If the European Union would take a more 'science-led' attitude to genetically modified crops, it could hugely reduce its use of pesticides.

According to 'consumer advocacy group' the Consumer Choice Center, it is time to reassess the existing EU regulation of biotechnology.

In an open letter to Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, the pro-GM campaigners emphasised the benefits of a 'pro-consumer, pro-science and pro-innovation approach'.

A new partnership between Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and ADAS plans to give farmers greater access to independent advice backed by world-leading research and innovation.

The joint venture will see SRUC and ADAS pool their expertise to offer farmers a UK-wide agricultural and rural knowledge service – including a new digital platform, consultancy services, education and training courses for the food and farming sectors.

ADAS has 400 staff working across England and Wales. SRUC’s SAC Consulting arm has 24 offices across Scotland and Northern England. It offers a range of specialisms in soil nutrition, livestock and agronomy, branding and marketing of food products, and analytical testing.

The Tenant Farmers’ Association (TFA) has accused ex-Defra adviser Professor Sir Ian Boyd of lying, after he claimed livestock farmers were being paid by the Government to damage the environment.

It is not the first time Sir Ian, who was the department’s chief scientific adviser from 2012 to 2019, has caused controversy in the farming community. In 2018, he shocked attendees of the IAFRI Metaldehyde Conference by saying the UK’s agriculture system was designed in the 19th century and ‘has not changed much since’. And in November last year, farm groups criticised his call for people to cut down on eating red meat in order to meet the 2050 net zero emissions target.

Now Sir Ian has said to The Guardian: “Most of the livestock production in the UK is unprofitable without public subsidy. The public are subsidising the production of livestock to produce environmental damage, all the way from greenhouse gas emissions to water pollution. Why should we continue to do that? It is not sensible.”

Farmers could be getting yields up to 15t/ha out of their wheat harvests, newly published research shows.

The crop’s untapped potential was discovered in a research simulation conducted by Rothamsted Research, which showed that wheat yields in the UK could be increased by 50%, while yields in some European countries could be increased by 90%.

When comparing the performance of computer-modelled “idealised” gene-edited wheat plants and locally adapted cultivars in millions of different simulations, a significant “genetic yield gap” was found.

Being able to produce crops 365 days a year, without the need for pesticides or much human intervention, while being unaffected by the weather, will appeal to many growers after such a prolonged, wet autumn.

Vertical farming – sometimes called indoor farming – is the practice of growing plants under fully controlled conditions in buildings in many stacked layers, without solar light. Unlike glasshouse production, which relies on sunlight, it makes use of LED lighting to provide different wavelengths of light, according to crop and growth stage need.

And it’s a fast-growing sector. Worldwide, it was worth £1.72bn in 2018, with experts predicting that will rise to £9.84bn by 2026. Japan and the US are leading the way, but other countries are catching on.

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