AgrotechA World Agri-Tech panel in London said driverless tractors will spread only as fast as implements from different brands can work with them, with data ownership another hurdle.
CropsThe BBSRC-backed Temp-Resist Rice project will search traditional varieties and wild relatives for heat-tolerance traits, focusing on pollen failure at flowering.
LivestockAFBI's three-year Forage-S project will compare mixed swards with perennial ryegrass across soils and weather, and feed the results into its GrazeGro growth model.
An 11-strong Chinese delegation and four US food-service buyers toured UK farms and processors; China takes nearly 40% of UK pigmeat exports, much of it offal.
LivestockAverage animals per batch dropped from 29 in 2013 to 17 in 2024, and only 34% of vaccines released in the UK now need any animal testing, against 74% in 2013.
EnvironmentA technical clash with its existing SFI23 agreement stopped the GWCT's Allerton Project submitting an £85,000-a-year application before the £253m window closed in under six hours.
AgrotechA UK-Japan team showed how a new class of wheat receptors lures blast-fungus effectors, and bioengineered them to recognise the pathogen on both wheat and barley.
EnvironmentA two-year FarmGate Nutrient Balance Programme on 145 farms found an average phosphorus balance of -0.5 kg/ha, against modelled surpluses of 6.2 kg/ha, while nitrogen stayed in surplus.
AgribusinessThe consultant's model arable farm would lose £83/ha from farming in 2026 without £122/ha of SFI income, and it forecasts UK farm income falling to about £6.1bn after a drought costing £1bn-£1.5bn.
LivestockWith midges still active and BTV-3 expected to overwinter, the UK's chief vet and farm vets urge dairy farmers to vaccinate, including youngstock, as vaccine supplies improve.
A €5.5 million, five-year Horizon Europe project with 20 partners will build regional hubs linking legume growers, processors and livestock farmers, as a quarter of EU feed protein is still imported.
LivestockWith more than 1,600 BTV-3 cases in Great Britain this season and eight in the Republic of Ireland, DAERA Minister Andrew Muir says clinical cases are likely to emerge in Northern Ireland and urges vaccination.
CropsA University of Aberdeen and James Hutton Institute study found varieties such as Optic suppress ammonia-oxidising microbes by up to 30%, a heritable trait breeders could select to cut nitrogen losses.
