Researchers are seeking to improve the breeding of sheep and goats in challenging environments such as hills and uplands.

The £7m study will aid farmers in challenging landscapes, where small ruminants, such as sheep and goats, can thrive.

The international project aims to develop ways to apply genetic selection to improve resilience and efficiency in livestock.

Seaweed is on track to become a potential replacement for some ingredients in the production of ruminant animal feeds, thanks to claims of offering associated benefits from improved meat quality to a reduced carbon footprint.

With seaweed already being successfully utilised by some ruminants in specialist cases, a new Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) involving Davidsons Animal Feeds and the James Hutton Institute, funded by Innovate UK, is exploring the possibilities seaweed could offer to commercial livestock producers.

A future where farmers are properly supported to farm more innovatively and protect the environment is a step closer today following the introduction of the Agriculture Bill.

The landmark legislation introduced today will provide a boost to the industry after years of inefficient and overly bureaucratic policy dictated to farmers by the EU.

It sets out how farmers and land managers in England will in the future be rewarded with public money for “public goods” – such as better air and water quality, higher animal welfare standards, improved access to the countryside or measures to reduce flooding.

The 10 years to the end of 2019 have been confirmed as the warmest decade on record by three global agencies. According to Nasa, Noaa and the UK Met Office, last year was the second warmest in a record dating back to 1850.

The past five years were the hottest in the 170-year series, with the average of each one more than 1C warmer than pre-industrial. The Met Office says that 2020 is likely to continue this warming trend.

British crop production will fall dramatically if climate change causes the collapse of a pattern of ocean currents in the Atlantic, a new study claims.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) brings heat from the tropics, making Britain warmer and wetter than it would otherwise be. University of Exeter scientists show that, while warming Britain is expected to boost food production, if the AMOC collapses it would not just wipe out these gains but cause the “widespread cessation of arable farming” across the country.

Such a collapse – a climate change “tipping point” – would leave Britain cooler, drier and unsuitable for many crops, the study, published in Nature Food, says.

Researchers at the Netherlands-based Wageningen University and Research (WIR) have described a method that can completely replace the organelles (cell internal structures), of one plant with those of another, while the chromosomes remain unchanged.

The organelles comprise chloroplasts, which are essential for photosynthesis, and mitochondria, which generate energy.

There is interest in whether the research, which was conducted using the thale cress plant, leading to improvements in photosynthesis, could be applied more widely to agricultural crops.

Chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef will be kept out of the UK under any trade deal with the US, the environment secretary has promised.

Theresa Villiers told the BBC the current European Union ban on the two foods will be carried over into UK legislation after Brexit.

Until now the UK has been wavering on the issue. But she told BBC Countryfile: “There are legal barriers to the imports and those are going to stay in place.”

Finnish scientists producing a protein "from thin air" say it will compete with soya on price within the decade. The protein is produced from soil bacteria fed on hydrogen split from water by electricity.

The researchers say if the electricity comes from solar and wind power, the food can be grown with near-zero greenhouse gas emissions. If their dreams are realised, it could help the world tackle many of the problems associated with farming.

Farmers will boost productivity and protect the environment post-Brexit as the UK moves away from the 'bureaucratic' Common Agricultural Policy, the Defra Secretary has announced today.

Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference, Theresa Villiers confirmed that the agriculture bill will be introduced to parliament this month.

The bill will highlight how a new approach is to be adopted once the UK leaves the EU, where farmers and land managers are rewarded with public money for ‘public goods’. At the same time, farmers will have 'greater opportunities' to boost their productivity, leading to 'more successful and resilient' farm businesses.

Scotland could be at the forefront of climate-friendly farming as a new report has found Scottish farmers could slash emissions by 38% by 2045.

The report by WWF Scotland said Scotland's agriculture sector could 'comfortably' reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) within the next few decades.

It highlights the most important mitigation measures which can be made on a farm level require 'little or no land use change'. These include measures to improve nitrogen fertiliser use, improvements to animal health and breeding, rotational grazing, feed additives and using legumes to fix nitrogen.