Israeli researchers say they have developed gene-edited hens that lay eggs from which only female chicks hatch. The breakthrough could prevent the slaughter of billions of male chickens each year, which are culled because they don't lay eggs.

The female chicks, and the eggs they lay when they mature, have no trace of the original genetic alteration. Animal welfare group, Compassion in World Farming, has backed the research.

The development and application of agricultural technologies must become a priority for the UK government if the farming sector is to achieve net zero, new research warns.

The government has put forward the ambitious plan of delivering net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, while at the same time increasing the quality and quantity of agricultural production. The NFU has pushed for an even more progressive target and is aiming for English and Welsh agriculture to reach net-zero emissions by 2040.

However, a report by Bayer Crop Science and the Agri-EPI Centre warns that unless the government revamps its approach to innovation and the implementation of agri-tech, its net-zero ambitions are at risk of failure.

PepsiCo has opened its first UK oat testing lab, in partnership with the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), to help Quaker Oats growers to produce high-quality oats while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and maximising yield.

The new laboratory is located at plant science research organisation NIAB in Cambridge. According to PepsiCo, expert crop researchers will use the grain quality testing facilities at the site “to test and analyse thousands of oat samples from regenerative agricultural trials for milling and nutritional requirements”.

The data collected from the lab will be used in PepsiCo research initiatives, including the company’s Opti-Oat Crop Intelligence programme, which offers information and insights on how to grow “the perfect oat”.

The UK should increase visas for seasonal workers as part of a drive to cultivate as much food as possible domestically, a former chief of MI5 has said.

Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller, who led the domestic intelligence service from 2002 to 2007, said in a lecture that security of food supplies would fit within the government’s own definition of national security. She said she believed this meant strengthening domestic supply.

“We need to acknowledge that we should produce as much of our own food as we can, with due regard to sustainability, and be able to export what we can,” the former director-general of the Security Service told members of the National Farmers’ Union.

A collaboration project in the malting barley industry aims to use regenerative agricultural techniques to cut crop carbon emissions by half in just five years.

Set up by global beverage company Suntory, malt supplier Muntons, consultancy firm Future Food Solutions and a group of farmers lead by Dewing Grain, the project will explore how barley can be grown in a more sustainable way to reduce emissions and protect watersources.

Starting from the 2022 autumn drilling campaign, the trial will see a group of 16 Norfolk farmers set a baseline for all crop-related emissions across a 160ha area. Data will be collected to design a programme that seeks to reduce emissions, enhance soil health and protect water, while maintaining crop performance and grain quality.

Could the key to feeding the world with a changing climate be hiding in a 300-year-old museum collection? That's one of the hopes of scientists combing through 12,000 specimens of wheat and its relatives held in the Natural History Museum's archives.

The most promising samples are having their genomes sequenced in a bid to identify the genetic secrets of hardier wheat varieties. Climate change and pests and diseases are putting the crop under pressure.

An action plan to boost British farming's productivity has been launched in the House of Lords, with the report criticising that science is 'often slow' to be applied at the farm level.

The Application of Science report puts forward recommendations needed to deliver science more quickly to tackle food security, net zero and biodiversity challenges.

One of the key insights from the report is that the path from scientific discovery to on-farm application in the UK is 'fragmented'. Unlike France, Germany, US and most other industrialised countries, the UK does not have a public or private entity clearly responsible for application of science in agriculture.

Farm leaders and scientists have signed an open statement to show support for livestock provisions in the Precision Breeding Bill.

Industry groups including the NFU, National Pig Association and the Roslin Institute have signed an open statement of support for the bill currently going through parliament.

The letter highlights the potential role of new breeding technologies such as gene editing in delivering 'more sustainable, high-welfare' UK livestock production. It includes an expression of support for the inclusion of livestock, noting that the bill does not seek to replace or change existing farm animal welfare regulations.

A new £1.5 million crop research centre has opened which will see researchers use gene-editing technology to improve the resilience and sustainability of crops.

Opening at the University of Warwick, the Elizabeth Creak Horticultural Technology Centre (ECHTC) will use the technique to improve UK crop production.

According to the university, the centre seeks to address issues relating to disease resistance, crop yields, adaptability to climate change and nutritional value in horticultural plants.

The prospect of gene-edited foods hitting supermarket shelves in Scotland has moved a step closer after SNP ministers relaxed their opposition provided scientists can demonstrate it is safe.

The SNP has long opposed genetic modification of food to protect the “clean, green brand of Scotland’s £15 billion food and drink industry”.

However, scientists have developed a process of gene editing which improves crops using their existing genetics, without introducing the foreign genes more commonly associated with genetic modification.