21 February

The European Commission presented a new roadmap for agriculture and food in the EU, promising better pay and protections for farmers. However, environmental campaigners have criticised the roadmap, stating that it will not help restore nature or assure food security, and that incentives for ecosystem services would likely be cut further.

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) secretary Steve Reed has expressed support for a food trade deal between the UK and US, despite concerns about cheaper US imports undercutting British produce and offshoring harmful production practices which would not meet local regulation standards.

The American company Pivot Bio has launched the use of engineered microbial nitrogen. These microbes providing nitrogen to crops precisely when and where it is needed, offering a greener and more efficient replacement for synthetic fertilisers which aims to reduce reliance on the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process.

This week, University of Cumbria and Barker and Bland Ltd.’s innovative carbon calculator has been adopted for use in the UK Peatland Code. The calculator will help peatland restoration projects calculate their direct greenhouse gas emissions associated with peat restoration activities, including the carbon costs of different interventions.

A collaboration between researchers and the agri-environmental firm Logiag has led to the development of an advanced tool that measures soil carbon content efficiently and cost-effectively using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), which offers rapid, precise, and chemical-free analysis.

Researchers at Loughborough University have developed an AI tool which aims to provide the government with data on how changes in livestock practices could help achieve the 2050 net zero goal. Key features include AI models designed to estimate methane emissions from livestock farming.