The Source

£5 million in government grant funding, part of the wider Farming Innovation Programme, is available to attract private investment and support businesses developing near-commercial, on-farm innovations.

Innovation alone doesn’t create value. Protecting it, positioning it and scaling it does. That’s where intellectual property (IP) becomes critical – not as a legal formality, but as a strategic tool for growth. Too often treated as something to address later, for agri-tech businesses looking to scale it needs to be part of the conversation from the outset.

Wageningen U&R Plant Science director Richard Harrison reflects on a future where we can combine a diversity of farming systems. Where will the role of biotechnology fit in then? Harrison explains how the current combination of increasing knowledge, AI and more accessible techniques is democratising science and speeding up biotechnology.

Taller residuals led cows to adopt a more selective and efficient foraging strategy, characterized by shorter, more frequent meals, more frequent movement between feeding stations, and fewer but larger bites. These changes increased forage intake and improved diet quality, supporting higher milk yield without increasing grazing time.

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) was never going to stand still – and it hasn’t – with the government’s response to development on minor, medium and brownfield sites signalling a clear shift towards making the rules work on the ground.

“The events of recent years have reminded us that the external world is unpredictable. What farmers can control is how resilient their own systems are. Nature‑friendly farming offers a practical route to reduce dependence on inputs we do not control and rebuild the natural capital that underpins our businesses. In uncertain times, that is not idealism – it’s sound farm management.” Joe Stanley, Head of Sustainable Farming, Allerton Project

This is part of a series of articles featuring cost focus and control on our clients’ farms. In this article the focus is on bedding materials, and the cost per tonne compared to cell counts and how understanding this might just make a difference.

The Pork Environmental Roadmap sets out a clear, evidence‑based view of the sector’s environmental footprint and highlights where producers can make the biggest impact – building on the progress already happening on British pig farms. 

This technological evolution is not merely changing the machinery in the field; it is forcing a complete rethink of agrochemical formulation, accelerating the development of novel active ingredients, and colliding head-on with the shifting regulatory landscape of the UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.

Greenhouse gas emissions, acidification and eutrophication potential all declined over the past decade, though reductions vary widely between regions.

In the agricultural sector, how employees are paid, hourly or salaried, can have a significant impact on both the business and the individual. As someone who works closely with farm owners, managers, and candidates throughout the various stages of recruitment, I see first-hand how these payment structures influence hiring, retention, and overall job satisfaction.

The OneWelPig project is focused on creating a more sustainable way to raise pigs. This work is guided by the ‘One Welfare’ idea, which is simple: the health and happiness of animals, people, and the environment are completely linked.