Our panel session on the ‘Seed to Shelf’ main stage (sponsored by KWS) will delve into the potential of gene editing to transform food and farming. We will discuss what precision breeding is, the recent regulatory changes and the BOFIN-led PROBITY project which is bringing precision-bred cereals into trials on commercial farms for the first time in Europe!
The session will run twice over the two days of Cereals – at 1pm on day one and 11am on day two.
Meet the panellists:
Rt Hon George Eustice – Former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George brings a wealth of policy insight and a lifelong interest in farming.
Tom Allen-Stevens – As managing director of the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) and an Oxfordshire arable farmer, Tom is at the cutting edge of agricultural innovation. His commitment to collaboration and asking the tough questions guarantees a lively, thought-provoking session.
Andrew Ward MBE – Lincolnshire farmer, Forage Aid founder, and social media star, Andrew is a tireless advocate for British farming. His experience hosting Cereals and engaging with the wider community makes him a familiar and trusted voice.
Dr. Evan Ellison – A postdoctoral researcher at Cambridge, Evan’s expertise in gene editing and crop improvement brings a global perspective and fresh ideas to the panel.
Dr. Emily Harrison – With a background in molecular plant biology and sustainable crop production, Emily’s insights will be invaluable for anyone interested in the science driving agricultural progress.
Whether you’re a farmer, researcher, or agri-business professional, this panel is your chance to hear from experts, ask questions, and consider how precision breeding could shape the future or arable production.
Use BOFIN’s discount code I42K5X for a 50% discount on tickets at www.cerealsevent.co.uk
Government agreement over the secondary legislation required to fully implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 is a watershed moment for agricultural innovation, according to partners in a major agricultural project.
Despite reports of last-minute calls from EU negotiators urging the UK to abandon the legislation, to bring it in line with EU rules, project partners remain confident that plans to conduct the first trials of precision-bred crops on commercial farms will proceed as intended.
With the signing in of secondary legislation in Parliament this week (May 13th), England is set to become the first country in Europe to enable the commercial production and marketing of precision-bred crops. The new regulatory framework, once in force, will allow farmers, scientists, and food manufacturers to harness the benefits of precision breeding using gene-editing techniques to develop crops with traits that could have occurred naturally or through traditional breeding, but achieved more efficiently and with greater precision.
The PROBITY project, led by the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) and funded by Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, brings together a consortium of 12 research institutes, universities, agri-tech companies and farming organisations. Together, they are leading the first farmer-led trials of precision-bred cereal crops on commercial farms across England.
Tom Allen-Stevens, managing director of BOFIN, said: “While the EU remains divided on precision breeding, our government has taken decisive action which will put English farmers and food producers on the front foot. It is a watershed moment for agricultural innovation in this country.
“The new legislation opens the door for us to trial and eventually adopt crop varieties that are more nutritious, resilient, and environmentally sustainable. By moving these innovations from the laboratory to the field, we are paving the way for a more productive and climate-resilient food system.
“We’re excited by the prospect of planting the first pre-commercial precision-bred cereals on English farms in spring 2026, pending PBO approval under the new regulations, and look forward to seeing these new varieties deliver real advantages for productivity and sustainability.”
Tom Allen-Stevens
Prof Nigel Halford
Professor Nigel Halford of Rothamsted Research and technical lead for PROBITY, said: “It does feel like an historic moment to me, and I expect everyone who has been working on plant biotech while the UK/EU has been marginalised will feel the same. It is tremendously exciting, and I applaud everyone who has worked hard to get the legislation over the line. Most importantly it is a win for science and common sense.
“Whilst there was some concern that the secondary legislation on the Genetic Technologies (Precision Breeding) Act might get caught up in the UK/EU negotiations, the secondary legislation is now law, so any risk has passed. It always seemed unlikely that the UK government would allow the EU to dictate to us on food standards anyway, since that would put the UK in the position of having to comply with regulations it had no control over.”
