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The ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ is celebrating 75 years of plant science research at its internationally recognised Crop Centre – the UK’s leading research facility for vegetable growers.

The UK has a strong tradition in agriculture, including in growing fruits and vegetables. This sector is essential for the UK's economy, contributing £4.3 billion in 2022 and producing over 3 million tonnes of produce each year. However, the UK only produces 17% of the fruit and 55% of the vegetables it consumes, so there's a big push to increase domestic production and improve food security. Indeed, nationally, we need to increase our consumption of fruit and vegetables even more as, collectively, we’re not meeting the minimum recommendation of 5-a-day.

The future of farming has been highlighted at the Warwickshire Rural Hub’s inaugural major farming conference.

‘Preparing for the Farm of the Future: What Will It Look Like?’ was hosted at the ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½â€™s Innovation Campus Stratford-upon-Avon this week (12th March), with speakers including ‘Cheerful Charlie’ from Clarkson’s Farm – the popular Amazon Prime series.

Researchers at The ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ are working to safeguard one of the world's most crucial crops – the humble onion. Amidst growing concerns over the threat posed by Fusarium Basal Rot (FBR), a team of experts from the University is embarking on a groundbreaking project, run by the British Onions Producer Agency (BOPA), aimed at saving our crops and revolutionising FBR detection.

New varieties of Britain’s favourite pulse are available for purchase this World Pulse Day (10th Feb). These UK Registered beans (URBeans) were created by Professor Eric Holub as part of his work to diversify British cooking using home-grown ingredients.

Lincolnshire farmer Andy Ward, known for cultivating the first British Baked Beans in partnership with ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ scientist Eric Holub, is facing a harsh reality as standing waters inundate his farmlands.

He said, "There's nothing we can do when the fields are underwater."