Tesco is to trial a methane-reducing feed supplement in a bid to lower the carbon footprint of its milk producers.

The retailer announced its new plan in partnership with one of its key UK dairy suppliers, Grosvenor Farms in Cheshire - one of the original members of the Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group (TSDG) - where 400 cows will now have the supplement added to their feed.

The feed will incorporate an ingredient called Bovaer® Supplied by dsm-firmenich, it has been shown to decrease methane emissions by up to 30%. If implemented across the whole of Grosvenor Farms, it could lead to an overall reduction in farm greenhouse gas emissions of up to 12%.

The EU’s food safety authority (EFSA) said that the Commission’s criteria to relax rules on certain gene-edited foods are ‘scientifically justified’, while the Hungarian Council Presidency is pulling the brakes on the file.

Following a request of the European Parliament, EFSA published on Wednesday (10 July) an assessment of a 2023 opinion by the French food safety agency (ANSES) that questioned the Commission’s criteria to split crops produced using New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) into two categories, one of the founding elements in the proposal.

The French agency raised concerns on this point, saying that the criteria used to consider NGT 1 crops as equivalent to their conventional counterparts had “no scientific basis”. EFSA, however, concluded that the Commission’s standards – largely based on the number of genetic modifications in the crop – are “scientifically justified”.

Gene editing could help speed the widespread adoption of regenerative farming practices through introducing desirable traits into crop plants faster. This is according to Prof Giles Oldroyd, director of the Crop Science Centre at the University of Cambridge.

He was speaking on a panel about the potential risks and rewards of gene editing for sustainable food and farming at Groundswell. Giles highlighted that current breeding was targeted for high input farming and meant that the traits suited and required within a regenerative system were often completely absent currently.

“We need to adapt our crop plants to a regen farming system to maximise performance,” he said. “Currently, regen farmers have a choice of either growing a generally underperforming heirloom variety like spelt – which was last genetically improved in the early 1900s – or use a green revolution variety that’s bred for highly intensive agriculture.”

The supermarket retailer, Morrisons, has partnered with Sea Forest, a science-based environmental technology company, to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle. Sea Forest will work exclusively with Morrisons to supply its methane abating livestock feed, to help fast track the introduction of lower carbon beef products such as mince, burgers, steaks and joints onto the retailer's shelves.

The partnership supports Morrisons ambition to achieve net zero agriculture emissions from its directly supplied farms by 2030, and if successfully approved, customers should see products on Morrisons shelves by 2026.

Finalists for The Earthshot Prize, a prestigious award launched by Prince William in 2020, Sea Forest have already collaborated with an Australian burger chain, to introduce a beef burger made from grass-fed black Aberdeen-Angus cattle that produce 67% less methane emissions. According to Sea Forest, when just 0.5% of the methane abating livestock feed product is included in an animal's diet, it is scientifically proven to reduce methane production, without impacting the product's taste or quality.

Agri-tech firm Saga Robotics has announced a significant expansion of its Thorvald robotic services across the UK for the upcoming growing season.

With newly established hubs across the country, Saga has become a provider of autonomous robotic services, with hopes of setting a new standard for efficient strawberry production.

The agri-tech firm is operating on an area four times larger than last season due to strategic expansion and collaboration with nine leading strawberry growers.

Three regenerative farming research projects which have been co-designed with farmers are starting to produce results, visitors to Groundswell were told.

All are addressing how to balance food production with positive outcomes for biodiversity and climate, using farm sites and existing farming knowledge to assess the effects and risks of changing practices.

Among the findings to come from the H3 project is that the use of regenerative practices is resulting in a 70% increase in earthworm numbers, along with a reduction in fertiliser and insecticide use, said Katherine Berthon of Cambridge University.

As the general election approaches, the major political parties have emphasised the importance of domestic food security, and the need to achieve a better balance between farming and the environment.

But the critical role of agricultural science and innovation in delivering those objectives has scarcely been mentioned.

Here, five members of the pro-innovation think tank Science for Sustainable Agriculture set out their top policy recommendations for the next government.

If the European Union chooses to invest in gene edited crops, the Scottish government would not follow suit according to First Minister John Swinney.

The SNP leader spoke to The SF confirming the party’s opinion on the issue during his visit of The Royal Highland Show alongside minister for agriculture Jim Fairlie.

“The SNP’s stance is not to pursue GE. Even if they wish to in Europe, it is not in our interest,” Mr Swinney explained. “Here in Scotland we produce a high quality of produce and I would not like to take away from that.”

The Danish government will introduce Europe’s first carbon tax on agriculture, after a five-month negotiation with farming and conservation groups ended in a historic agreement on Monday night.

From 2030 farmers will have to pay 120 Danish krone (€16) per metric ton of emitted carbon dioxide equivalent, rising to 300 krone (€40) from 2035 onwards.

The government will also provide €5.3 billion to reforest 250,000 hectares of agricultural land by 2045, set aside 140,000 of lowland by 2030, and buy out certain farms to reduce nitrogen emissions.

Three leading carbon calculator providers have agreed to harmonise their different methodologies for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions on farm.

Farm Carbon Toolkit, Agrecalc, and Cool Farm Alliance have all signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which will see the companies work closer together on their carbon calculation products.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw took to social media to welcome the initiative. He said: “Harmonisation of carbon calculators is absolutely essential in delivering accurate, repeatable and representative results.”

Plant scientists are demanding the next government prioritise the introduction of gene editing, to help accelerate the development of crops with increased yields, improved climate resilience and reduced environmental footprints.

Niab chief executive Mario Caccamo told a Westminter Forum on Monday (17 June) that, despite the Precision Breeding Act being passed more than a year ago, the required secondary legislation had not yet been implemented.

Even though Defra and Food Standards Agency officials had prepared the necessary implementing rules, the “unexpected hiatus” caused by the early general election announcement had derailed the process. Prof Caccamo said that was “hugely disappointing”. Without the secondary legislation, the Act remains an “empty shell” and serves no functional purpose.

Italy launches first field trial for gene-edited crops

Researchers from the University of Milan have initiated Italy’s first field trial of gene-edited crops. Small fragments of DNA were removed from an elite variety of rice commonly used in risotto to enhance its resistance against the rice blast disease, a severe threat to cereal crops globally.

The new field trial, launched on the 13th of May 2024 at a farm near Pavia in Italy, covers a modest 28 square meters but marks a significant leap in European biotechnological research. This is the result of a fruitful collaboration between Vittoria Brambilla and Fabio Fornara of the University of Milan, Sophien Kamoun from The Sainsbury Laboratory (Norwich, UK) and Thorsten Langner from the Max-Planck-Institute for Biology in Germany.