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.

Sales of livestock veterinary antibiotics in the UK have more than halved since 2014 as farmers play their part in reducing antimicrobial resistance.

The government’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has confirmed sales of antibiotics for use in livestock were at the lowest ever recorded level, with a 55 per cent reduction since 2014. Antibiotic usage in turkeys, broilers and ducks was down 81 per cent, 72 per cent and 89 per cent respectively compared to 2014.

The UK remains one of the lowest users of antimicrobials in Europe and has achieved one of the biggest reductions in resistance, with VMD chief executive Abigail Seager putting the success down to the ’collaborative and voluntary approach’ UK farmers have taken.

China’s authoritarian Government is playing the long game on food security, stockpiling massive amounts of the world’s key staples.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, the country is on track to hold 69 per cent of the world’s corn reserves, 60 per cent of its rice and 51 per cent of its wheat by the end of this year.

Chinese customs data shows rice imports alone surged 53 per cent last year, while overseas purchases of wheat shot up by 50 per cent. Reports have suggested this aggressive stockpiling has been pushing up the price of global commodities at a time when food insecurity is on the rise.

In a laboratory in Norwich, scientists believe they are on the cusp of producing a banana that does not go brown. The lab is run by Tropic Biosciences, which is using genetic editing tools to create new varieties of important crops. In an era of climate change and climbing prices, these techniques could safeguard food supplies.

A new genetic technology bill that progressed to the House of Lords this week promises to allow researchers to break free from EU regulations that have so far blocked gene-edited organisms from being brought to the market.

British scientists are already working on drought-resistant wheat. Others hope to create chickens immune to bird flu.

A CUMBRIAN MP has pushed for an innovative new Bill to support farmers tackle environmental, animal welfare and food security challenges.

Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, showed his support for an innovative new Genetic Technologies Bill designed to boost food production technologies, fight animal disease and support British farmers produce high-quality food to the best international standards.

Covering precision-bred plants and animals, the Genetic Technologies (Precision Breeding) Bill will introduce evidence-based regulations for the agricultural industry to develop crops and livestock that are more resilient against diseases, the effects of climate change and are less reliant on pesticides.

A Bill that could spell the beginning of a new British era of precision breeding technologies, including gene editing, is edging closer to fruition, having now passed through the House of Lords.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) say that introducing a more proportionate and science-based regulatory system for precision-bred plants and animals will unlock opportunities to develop crops that are more resilient against disease and the effects of climate change like drought and flooding, and less reliant on pesticides.

The third Reading of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill happened on Monday (October 31) and was introduced in the House of Lords yesterday.