Climate change is causing UK plants to flower almost a month earlier on average, according to a study. Just as autumn leaf fall is being delayed by warmer weather, flowers are appearing earlier on trees and shrubs.

But while some might welcome these untimely blooms, scientists are warning of the risks. They say if the trend continues, there are knock-on effects for birds, insects and whole ecosystems.

Ecological mismatch may kick in, which would have a dramatic effect "on the functioning and productivity" of nature and farming, said lead researcher, Prof Ulf Buntgen of the University of Cambridge.

More than a dozen universities which offer courses in agriculture are collaborating in setting out the farming industry's future research priorities. Sixteen universities have agreed to establish the new Agricultural Universities Council (AUC) which will engage with the government on policy.

The initiative responds to calls for more joined-up research as the UK agricultural industry goes through a rapid post-Brexit transition. The AUC's first project will be to map existing agricultural research capacity across the UK for the first time in a decade.

It will also work with farmers, as well as food firms, environmental, welfare and community groups, to shape future research priorities. The council will create a report addressing the highest priority areas for research investment relating to agriculture.

Numbers of farmland birds on fields established by direct drill or min till can be 1000% higher than conventionally established areas over winter, according to research. The independently monitored research follows over three years of monitoring on two farms, undertaken by the Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) and Syngenta Conservation Agriculture.

The research is studying the field-scale agronomic, economic and environmental implications of conservation agriculture establishment techniques on contrasting light land, at East Lenham in Kent, and the heavy soils of Loddington in Leicestershire.

On the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Allerton Project farm, at Loddington, areas established with these techniques recorded an average 1011% more birds over the winter, compared to crops established with conventional plough-based tillage.

Efforts to push lab grown meat have been described as ‘seriously misplaced’, after new research showed almost half of adults (43 per cent) are unwilling to eat it.

Of those respondents unwilling to taste the product, 42 per cent said there was ‘nothing’ that could encourage them to try it, though just over a quarter (27 per cent) reported they could be persuaded if they knew it was safe to eat.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) study, carried out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland last December, did find around a third of those surveyed would be willing to eat lab grown meat. When presented with a list of reasons to choose from on why they would try the product, the most commonly selected were for sustainability purposes (40 per cent) and to improve animal welfare (38 per cent).

A House of Lords committee is demanding a national training and advisory service to help farmers and land managers navigate the “new and complex funding landscape” of Defra’s post-Brexit agri-environment schemes.

A report from the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee published on Thursday (27 January) also calls for policy clarity, urgent investment in research, and skills training.

Without these actions, the report warns, government plans for nature-based solutions are at “severe risk of failure”, putting net zero by 2050 at risk as well as undermining the agricultural sector.

The parts of the world suitable for growing coffee, cashews and avocados will change dramatically as the world heats up, according to a new study. Key coffee regions in Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam and Colombia will all "drastically decrease" by around 50% by 2050.

Suitable areas for cashews and avocados will increase but most will be far from current sites of production. The authors say that greater efforts must be made to help farmers adapt.

NFU president Minette Batters has hit out at Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his political interference in agricultural policy development.

She said she felt the Government considered competent, technical policy to be ’boring’, and that Ministers preferred emotionally engaging policies which were ’absolutely useless’ in a practical sense.

A culture of ‘total risk aversion’ in the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and ‘foot-dragging’ in Defra is holding back progress in the farming sector, industry leaders have warned.

Easing the regulatory burden on farming businesses was a key Brexit manifesto pledge set out by the Conservative Government, but the National Sheep Association (NSA) said it had failed to follow through on key issues such as splitting sheep carcases which would save the industry about £24 million a year.

EU policies led to the collapse of the oilseed rape crop in the UK and Europe, according to a new report released today by Dr Patricia Ortega-Ramos from Rothamsted Research.

The bloc's climate change polices initially rewarded the widespread planting of oilseed rape, the world’s most important vegetable oil after soybean.

But subsequent pesticide laws have ultimately led to very large yield losses across the continent in recent years. This collapse of oilseed rape farming in the UK and Europe had led to a reliance on imported oils – including palm oil.

Farmers and growers in England can benefit from up to £500,000 in Government funding to invest in agritech solutions which could help boost their businesses and shore up food production.

Grants ranging from £35,000 are available to invest in productivity-boosting equipment such as driverless tractors, cutting edge robots that harvest, spray crops and weed, and automated milking systems.

However, with a limited selection of farm-ready robots on the market it is doubtful whether the move will help alleviate some of the major issues facing the industry, such as the labour crisis.