Aberystwyth University scientists are developing new artificial intelligence tools that automatically measures plant seed and seed pods in order to breed better crop varieties.

Traditional ways of recording the traits of a plants’ fruit, such as their shape and size, are very labour-intensive, time-consuming, and prone to human error.

Researchers have addressed the challenge with a new AI powered tool that analyses images to recognise seed pods and measure them with high accuracy.

US President Donald Trump has told farmers that he will no longer support solar projects being built on prime agricultural land in a bid to strengthen the nation's food security and to prioritise food production.

On Monday (August 18), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that it will no longer fund taxpayer dollars on solar panels taking land away from growing crops and rearing livestock.

Additionally, USDA said it will block solar projects which use panels manufactured by 'foreign adversaries' in order to protect fertile farmland.

Scientists have developed a honeybee "superfood" that could protect the animals against the threats of climate change and habitat loss. Bee colonies that ate the supplement during trials had up to 15 times more baby bees that grew to adulthood.

Honeybees are a vital part of food production and contribute to pollinating 70% of leading global crops.

"This technological breakthrough provides all the nutrients bees need to survive, meaning we can continue to feed them even when there's not enough pollen," senior author Professor Geraldine Wright at the University of Oxford told BBC News.

In the first-ever UK trial, pod sealant has been successfully applied to a winter bean crop using a drone ahead of harvest.

Pod sealants are typically applied to crops prior to desiccation to reduce shattering of bean pods which become dry and brittle in the run up to harvest.

For millennia, developing resilient crops relied on pollination by nature or humans—making the process long and often costly.

Now, scientists from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have reimagined the pollination process by developing a new system that uses gene editing to create flowers that can be easily pollinated by AI-controlled robots working round the clock.

A beef breeding index that combines improvements in performance efficiency with a reduction in greenhouse gases is not only good for the environment and farm profit.

With enteric methane accounting for 45% of all farm emissions, farmers using the new EnviroBeef index (to be launched this month) will be able to demonstrate that they are working to lower their farm’s impact on climate change.

“Genetics have the potential to reduce carbon footprint through reducing methane emissions via improving herd efficiency,” says says AHDB geneticist Dr Harriet Bunnin.

A UK pilot will utilise AI to help European potato growers cut carbon, boost yields, and restore soil health — all while meeting the demand for regenerative farming.

The project - known as FIRST Potato — Field Intelligence for Regenerative Agriculture and Sustainability in Potato Farming — aims to speed up the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices.

This technology provides predictive analytics and daily, plot-specific recommendations tailored to each farm’s unique soil and microclimate conditions.

Farming robot Thorvald is shifting into top gear, as creator Saga Robotics secures £8.4 million to drive large-scale rollouts in UK fields and US vineyards. The agri-tech innovator has raised the amount in equity funding to accelerate the commercial rollout of its autonomous farming platform, Thorvald.

The robot has moved from a prototype to a fully commercially deployed autonomous solution, already servicing thousands of acres in 2025. Capable of everything from UV-C disease control to high-precision crop data collection, it provides automated services that help growers increase yields, cut labour costs, and reduce chemical inputs.

Climate change is fuelling extreme weather and displacement in key food-producing countries, posing a rising risk to the UK’s food supply, according to new analysis.

The report reveals that £3 billion worth of UK food imports – including staples like rice, tea and mangoes – come from the top 20 countries with the highest levels of climate-related displacement. All are rated as unprepared for climate change.

The Nobel Prize winning scientist behind mRNA vaccine technology has attacked the US health secretary’s plan to effectively cancel the use and development of the science in America.

Speaking exclusively to The Telegraph, Dr Katalin Karikó, said the decision by Robert F Kennedy Jr to cancel $500 million worth of mRNA research and development contracts is “devastating” and reflects a “lack of respect for science.”

Dr Karikó, who received the Nobel Prize in 2023 for her groundbreaking work on messenger RNA, the technology behind the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines, added the decision could have far-reaching consequences.