The government has rejected an emergency application for the use of a neonicotinoid on sugar beet to help growers stave off virus yellows infection.

The announcement makes it the first time in five years that an emergency authorisation of Cruiser SB has not been approved for use on sugar beet.

Defra said that there was 'clear and abundant evidence' that the neonicotinoid was 'extremely toxic' to pollinators such as bees. The application for emergency authorisation was made by the NFU and British Sugar.

UK wheat imports have been at the highest volumes since records began almost 30 years ago, so far for the 2024-25 crop year.

Wheat imports totalled 1.45m tonnes during the first five months of the season, with merchants and millers keen to get hold of supplies following an exceptionally small UK harvest last year.

The final 2024 UK wheat harvest was just 11.1m tonnes, according to Defra, down by 20% on the previous year.

Next week, from 27-31 January 2025, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science & Technology in Agriculture (APPGSTA) will be hosting an ’Agri-Science Week in Parliament’ exhibit in the Palace of Westminster.

The multi-partner exhibit – staffed by scientists from the John Innes Centre, Rothamsted Research, NIAB, the Roslin Institute and the University of Lincoln - will showcase UK taxpayer-funded research and innovation taking place across a range of sectors and technologies. Located in the Upper Waiting Hall, a main thoroughfare between central lobby and the committee corridors, the initiative will provide a unique opportunity to engage with MPs, Peers and their staff.

APPGSTA chair George Freeman MP said: “This All-Party Group is committed to supporting innovation in farming and food production. Our aim in hosting this exhibit is to help explain why agricultural science and technology are so important to all our futures, particularly to a new intake of MPs who may not immediately think of farming innovation as important to them or their constituents.

The long-awaited ADOPT fund will launch this spring Defra has confirmed, however, it has still not revealed if it will commit to the scheme's £44 million budget as promised by the previous government.

The Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) scheme, promised businesses the opportunity to apply for a share of £44m to test and trial new technology and techniques on farms. However, it, along with several grant programmes were put on hold by Labour.

Speaking at last week's Oxford Farming Conference, Defra Secretary Steve Reed confirmed the scheme would go ahead in the coming weeks funding farmer-led trials ‘to bridge the gap between new technologies and their real-world application'.

The ribbon has been cut on a £1.8 million “vertical farming” innovation centre in a first for Scotland’s higher education sector. Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) said it was stepping up its commitment to global and local food production and security as it officially opened the centre at its Edinburgh campus.

SRUC, which gained taught degree-awarding powers in October, will use the commercial-sized facility to carry out research, as well as educating the food and horticulture scientists, growers and industry experts of tomorrow.

It said students will learn how to grow crops more quickly, or with higher nutritional value, as well as how to grow food using less water. Some 250 times more water is required to grow a lettuce in an open field than in a so-called vertical farm - a method of growing plants and vegetables in layers indoors, using lighting and controlled systems for water, nutrients and temperature.

The UK farming industry has expressed concern following confirmation of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in water buffalo in Germany.

The country's first case of foot-and-mouth disease in 35 years was detected in a herd of water buffalo in Hönow, near Berlin.

A 72-hour animal transport ban has been enacted for the state of Brandenburg, covering cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock.

Tesco has announced plans to recruit two low-carbon concept farms in its UK supply chain, in a bid to provide farmers in their network with a practical demonstration of a route to net zero.

The multi-year commitment will see the farms, which are currently being selected, trial new technologies and share learnings to scale the adoption of sustainable approaches on other holdings.

They will also explore innovation in other areas including soil health, grazing management, biodiversity assessment and management, and genetic improvements.

The government has confirmed that the legislation needed to implement new precision breeding rules will be introduced to parliament by the end of March. Defra Secretary Steve Reed confirmed the timetable for the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 today at the Oxford Farming Conference.

It comes after a cross-party group of MPs sent a letter to the government calling for a clearer time frame for the roll out of the post-Brexit legislation.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture's (APPGSTA) letter was signed by more than 65 politicians, scientists and investors. It followed reports that EU-UK realignment talks could delay or even block plans to press ahead with the new gene editing rules in England.

The UK’s plans to adopt the latest gene editing technology face delays over fears they will clash with EU law if Downing Street strikes an agreement with Brussels to remove border checks on food and plant products.

Two senior EU diplomats told the Financial Times that Brussels has informally warned the UK government that an agreement on cutting such checks would not be compatible with current British plans on gene editing technology.

In a sign of the growing concern in the UK farming industry, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture this week sent a letter, signed by more than 50 leading scientists, politicians and investors, urging UK food minister Daniel Zeichner to commit to a “firm timetable” to introduce the secondary legislation.

The birth of Hilda, an IVF calf from the Dumfries-based Langhill herd, is being hailed as a groundbreaking achievement in the quest for more sustainable farming practices.

Hilda is the first member of her herd to be born through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and is part of the Cool Cows project, which aims to breed cattle that produce significantly less of the greenhouse gas methane, helping to reduce the environmental impact of dairy farming.

Veterinary experts and scientists are calling Hilda’s arrival “hugely significant”, as it could accelerate the dairy industry’s journey towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions. The birth marks a major milestone for the UK dairy sector, as it allows researchers to speed up genetic selection and enhance the breeding of methane-efficient cows.

China has approved five gene-edited crop varieties and 12 types of genetically modified (GM) soybean, corn and cotton, expanding approvals to boost high-yield crops, reduce import reliance, and ensure food security.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs awarded safety certificates to the 17 crop varieties, according to a document on its website on Tuesday.

The approved gene-edited crops include two soybean varieties, and one each of wheat, corn, and rice.

In a press briefing organised by Moredun, the research institute's scientific director and chief executive, Prof Tom McNeilly, addressed the recent fallout surrounding the methane reducing feed additive Bovaer, and why animal health remains an important part of the solution in reducing the livestock industry's methane emissions.

As an institute, Prof McNeilly said Moredun is well aware of the contribution ruminants play in methane emissions and the pressures the industry is facing. However, he said there is ‘no silver bullet' to reduce these emissions, but a number of tools that could be used.

With literature showing methane reducing feed additives could lower methane production by 30%, Prof McNeilly said they are a ‘useful tool in the toolbox', but consumer backlash has been ‘noisy' across the internet and social media. He said: "Consumers are quite suspicious when something is mandated, but it is probably one of the most tested feed additives that there has ever been. In terms of the safety of the milk, I do not think there is any evidence to say the milk is less safe."