China has approved five gene-edited crop varieties and 12 types of genetically modified (GM) soybean, corn and cotton, expanding approvals to boost high-yield crops, reduce import reliance, and ensure food security.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs awarded safety certificates to the 17 crop varieties, according to a document on its website on Tuesday.

The approved gene-edited crops include two soybean varieties, and one each of wheat, corn, and rice.

In a press briefing organised by Moredun, the research institute's scientific director and chief executive, Prof Tom McNeilly, addressed the recent fallout surrounding the methane reducing feed additive Bovaer, and why animal health remains an important part of the solution in reducing the livestock industry's methane emissions.

As an institute, Prof McNeilly said Moredun is well aware of the contribution ruminants play in methane emissions and the pressures the industry is facing. However, he said there is ‘no silver bullet' to reduce these emissions, but a number of tools that could be used.

With literature showing methane reducing feed additives could lower methane production by 30%, Prof McNeilly said they are a ‘useful tool in the toolbox', but consumer backlash has been ‘noisy' across the internet and social media. He said: "Consumers are quite suspicious when something is mandated, but it is probably one of the most tested feed additives that there has ever been. In terms of the safety of the milk, I do not think there is any evidence to say the milk is less safe."

The Labour government has taken a significant step toward banning neonicotinoid pesticides completely, a move likely to provoke strong reactions from the farming industry.

The government has set out its next steps, including identifying legislative options that would legally prevent the future use of three specific neonicotinoids – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam.

The decision, announced on Saturday 21 December, follows years of debate over the chemicals’ impact on vital pollinators, such as bees and butterflies.

The James Hutton Institute Scientific Services, the Institute’s commercial arm, has established a new five-year global raspberry breeding consortium spanning to 2029.

Underpinned by crucial research from the previous organisation, the new Raspberry Breeding Consortium unites a diverse range of partners to combine skills, knowledge and access to cutting-edge technology to meet the ever-changing demands of the industry.

Currently comprised of organisations from across the globe, including Australia, The Netherlands, USA, Spain and the UK, the consortium is calling for even more members to join and combine resources to create new, targeted and improved raspberry varieties.

The scale and pace of global population growth, economic development and the transition to net zero are driving unprecedented demand for the agricultural science, technology and innovation needed to produce more food with fewer inputs.

This is a huge opportunity for the UK and for British agriculture. We need to seize it. We are a global academic plant science and agri-research powerhouse.

But we need to do more to attract global inward investment, to support farm-level innovation, and for the government to make clear its support for UK agriculture as a vital strategic industry.

The Court of Appeal in London has dismissed a case brought by animal activists that, had it been successful, could have forced the poultry sector to cease using “fast-growing” broilers in meat production.

The case, brought by the Humane League, was originally considered in 2023, with the campaign group claiming that, by allowing the use of such birds, Defra was breaching the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007.

Defra challenged the claims, insisting there is no scientific proof fast-growing birds suffer health problems as a matter of course – and the judge agreed Defra had not acted illegally.

Livestock and arable farms across England, Scotland, and Wales will begin taking carbon measurements in December as part of an industry-leading baselining project.

The AHDB are working alongside Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) to quantify the environmental impact of GB farms and has selected 170 farm businesses to be involved in the pilot phase.

AHDB has committed to an initial investment of £2.5m, with a further £375,000 of funding being offered up by QMS, and plans to create a nationwide standardised data set.

The latest Government report shows UK self-sufficiency broadly unchanged in 20 years, but highlights worsening risks. Long-term declines in the natural environment and worsening climate change pose serious risks to UK food security.

The latest three-yearly report on food security has found the UK was 75% self-sufficient in the food that can be grown in this country last year, and produced the equivalent of 62% of overall food consumed.

But while the figures are broadly unchanged in the past two decades, the report warned that long-term declines in “natural capital” – resources such as clean water, healthy soils and wildlife such as pollinators – are a pressing risk to UK food production.

A Lincolnshire farm recorded a groundbreaking harvest this year with Merlin spring oats, delivering yields of over 11 tonnes per hectare - more than double the national average.

The unprecedented yield, achieved by Happy Days Farming, was attributed to a combination of Merlin's varietal strengths, optimal nutrition, and an unusually wet spring.

"The yield numbers on the display were so high we initially thought the equipment was faulty," said farm manager Mark Popplewell. "The grain tank was filling much faster than expected, even compared to a strong wheat crop. It quickly became clear that we were looking at something exceptional."

A major new facility has opened to support the UK's pandemic preparedness of viral diseases which spread from animals to humans.

The high-biological containment science facility, named the Brooksby Building, has been completed by the Pirbright Institute, based near Woking, Surrey.

The site will also study viral diseases of livestock, such as foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), African swine fever virus and bluetongue virus