Farmers and growers across England are being asked to help shape a major government-backed review into farming profitability, led by former NFU president Baroness Minette Batters.

In an open letter published this week, Baroness Batters urged industry bodies to identify the biggest barriers to farm profitability and submit evidence and practical solutions by 11 July.

“I want to be radical and embrace ‘blue sky thinking’ about what can be done differently,” she said. “But the solutions must be deliverable in the world we live in – not the world we’d like to live in.”

Defra and Apha would struggle to cope with a more severe outbreak of animal disease owing to a lack of Government planning, a new report has revealed.

The latest study from National Audit Office (NAO) said factors such as climate change and anti-microbial resistance mean disease outbreaks are becoming increasingly frequent, leaving livestock more vulnerable. Yet despite this, the Government lacked an action plan to improve resilience or meet the challenges.

A new campaign is urging the government to ensure that British food and farming are fairly and accurately represented in the school curriculum.

The campaign, launched by the NFU, follows the government’s announcement last summer of a long-overdue review of the national curriculum.

The NFU says it sees this as an opportunity to embed a more accurate understanding of agriculture, sustainability, and food systems into classroom learning.

To meet the European Green Deal’s target of reaching 25% organic agriculture by 2030, researchers advocate for permitting new genomic techniques (NGTs) — such as gene editing — without requiring pre-market authorization, both in organic and conventional farming. While NGTs are currently classified as GMOs, they involve more precise and limited genetic changes.

In an opinion paper published May 30 in Cell Reports Sustainability (Cell Press), the authors argue that NGTs could accelerate the development of crops that are more climate-resilient, higher yielding, and less dependent on fertilizers and pesticides.

“This is an excellent opportunity to modernize European agriculture, to make it more science based, and to support the goal of improving sustainability inside the European Union,” says first author Alexandra Molitorisová, a food law researcher at the University of Bayreuth.

Scientists are racing to develop the innovations that could save British farming from disaster as the UK faces its harshest drought in nearly 70 years.

As the UK sees its driest spring since 1956, researchers at the James Hutton Institute have highlighted their vital role in helping agriculture cope and to prepare for future challenges.

Cutting-edge techniques such as marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, gene editing, and precision breeding are used to identify and tweak genes that control drought response. Meanwhile, drones and sensors provide real-time monitoring to accelerate development of climate-resilient crops in field conditions.

A parched spring has left UK crops under stress, with key cereals already showing signs of reduced yield and farmers bracing for a challenging harvest.

This is according to the latest analysis from AHDB and RSK ADAS Ltd, which warns that the prolonged spell of dry weather has put considerable strain on crop development.

As of late May, only 36% of winter wheat crops were rated in good or excellent condition, a significant drop from 60% just one month earlier.

Global wheat yields are around 10% lower than they would have been without the influence of climate change, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research, which analysed climate and crop data over the past 50 years, highlights the growing impact of hotter and drier conditions on staple crops worldwide.

The study, referenced in reports by Carbon Brief and other outlets, used climate datasets and crop models to compare yields with and without climate change effects across key grain-producing countries including China, the EU, Russia, the US, Canada, Argentina, and Brazil.

According to the findings, yields for barley fell by 12-14%, wheat by 8-12%, and maize by around 4%. The impact on soya beans was less clear, with reductions ranging between 2% and 8%, while rice yields showed mixed results.

Domestic wheat growers could be set to lose a vital market if Associated British Foods decides to shut down Vivergo Fuels, its bioethanol plant near Hull, East Yorkshire.

The company has indicated that, following the US trade deal, the site could be forced to shut within a matter of weeks if the government does not intervene and stop the UK being undercut by cheaper US ethanol imports.

Vivergo Fuels is the UK’s largest bioethanol plant. It is capable of processing more than 1m tonnes of wheat annually, the equivalent to 9% of the total UK wheat crop last year. The plant is also the UK’s largest single source animal feed supplier, producing roughly 400,000t of feed, alongside 420m litres of bioethanol.

Farmers have said they face losing harvests because crucial agricultural chemicals will be banned under Labour’s deal with the European Union.

The UK will have to ban almost 30 widely used pesticides and fungicides after Sir Keir Starmer committed Britain to following EU laws.

Growers warned that removing them could lead to significant falls in food production, further eroding their already tight profit margins.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science & Technology in Agriculture has launched a two-month call for evidence to support its 30:50:50 Innovation Agenda.

It aims to increase domestic food production by 30% by 2050, while reducing UK agriculture’s environmental footprint by 50% in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use and soil health.

The aim is to help farmers “produce more from less”, by harnessing the latest advances in agricultural science and innovation.

Farming leaders have welcomed an "improved trading relationship" with the EU - but stressed the need to protect the UK's progress on precision crop breeding legislation.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “The government’s ambition to make it easier for the sector to trade with our largest overseas partner is welcome. There remain important questions about what is within the scope of this agreement and, where current rules and regulations do differ, if there will be any exclusions.

"As negotiations in this area continue, it’s vital that our government safeguards the progress we have made in policy areas such as precision breeding to enable the farming sector to continue to move forward in sustainable, resilient and innovative food production."

An animal health company has called on the UK Government and food supply chain industry to support and promote the use of new technologies to enhance animal health and welfare.

MSD Animal Health says this greater support for technology will help to improve production efficiencies, and to safeguard the sustainability and economic viability of livestock farming businesses in the UK.

As part of a campaign to highlight the benefits of using new technologies to automatically monitor the behaviour, productivity and reproductive status of various livestock species, MSD Animal Health has published a technical white paper to illustrate how these technologies can benefit farmers, the supply chain and end consumers.