The demise of the Small Robot Company has thrown investment into agritech into sharp focus. A lack of funding meant the company was forced to stop work on its trio of crop monitoring and spraying robots with a loss of 30 jobs.

The boom in agritech investment has certainly cooled. Website CropLife calculated that global agritech companies attracted $1.5 billion (£1.19bn) in funding during the third quarter of 2023, which was 6 per cent less than the same three months in 2022 with a 42 per cent drop in the number of deals.

A new campaign group called 'No Farmers, No Food' says it will put pressure on the government to ensure British farming remains viable into the future.

The group, which has attracted thousands of followers on social media after it was launched last month, says it is a "collection of farmers who are concerned that the future of farming is currently under threat."

Some of its asks include a fairer price for farmers, an end to cheaper, lower-quality imports and an end to restrictive legislation. Others include to move away with the government's 'obsession' with net zero, which is having a 'devasting impact' on farming.

Norfolk-based scientists have launched a £1m project to explore how "gene editing" techniques could protect sugar beet crops from a devastating virus threat.

British Sugar, biotech firm Tropic and Norwich plant science institute the John Innes Centre (JIC) have jointly been awarded £663,443 towards the total project costs from Defra's Farming Innovation Programme.

The research, also supported by the Norwich-based British Beet Research Organisation (BBRO), aims to develop plants with natural resistance to virus yellows infections - thereby protecting East Anglia's beet farmers from potentially catastrophic crop losses.

Presence of cereal volunteers in oilseed rape fields and direct drilling could lead to a marked reduction in damage caused by cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB), a new study says.

The results suggest that relatively simple changes in crop management could help control this ubiquitous pest which, in recent years, has led to many famers abandoning the crop altogether.

The trials, conducted by Rothamsted Research on a farm in Hertfordshire, assessed oilseed rape (OSR) crop damage caused by adult CSFB feeding and larval infestation when sown with different companion plants.

The UK’s leading agricultural research facility is facing a funding crisis with its future work in jeopardy, it can be revealed.

Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843, and its research has been credited with preventing crop failures across the globe.

A letter from Rothamsted’s director, Prof Angela Karp, seen by the Guardian, has warned staff they will have to pause “non-essential” work, announcing a hiring pause and warning of pay freezes.

Protesting farmers on the Continent have scored another victory, with the EU Commission agreeing to shelve plans for draconian cuts in pesticide use in a move that has pleased farmers and angered environmentalists.

Two years ago, as part of its so-called Green Deal, Brussels set out plans to halve the use of pesticides and other hazardous chemicals used in agriculture by 2030.

But addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday (6 February), EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said it was time for a rethink.

For a more sustainable and resilient food system, MEPs support a simpler process for NGT plants equivalent to conventional plants, while others must follow stricter rules.

Parliament adopted its position for negotiations with member states on the Commission proposal on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), which alter the genetic material of an organism, with 307 votes to 263 and 41 abstentions.

The objective is to make the food system more sustainable and resilient by developing improved plant varieties that are climate resilient, pest resistant, and give higher yields or that require fewer fertilisers and pesticides.

England's hedgerows would stretch almost ten times around the Earth if lined up end to end. That's according to a new map - the most comprehensive to date - of these historic features of the landscape.

Ecologists hope the data will lead to better protections for the much-loved lines of trees and shrubs that provide food and shelter for wildlife, and store large amounts of carbon.

Laser scanning from the air reveals a total of 390,000 km of hedges.

Farm businesses wishing to invest in solar panels, robotics or automated equipment on-farm can now apply for grant funding through Defra’s Improving Farm Productivity scheme.

Funding of between £25,000 and £500,000 will be available for investment in robotic and automated equipment, with grants covering up to 50% of the total cost. For solar projects, grants of up to £100,000 will be up for grabs and these will cover 25% of the total project cost.

The funding is intended to help aid crop and livestock production and increase renewable energy generation on farm. Projects will be prioritised based on whether they can improve productivity, the environment or innovation, or introduce technology to address labour shortages.

Livestock farmers and industry have questioned whether the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has enough resources to cope with the current threat of animal diseases including avian influenza, African swine fever, schmallenberg and the rise in bluetongue cases.

Speaking at NFU Council this week, deputy president Tom Bradshaw said the industry was ‘seeing austerity in action', adding APHA were doing everything it could within its budget, but Government must think how it is going to better resource APHA to deal with these challenges.

NFU dairy board chair, Michael Oakes said he had been told by someone at APHA they were doing some contingency planning for a future foot and mouth outbreak. He said APHA would be 'overwhelmed in hours' with the pressures it currently faces.