The National Farmers’ Union has warned of a huge drop in UK-grown crops, including peppers, cucumbers and aubergines, as it becomes too expensive to produce them.

The NFU said producers of crops who use glasshouses are looking at a drop of up to 50% in the amount they can afford to grow because of the crippling increase in the cost of the gas they use for heating.

“The impact is being felt most in the protected crop sectors, that’s aubergines, peppers, cucumbers,” said Minette Batters, the president of the NFU, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “We are already seeing massive contraction, these costs are making it impossible to grow. The only thing is to keep these glasshouses empty.”

Food security was coming under increasing scrutiny as the situation continued to escalate in Ukraine, with concerns of global food shortages.

The war has prompted the EU to look again at its flagship sustainability policies, with the European Commission set to discuss proposals to allow cultivation on set aside land. Despite this, Defra said its policy on food production and the environment would remain unchanged.

Farming industry stalwart Lord Don Curry said the crisis had shattered the ‘laissez-faire’ attitude towards food security, especially as nitrogen fertiliser has hit £1,000/tonne. “This should challenge our self-sufficiency in terms of food and fuel and what our priorities should be,” he added.

More land should be made available for food production considering the uncertain impact on food supply the war in Ukraine will cause, NFU Scotland says.

The union has written to the Scottish government calling for a moratorium on support scheme rules that take land out of food production.

It warned that the aftershocks of Russia's invasion of Ukraine would be felt "well beyond the conflict". Concerns over future supplies have seen wheat futures hit a 14-year high and the wheat market has jumped more than 40% in the last week.

The Swiss parliament has decided to ease restrictions on genetic engineering in agriculture, while extending in principle a moratorium for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) until 2025.

The Senate on Tuesday asked the government to propose details for the use of gene editing techniques on plants and seeds by the middle of 2024.

However, exemptions will only be allowed if they are considered an added value for agriculture, consumers and the environment compared with conventional methods.

U.S. regulators on Monday cleared the way for the sale of beef from gene-edited cattle in coming years after the Food and Drug Administration concluded the animals do not raise any safety concerns.

The cattle by Recombinetics are the third genetically altered animals given the green light for human consumption in the U.S. after salmon and pigs. Many other foods already are made with genetically modified ingredients from crops like soybeans and corn.

The cattle reviewed by the FDA had genes altered with a technology called CRISPR to have short, slick coats that let them more easily withstand hot weather.

Growers in England can use neonicotinoid seed treatments in sugar beet under strict conditions after Defra confirmed the disease threshold for use has been met.

Rothamsted Research modelling has forecast a national virus yellows infection of 68.9% in the absence of any intervention.

This is significantly higher than the required level of 19%, set out by Defra, to trigger the use of Cruiser SB on the 2022 sugar beet crop.

Russia's attack on Ukraine is causing wheat prices to spike, exacerbating already high food prices. Wheat futures were up about 5.35% Tuesday, reaching prices not seen since 2008. The higher prices make wheat more expensive for food makers, who will likely pass those costs on to consumers.

Ukraine and Russia together are responsible for about 14% of global wheat production, according to Gro Intelligence, an agricultural data analytics firm. The two countries supply about 29% of all wheat exports.

Prior to the Russian invasion, Ukraine was on track for a record year of wheat exports, while Russia's wheat exports were slowing, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine threatens global food supplies, Norwegian fertiliser maker Yara International said on Tuesday, adding that the international community needed to reduce its dependence on Russian raw materials for agriculture.

Ukraine and Russia are both major exporters of some of the world's most basic foodstuffs, together accounting for about 29% of global wheat exports, 19% of world corn supplies and 80% of world sunflower oil exports. But Russia also exports crop nutrients as well as natural gas, which is critical for producing nitrogen-based fertilisers. Yara said that in total, 25% of the European supply of the key crop nutrients nitrogen, potash and phosphate come from Russia.

"With the geopolitical conditions out of balance, the biggest sources of raw material to Europe's food production are being subject to limitations, and there are no short-term alternatives," Yara said in a statement.

Government focus on food security should be of 'critical importance' in times of war, Copa and Cogeca has said following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Copa and Cogeca, the EU farmers' organisation, said the European farming community was watching the worsening conflict with 'deep sorrow'.

Russians and Ukrainians are key international agricultural exporters. Ukraine is the EU's fourth biggest external food supplier and provides the EU with a quarter of its cereal and vegetable oil imports, including nearly half of its maize.

A Cornish start-up has developed a technique using artificial intelligence to predict what the surface of the UK looks like under gloomy skies.

The satellite technology is being targeted at the agricultural sector to help farmers better manage their crops. Cloud too often prevents them from seeing the ground to know where and when to sow seed or apply fertiliser. Aspia Space's technology can produce a clear synthetic image of fields in all weathers.

The Penryn-based company is one of a cluster of operators hoping to benefit from the new space economy being built around Spaceport Cornwall, which is due to start launching rockets from Newquay this summer.