a replacement for the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme for producer organisations which is due to close at the end of the year in England.

A groundbreaking Scottish partnership is unleashing the power of 5G-connected robotics to transform precision farming—breaking down rural connectivity barriers and revolutionising how crops are grown.

Five organisations are developing robotic systems capable of performing detailed farming tasks — such as crop health monitoring, targeted fertiliser application, and soil assessment — enabled by portable 5G private networks.

This innovation aims to address pressing issues in modern agriculture, including rising input costs, labour shortages, stringent environmental regulations, and the need to boost food production while reducing environmental harm.

A groundbreaking initiative is underway at the University of Edinburgh that promises to transform the future of precision breeding. With a £5 million investment, the new research hub will harness the power of gene editing and artificial intelligence to develop more intelligent, more resilient farm animals.

This pioneering effort not only aims to enhance sustainability and improve animal welfare but also holds the potential to meet the increasing global demand for food in an environmentally responsible manner, offering hope for a more sustainable and ethical future of food production.

The five-year funding comes from the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Gates Foundation, The Roslin Foundation, and the University as part of the Edinburgh & SE Scotland City Region Deal.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has commissioned a proof-of-concept project as part of its ongoing work to find a solution to farm data sharing. The project aims to demonstrate a technical solution which puts farmers and levy payers in control of their data and how it is shared.

Focusing on environmental data to begin with, the proof of concept aims to show how farmers can share data from existing sources such as British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS), processor data and feed data with a commercial carbon calculator for the purpose of conducting a greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment.