With the cultivation of genetically modified plants banned in nearly all EU countries, the European Commission wants to treat products of the latest lab techniques as equivalent to conventional crops. Governments appear to be getting on board.

The EU has moved a step closer to lifting the stringent regulation of a new generation of genetically modified crops created using new genomic techniques (NGT), with a clear majority of governments signalling support for a Polish compromise proposal.

The European Commission wants to create a new category of genetically modified crops created using modern gene editing techniques that would be subject to light-touch regulation, and treated as largely equivalent to conventional strains. Currently all GMOs are subject to strict safety testing and traceability requirements.

Research group says discovery could lead to new type of environmentally friendly farming.

A biological mechanism that makes plant roots more attractive to soil microbes has been discovered by scientists in the UK. The breakthrough – by researchers at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, Norfolk – opens the door to the creation of crops requiring reduced amounts of nitrate and phosphate fertilisers, they say.

“We can now think of developing a new type of environmentally friendly farming with crops that require less artificial fertiliser,” said Dr Myriam Charpentier, whose group carried out the research.

UK-based plant biotech co Tropic is gearing up to launch non-browning bananas in March and bananas with extended shelf-life by the year end—innovations it says will open up the cut fruit market, cut food waste, unlock new export markets, and reduce shipping costs.

Separately, it is expanding field trials of Cavendish bananas resistant to the devastating fusarium wilt fungal disease (TR4) that is decimating crops around the world.

The EU executive has unveiled a new vision for Europe’s agri-food system by 2040, scaling back its previous, more environmentally ambitious policy in response to mounting farmer protests.

The new approach to agri-food policy presented by the EU Commission on Wednesday focuses on simplifying regulations and making farming an attractive profession once again, rather than raising environmental standards.

With this shift, the Commission moves away from its controversial Farm to Fork strategy, which was the agri-food component of the previous mandate’s flagship policy, the European Green Deal.

Researchers have developed artificial intelligence that offers insights into how emissions associated with UK livestock farming and land use can be reduced.

The new AI tool aims to provide the government with data on how changes in livestock practices could help the UK achieve its 2050 net zero goal.

Key features of the platform include machine learning models designed to estimate methane emissions from livestock farming. The tool also predicts milk productivity and ammonia emissions from dairy farms, as well as analysing how land use and environmental factors influence UK methane emissions.

Sensors that sample cows’ breath while they are feeding in the milking parlour could provide a simpler and more accurate solution to monitoring methane emissions.

The sniffer sensor technology has been developed by Newcastle University as an alternative to current methods, which tend to be costly, invasive, or interfere with cow behaviour.

Work is at the trial stage, says lecturer in ruminant nutrition Dr Hannah Davis. The university’s commercial dairy unit at Nafferton Farm has been used as a test case, and proof-of-concept has been demonstrated for the technology and method of analysis.

Could restoring the environment in one place - say by turning farmland in Europe into a nature reserve - harm plants and animals on the other side of the planet?

An international team of researchers on Thursday said these types of unintended consequences from well-meaning conservation efforts are more common than thought, yet are rarely considered or even properly understood.

In a new study, they warn that reducing farming and forestry in wealthy countries to meet local conservation goals can heap pressure on poorer regions to produce more food and timber. The burden often falls on biodiversity hotspots rich in plant and animal species to make up this shortfall, said the study's lead author, Andrew Balmford.

Almost 1.8 million farmed and captive birds have been culled in the past three months because of the spread of avian flu across the UK, the BBC has learned.

There have been 33 outbreaks of the virus on farms so far, but the risk to humans remains low, with chicken and eggs safe to eat if properly cooked, the government says.

Concerns have been raised about the impact bird flu is having on farmers' mental health, with one saying she was "terrified" of it returning. The government said it had acted quickly to cull all poultry on infected premises "to protect Britain's food security", but recognised the devastating impact it was having.

Scientists say a recent methane-related conspiracy theory was “a wake-up call” for the industry, reminding them they need to communicate better and more directly with the public.

Over the last few months, Bovaer, a cattle feed additive that is proven to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas, has been at the centre of a swirl of misinformation, drawing in Reform UK, the dairy industry and even the billionaire Bill Gates.

The conspiracy kicked off when Arla, the multinational food group best known for Lurpak butter, announced in November it would be running a pilot of Bovaer to reduce the carbon footprint of its products.

Greenhouse gas emissions from farming have now overtaken the UK's electricity supply for first time, according to new government figures. The final UK emissions statistics for 1990-2023 reveal that agriculture now accounts for a higher percentage of the UK’s emissions than electricity.

The Department for Net Zero figures show that domestic transport is the largest emitting sector in the UK, responsible for over a quarter of all emissions. Emissions from agriculture and land use have been flat since 2008, with the industry now accounting for 12% of all of the UK's emissions.

The lack of precision breeding legislation in Wales means the country could be left behind other nations in the race to increase food production and reduce farming’s environmental impacts.

That was the message from NFU Cymru’s crop and horticulture group chairman Tom Rees, addressing the union’s Combinable Crops and Horticulture conference on Wednesday (5 February).

Pointing to England, where Defra secretary Steve Reed has confirmed that secondary legislation on precision breeding will be brought to parliament by the end of March, Mr Rees said that if Wales doesn’t have its own bill, it could spell devastation for the sector.

Calls have been made for the government to introduce a Food Security and Resilience Act to ensure UK food supply is resilient if a national crisis occurs.

The National Preparedness Commission has issued a series of warnings to the government amid ongoing global uncertainty and its potential future impact on food.

The independent group of experts in national crises planning warned that UK food security was in a 'precarious state' in the face of increasing shocks and pressures.