Grass may transfer genes from their neighbors in the same way genetically modified crops are made, a new study has revealed.

Research, led by the University of Sheffield, is the first to show the frequency at which grasses incorporate DNA from other species into their genomes through a process known as lateral gene transfer.

The stolen genetic secrets give them an evolutionary advantage by allowing them to grow faster, bigger or stronger and adapt to new environments quicker.

Nineteen projects developing automation and robotic technologies for the farming industry will receive a share of £12.5 million in new government funding.

Robots, drones and automated vehicles will receive funding as part of a bid to increase food productivity while enhancing sustainable farming practices.

The projects are funded through Defra's Farming Futures Automation and Robotics competition, which is part of the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP).

Yorkshire pig producer Rob Beckett has written to Defra minister Mark Spencer MP, urging the UK Government to speed up plans to allow the commercial use of precision breeding techniques in farmed animals.

The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act was granted Royal Assent in March this year, paving the way for gene edited crops and livestock to be introduced on farms in England.

One of the first potential applications in livestock could be PRRS resistant pigs, bred using gene edited traits developed by scientists at the University of Missouri in the US, and the Roslin Institute in the UK.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture has welcomed the progress made at today’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) Board meeting towards a more streamlined regulatory approval process for food and feed products developed using precision breeding techniques such as gene editing.

The Group’s chair, Julian Sturdy MP, said the FSA’s proposals were in line with the progressive regulatory approaches applied in other countries such as Canada, Argentina and Japan, and could pave the way for England to take a leading position in the research, development and commercialisation of precision bred products.

“The All-Party Group first led the way in calling for new precision breeding techniques such as gene editing to be removed from the scope of restrictive GMO rules inherited from the EU. A milestone was reached in March this year with the passing into law of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act. Streamlining the approval process to be applied under the Act to precision bred food and feed products is an important next step towards unlocking the enormous potential of these technologies for more sustainable, productive and climate resilient agriculture,” he said.

Plant breeders have welcomed proposals by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for a new streamlined, science-led approach to regulating gene-edited crops in England. An FSA board meeting on Wednesday 20 September discussed plans for the regulation of precision bred food and feed products under the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023.

Until recently, it was believed the FSA was planning to require a separate risk assessment, expert committee scrutiny, public consultation, approval by both Houses of Parliament and secretary of state sign-off for every precision-bred product.

Mirroring the regulatory process already adopted in Canada, and the approach proposed by the EU Commission in July, the FSA is now recommending a move away from the lengthy regulated products process currently applied to GMOs, novel foods and irradiated foods.

A UK study has for the first time demonstrated in evidence the importance of GWP* for more accurately assessing the climate impact of livestock methane.

The environmental impact of a pasture-based beef system was assessed using an unprecedented range of factors, metrics, assessments and scenarios, including GWP*, which showed a huge effect on results.

When applying GWP*, the study showed that the warming impact of methane emitted by UK livestock could be much less than currently reported. Published in Environmental Research, the new research was undertaken by UK scientists at eight institutions.

A Scots MSP has called on the Scottish Government to make a U-turn over its opposition to gene editing.

Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, warned its “narrow minded” approach towards genetic technology could harm food security.

Speaking at Holyrood yesterday, he said: “The agriculture industry in Scotland needs clear direction on future farming policies including the use of gene editing to create crops better suited to the changing climate here in Scotland, and help reduce any negative impacts of biodiversity.

Defra has said it is 'committed' to addressing concerns over the potential loss of parallel imports and seed treatments by ensuring new measures are in place soon.

The farming industry is seeking to address two crucial issues simultaneously; the loss of access to certain seed treatments and the withdrawal of permits for the import of parallel plant protection products (PPPs). Currently, post-Brexit arrangements in place to access both parallel imports and seed treatments are due to end this year.

This week, Farming Minister Mark Spencer confirmed that Defra was "preparing to lay secondary legislation in autumn" to "extend transitional arrangements for the import of treated seeds from the EU and EEA and will also include provisions to address the important issue of parallel imports."

Scientists at a sustainable farming think tank have submitted a complaint to the BBC about alleged pro-organic farming bias.

Science for Sustainable Agriculture (SSA) has written to BBC director general Tim Davies to challenge “misleading and factually inaccurate assertions” in relation to farming in the BBC’s online Bitesize revision guides aimed at GCSE students in England and National 5 students in Scotland.

Throughout the guides, it is repeatedly stated that organic farming has a less harmful effect on the environment, is less polluting, and uses more “natural” methods than non-organic farming.

Where is the pork industry on its path to a PRRS-resistant pig? Matt Culbertson, chief operating officer at PIC, says the industry is entering the final chapter of the story before the opportunity to commercialize pig genetics that are resistant to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). These pigs were developed utilizing non-transgenic gene editing to inactivate a specific gene, CD163, that exists in the pig and allows PRRS infection to occur.

“We are at the point of finalizing regulatory approval activities in multiple geographies around the globe that should allow the necessary framework for not only production in many key pork producing countries, like the U.S., but also for uninterrupted global movement of pork products,” Culbertson said during a presentation at the Carthage Swine Conference.

PIC is scaling up its own internal production of the PRRS-resistant populations to be ready for the potential launch.