The UK is to rejoin the EU's flagship scientific research scheme, Horizon, the government has announced. UK-based scientists and institutions will be able to apply for money from the £81bn (€95bn) fund from today.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: "With a wealth of expertise and experience to bring to the global stage, we have delivered a deal that enables UK scientists to confidently take part in the world's largest research collaboration programme."

Tesco has announced an expansion of its trial of low-carbon fertilisers to drive a tenfold increase in the number of hectares being cultivated by them. It comes as conventional fertiliser costs have risen by as much as 140% last year, alongside the closure of the UK’s last remaining fertiliser plant.

During the first year of the trial, 1,300 hectares of land were cultivated using eight different low-carbon fertilisers. Six of them are manufactured in the UK from material including food waste, chicken litter, fire extinguisher waste and algae. According to the supermarket chain's initial results, they were just as effective as conventional fertilisers while slashing emissions by up to 50%.

Asda has become the first British retailer to stock salad grown in vertical farms in a move to 'improve sustainability'.

The supermarket chain announced today (6 September) it would stock a range of bagged salad nationally and online.

According to the retailer, the salad is grown using 90% less water than 'traditional farming', while powered by '100% renewable energy'.

A project to understand bone health in laying hens aims to support their health and welfare, and inform breeding selection as industry moves towards non-caged systems.

Outcomes from the US$3m international study will inform the selection of hens suited to egg production, whose breastbones are vulnerable to fractures, especially in non-caged birds.

The collaboration led by Roslin scientists aims to develop a process of directly assessing the health of a chicken’s keel bone, or sternum.

Bayer has invested EUR 220 million in regenerative agriculture research and development (R&D) at its Monheim site. This is the company's largest single investment in its Crop Protection business in Germany since the founding of the Monheim campus in 1979.

The new Product Safety complex with labs, offices, and a greenhouse area offers space for approximately 200 employees. Its principal focus will be on developing the next generation of chemicals for a sustainable future and enhancing the environmental and human safety of Crop Protection.

A return to regenerative agricultural practices can work in harmony with the use of agri-technology, according to 89 per cent of respondents to a recent survey. The survey, carried out by The Institute of Agricultural Management (IAgrM), also found 86 per cent of farmers and agricultural industry professionals believe cost is the biggest barrier to the use of technology on-farm.

The majority of respondents said they were already using regenerative practices, with 61 per cent using minimal or no-till, 48 per cent using diverse cropping rotations, 44 per cent integrating livestock into arable systems, and 29 per cent providing constant soil cover through the use of stubble or cover crops.

It was a similar picture for the uptake of technology, with 63 per cent using farm management planning and recording software, 45 per cent using telematics and GPS tracking, 42 per cent using livestock technology, and 41% using precision agronomic support systems.

China's farm ministry on Thursday said large trials of genetically modified corn and soybeans showed "outstanding" results and that application of the technology was completely safe.

The trials in 20 counties in the provinces of Yunnan, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, and Sichuan showed "outstanding" insect resistance and herbicide resistance, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The control of Lepidoptera pests such as Spodoptera frugiperda, also known as fall armyworm, was over 90%, it said, while 95% of weeds were prevented.
It also said the yields were up by between 5.6% and 11.6%.

Climate change in the Mediterranean is set to threaten the UK’s supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, according to a new report from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).

The group warned extreme heat in the region has already led to drought, damaged crops and reduced yields, with food shortages and price rises expected in future.

In 2022, just over a quarter of UK food imports – worth more than £16bn – came from the Mediterranean.

Moredun Research Institute are leading a project to develop a parasitic worm vaccine. Part of an international partnership with the University of Glasgow, the James Hutton Institute, and Australian based, University of New England the project, which is worth £6 million, will be carried out over five years.

The vaccine will target gastrointestinal nematodes, which cost the UK sheep industry approximately £4 per lamb. The parasitic worms live in the gut and have a major impact on animal production, in terms of reduced weight gain and treatment costs.

Improved rural connectivity could boost the UK economy by over £65 billion, new economic modelling has found.

The report, titled ‘The Great Rural Revival’, addresses four sectors central to the UK’s rural economy – tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, and small businesses.

It finds connectivity improvements could boost rural employment by 6.8%, creating an additional 284,000 new jobs.