Many genetically modified foods could in future be sold unlabelled on European supermarket shelves, according to an unpublished legislative proposal by the European Commission.

A draft commission regulation, not yet published but seen by dpa, would exempt certain genetically-modified plants from the EU’s strict ruled on genetic engineering. The proposal is expected to be officially presented in July.

The planned rule changes meant that processes such as CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing would not be subject to EU genetic engineering rules.

Scottish farm leaders have called for the 'urgent approval' of the herbicide Asulox for use to control bracken this year due to the lack of alternatives.

NFU Scotland, Scottish Land & Estates and Bracken Control Group have urged the Scottish government to reauthorise Asulox (asulam) to control bracken.

An aggressive and invasive weed, there are reports that it is growing frantically throughout the hillsides of Scotland. Where bracken grows, the land is unproductive, and it is also a risk to livestock health due to the abundance of ticks.

Farmers are being urged to displace imported soya with home-grown bean crops due to the environmental and agronomic benefits they bring.

The Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Arable Cropping Systems (NCS) project has a goal of instigating a reduction of 1.5Mt CO2e per annum. NCS is a consortium of UK companies, research institutes and farmer networks, led by the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO).

They are working together to bring about the reduction, which is calculated as 54% of the maximum potential for UK agriculture. To do this, the four-year £5.9m research project will work to increase pulse cropping in arable rotations to 20% across the UK - currently 5% - and develop and test new feed rations. This will help livestock farmers to substitute up to 50% of imported soya meal used in feed with more climate-friendly home-grown pulses and legumes.

The UK pig sector has achieved a remarkable milestone after reducing total antibiotic use by 75% over an eight year period, new figures show.

Last year alone, there was a 20% decline in antibiotic usage for treating pigs on farms, according to data collected by AHDB using the electronic Medicine Book (eMB).

Antibiotic use in 2022 stood at 70mg/PCU, a significant improvement compared with 87mg/PCU in 2021.

A natural weather event known as El Niño has begun in the Pacific Ocean, likely adding heat to a planet already warming under climate change.

US scientists confirmed that El Niño had started. Experts say it will likely make 2024 the world's hottest year. They fear it will help push the world past a key 1.5C warming milestone.

It will also affect world weather, potentially bringing drought to Australia, more rain to the southern US, and weakening India's monsoon. The event will likely last until next spring, after which its impacts will recede.

The NFU has called for the wider adoption of GWP* - a global warming measurement metric - following studies on its accuracy when measuring the impact of methane.

The union said the government needed to make sure that greenhouse gas emissions were calculated "in as accurate a way as possible".

This would, in turn, help farmers to better understand and reduce methane emissions, the NFU explained.

Scientists in the UK are developing peas that don't taste like peas.

No, this isn't a crafty plan to get children to eat their veggies. As more and more people turn to plant-based food, they are hoping to produce a more planet-friendly, home-grown alternative to importing soya beans.

Peas are high in protein, but it is hard to mask their taste when they are used as a meat substitute in large amounts in vegan dishes. Scientists discovered a gene for pea flavour 30 years ago. The research was stopped as there was no use for it. Now it could be the basis of a new industry.

Up to £30 million has been awarded to new farming projects which aim to boost UK food production sustainably, the government has confirmed. The funding, set to be awarded to 58 projects, is part of Defra's Farming Innovation Programme, run alongside UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) and Innovate UK.

Projects to benefit include FungiAlert, which seeks to develop biopesticides using fungal strains to help tackle pests in wheat and to pin-point the genetics for creating slug resistant wheat.

Others have a more sustainability focus, with Defra awarding genetics firm Genus over £2m to spearhead research to reduce methane emissions in cattle by 17% per generation. And Synergy Farm Health has been awarded nearly £400,000 to carry out a longitudinal study with an antibody test to detect bovine TB in bulk milk.

Rothamsted Research will receive more than £60m in new funding to help spearhead important agricultural and food security research.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has announced it is going to fund strategically important research at Rothamsted over the next five years.

The projects will centre around crop resilience, nutrition and health, food safety and food security, with a focus on more sustainable farming.

A High Court judge has rejected a legal challenge brought by animal welfare campaigners over the use of fast-growing broiler chickens for meat consumption.

The Humane League UK, which brought the legal challenge, had argued fast-growing breeds suffer health and welfare problems. The campaign group claimed conventional meat birds, which they say grow unnaturally large and fast, breach 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. The UK has some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and all farm animals, including broilers, are protected by “robust animal health and welfare legislation”, it said.