The debate on climate change is something farmers have to take control of, otherwise they will just be pushed around. That is the central thought that has encouraged former NFU Scotland president Nigel Miller to take on the joint chairmanship of the independent Farming for 1.5 Degrees group.

With 10 members, including four farmers as well as scientists and environmentalists, the Edinburgh- based group is to explore how a low carbon landscape can support a bright future for farming and food.

In an interview with Farmers Guardian, Mr Miller said: “Unless we can change mindsets, we will not have the freedom to farm in the future. I want to see ideas that farmers can get behind to help keep average temperatures rising by more than 1.5degC while at the same time meeting the Scottish Government’s net zero carbon emissions by 2045 (the Westminster’s Government’s target is 2050).”

The makers of Ribena have invested over half a million pounds in a five-year project to develop new varieties of climate-resilient blackcurrants.

Lucozade Ribena Suntory (LRS), which uses 90% of the blackcurrants grown in Britain to make Ribena, has teamed up with the James Hutton Institute. Around 10,000 tonnes of blackcurrants are harvested from British fields each year to keep up with consumer demand for the soft drink.

Previous research from the institute, based in Dundee, has highlighted the threat that climate change poses to blackcurrant farming.

British scientists have shown that direct emissions of a powerful greenhouse gas from certain pasture types are lower than previously thought. The climate impact of grass-fed cattle herds may be 'overestimated', according to research team at Rothamsted Research.

They found urine from animals reared on pasture where white clover grows – a plant commonly sown onto grazing land to reduce the need for additional nitrogen fertiliser – results in just over half the amount of nitrous oxide previously assumed by scientists to be released.

Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas that is 265 times more harmful than CO2 and can account for 40% of beef supply chain emissions, and the group say these findings may help farming achieve its ‘net zero’ ambition by 2040.

The NFU has told EU judges that the European Commission’s 2013 neonicotinoids restrictions was 'not lawful' and has had a 'real impact' on British farmers.

The union attended an appeal by chemical manufacturing giant Bayer on the judgement of the EU General Court from May 2018. The Court dismissed the challenges and upheld the lawfulness of the European Commission’s action on restricting neonicotinoids in 2013.

A moratorium on three kinds of neonicotinoids was placed seven years ago, forbidding their use in flowering crops that appeal to honey bees.

Shorter food supply chains could make the UK more resilient in the face of pandemics and climate change, a new report by Soil Association says.

With Covid-19 exposing cracks in the UK food system, the charity said sustainable sourcing would increase resilience as well as boost the environment.

It said government has 'key roles' to play in incentivising regional and more sustainable production through redirecting the £2bn spent annually on public sector food.

The EU has promised to learn lessons from the coronavirus pandemic by developing a new food security contingency plan.

The plan, designed to ensure a continued supply of safe, affordable and nutritious food during crises, will be put together by the Commission alongside a broader Farm to Fork Strategy.

The Farm to Fork Strategy aims to make food systems fairer, healthier and more environmentally friendly, and is part of the European Green Deal which sets out a roadmap to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.

The UK National Farmers Union (NFU) has backed calls made by a cross-party group for the new Agriculture Bill to allow British farmers access to gene-editing technology post-Brexit.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on science and technology in agriculture, chaired by MP Julian Sturdy, wrote to George Eustice, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, earlier this month urging the government to introduce an enabling amendment during the Lords stages of the Bill in order to boost the genetic innovation after Brexit.

The proposed amendment would provide new powers for ministers to consult on and, where deemed appropriate, make alterations to the UK Environmental Protection Act. This could then give Britain’s scientists, farmers, plant breeders and animal breeders access to new gene-editing technologies.

A cross-party group of MPs and Lords have called for the government to boost the British farming industry by ditching EU rules which block the access to precision breeding tools. Amendments to the Agriculture Bill have been put forward which would provide new powers for ministers to make changes to the UK Environmental Protection Act.

Ministers are seeking to change the EU definition of GMO in the Act for a definition compatible with the Cartagena Protocol – to which the UK is a signatory. The move would give the UK's scientists, farmers, plant breeders and animal breeders the same access to new gene editing technologies as countries outside the EU have.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Science and Technology in Agriculture, chaired by MP Julian Sturdy, has now written to Defra Secretary George Eustice. The APPG has urged the government to introduce the enabling amendment during the Lords stages of the Agriculture Bill.

A new National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) by Newcastle University and partners is hoped to foster innovation, resilience and enterprise among rural firms through research and knowledge exchange.

Led by experts from Newcastle, Warwick, Gloucestershire and the Royal Agricultural Universities, the centre will launch in September 2020 and has been awarded £3.8 million by Research England.

Centre director, Jeremy Phillipson, professor of rural development at Newcastle University, said ‘a thriving rural economy is crucial to the future prosperity, well-being and resilience of communities across the UK’.

The European Union is aiming to cut pesticide use by 50 percent by 2030 as part of a new environmentally-friendlier 'farm to fork' strategy.

The European Commission presented the food and farming plans on Wednesday (20 May) as part of the bloc's wider European Green Deal policy.

The strategy set out targets to transform the EU's food system, including a target to reach 25% of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030. The Commission wants to reduce the use of fertilisers by at least 20%, and slash the sales of antimicrobials used for farmed animals by half.