Defra has announced a major £46m investment in cutting-edge agricultural technologies, which it says will increase food production and boost farm profitability.

The funding will support a wide range of projects, from robots designed for delicate fruit picking, to advanced animal health monitoring systems for sheep and cattle.

The investment is spread across three specialist funds and will support projects at every stage of research and development – from early ideas through to on-farm trials. Defra says that a strong focus will be placed on reducing emissions from farming and exploring the benefits of the new Precision Breeding Act.

Sheep must be returned to England’s countryside to prevent catastrophic wildfires, experts have warned. Figures show sheep numbers in England have dropped 7 per cent in the last two years, with Natural England, the Government’s nature watchdog, incentivising farmers to remove animals to protect wildlife and prevent overgrazing.

But countryside experts say the fall in sheep farming is leading to a dangerous build-up of dry vegetation, which could cause widespread moorland fires. It is estimated that there is 600,000 tons of extra vegetation being left on the land each year because of the drop in grazing.

Baroness Minette Batters, who was the president of the NFU for six years, has been appointed to lead a comprehensive review into farm profitability.

Appointed by Defra Secretary Steve Reed, Baroness Batters will provide the government with recommendations aimed at boosting farmers' profits.

Central to her work will be direct engagement with farmers, ensuring that voices from across all regions and sectors of agriculture are heard.

Most people back new technologies to safeguard the UK's food supply, with over two-thirds supporting gene-editing as a tool to build a more resilient farming industry.

A new survey by British Sugar reveals that support is especially strong among Gen Z, with a significant 80% backing the use of gene-editing technology.

Across all age groups, sustainability emerged as the primary motivation, with 44% of respondents highlighting environmental benefits as a key reason for their support.

A coalition of pig and meat sector groups has written to Defra Secretary Steve Reed urging him to take immediate action to strengthen the UK’s national disease control measures.

The coalition warn that recent African swine fever (ASF) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in the EU "underscore the imminent risk to the UK".

They also say in the open letter to Mr Reed that there is "little confidence" that the Animal and Plant Health Authority (APHA) possesses the capability to detect or control an exotic disease outbreak.

Glyphosate authorisation has been extended for growers across Great Britain until December 2026. The announcement was made by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which said the decision will allow for a comprehensive review of glyphosate's safety and efficacy.

HSE said the reprieve had been granted while it considers whether glyphosate continues to meet the legislative approval criteria for an active substance. It said that as well as taking into account any new scientific, technical and regulatory knowledge, it would also include a critical consideration of the recent European Union (EU) assessment which supported its decision to renew the approval of glyphosate.

Greater investment is needed in monitoring crop diseases and the insects that spread them, alongside support for growers facing losses, a new report says. It makes 24 recommendations to mitigate the impact of viral and bacterial epidemics, strengthen UK crop resilience and protect food production.

Proposals include increased funding for disease surveillance and response, as well as a review of the Plant Health Risk Register to provide a more comprehensive overview of grower threats. The Keele University report also calls for greater investment in AI-based prediction tools to assess disease risk at specific sites.

A new cross-government biosecurity plan and sufficient border investment is needed to counter the biosecurity risks that British farmers now face, the NFU says. The union is calling for a comprehensive biosecurity plan established between Defra, the Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office.

This would help to prevent potentially crippling costs down the line and to protect UK food production in the event of a major disease outbreak, the NFU says. The call comes amid a growing number of animal and plant disease outbreaks around the world, including foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and African swine fever (ASF).

UK farming is at a critical point, with farmers facing spiralling costs, inheritance tax changes and changing weather patterns, but could agri-tech be the solution to all of these problems?

For a number of years, emerging technologies in the agricultural industry have been pointed to as an all-encompassing solution to these growing challenges, but whilst farmers are open to innovation in the methods they use, often this investment has not directly led to significant changes or improvements on the ground.

A new report from Barclays has identified the barriers holding back agri-tech on farms and also assessed what government can do to make the sector more effective.

The government's ambition to develop the "world’s most effective border by 2025" was sharply criticised in a parliamentary session on Tuesday (25 March).

Experts highlighted to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee that growers faced inefficiencies, high costs, and inadequate communication from the government.

Nigel Jenney, chief executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC), described the reality starkly: “Our world-leading border is currently the most expensive and least efficient globally.”

Defra has confirmed avian influenza in a single sheep in Yorkshire following repeat positive milk testing, with farmers urged to remain vigilant for the disease.

The case of H5N1 was identified following routine surveillance of livestock on a farm where avian influenza had previously been confirmed in captive birds.

Defra said on Monday (24 March) that there was no evidence to suggest an increased risk to the UK livestock population.

The UK government has unveiled its first National Action Plan (NAP) on pesticides in more than a decade, aiming to reduce environmental harm and enhance sustainable farming practices.

The plan sets a target to reduce pesticide-related environmental risks by 10% by 2030, focusing on minimising the impact of pesticides on human health and the environment, while supporting food production.

The NAP, which includes a commitment to enhance integrated pest management (IPM) techniques, encourages farmers to adopt nature-based solutions and alternative methods, such as crop rotation and biopesticides, to manage pests without heavily relying on chemical pesticides.