The PROBITY project is trialling precision-bred cereal varieties including a low acrylamide wheat, a barley designed to reduce livestock methane emissions, and a potentially high-yielding wheat with larger grain size. These trials will not only demonstrate the real-world potential of precision-bred crops, but also ensure transparency and robust scrutiny by involving farmers, scientists, and food manufacturers at every stage.
BOFIN will shortly be recruiting growers to join the project as ‘PROBITY Pioneers’ and be paid to run a trial on their own farm. It will initially involve growing TILLING lines to test traits being introduced by gene editing.
Join the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) for an exclusive webinar on Wednesday 21st May (6.30pm), offering insight from former Defra secretary George Eustice.
In a discussion with BOFIN managing director Tom Allen-Stevens hear George Eustice’s views on the legislation that has challenged and shaped farming including the ban on neonicotinoids and metaldehyde, and why he believes the rules around biopesticides should be changed.
They will also explore the background to the Genetic Technologies Act (2023), why it was prioritised and what government hoped it would enable.
Tom will also raise questions on the Farming Innovation Programme which Mr Eustice put in motion, and his thoughts on the ADOPT programme and how farmers can benefit from the new scheme.
Participants will have the opportunity to put forward their own questions on policy, innovation, and the future of farming.
Register now and join us for an enlightening discussion!
About George Eustice
George Eustice was Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 13 February 2020 to 6 September 2022. He was previously Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) from 11 May 2015 to 13 February 2020.
He was elected as the Conservative MP for Camborne and Redruth in 2010 and served on the EFRA Select Committee from 2010.
George is from a farming background, and his family still run a fruit farm, restaurant and farm shop in Cornwall where they also have a herd of South Devon cattle and the country’s oldest herd of British Lop pigs.
Free webinar explores progression of precision breeding
Farmers are invited to attend a free webinar about precision-bred crops, including updates on legislation around the technology, and the opportunity to become one of the first farmers across Europe to grow them.
Organised by partners in the PROBITY project, the online event will take place on Wednesday 16th April from 8.30 to 9.30am via Zoom.
PROBITY – a Platform to Rate Organisms Bred for Improved Traits and Yield – is a three-year, £2.2m farmer-led project, funded by Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme which is delivered by Innovate UK. It is led by the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) with 11 partner organisations.
Professor Cristóbal Uauy, John Innes Centre
Professor Cristóbal Uauy, Director designate of the John Innes Centre, will outline how scientists use precision breeding techniques such as gene editing to develop innovative crop traits, and the potential benefits this could bring sustainable food and farming.
Professor Nigel Halford of Rothamsted Research, Dr Dylan Phillips of Aberystwyth University and Tom Allen-Stevens of BOFIN will discuss the implications of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act and the recently drafted secondary legislation. They will also discuss upcoming opportunities for arable farmers in England to get involved in the PROBITY project.
Finally, Tom Allen-Stevens will be joined by fellow farmer Paul Temple who was involved in the GM field-scale evaluations around 25 years ago. Paul will share his experiences and why he supports the development of precision-bred crops in England.
Tom Allen-Stevens said: “With potential benefits including enhanced nutrient efficiency, better resistance to pests and disease, improved nutrition and reduced environmental impact, it’s essential that we explore this technology further through on-farm trials.
“I encourage all farmers to join our webinar, invest in their knowledge, ask questions and then continue the discussion afterwards via our online Sequence Circle community.”
There are two novel wheat lines currently being multiplied up for seed which will be available to for up to 20 growers to drill this autumn. A precision-bred barley will be available for planting on around five farms in spring 2026.
All farmers are encouraged to take the #PROBITYPledge by spending an hour finding out about precision-bred crops and bringing their views to the Sequence Circle. These are being analysed by University of Nottingham and will feed into recommendations on how precision-bred crops are taken forward in England. Find out more at www.bofin.org.uk/probitypledge
North Norfolk MP Steff Aquarone highlighted the potential for gene-edited crops to revolutionise farming in a speech to the House of Commons last week.
Speaking in the Inheritance Tax debate on Monday 10th February Mr Aquarone emphasised the importance of local farmers as custodians of the environment and key contributors to the rural economy.
North Norfolk MP Steff Aquarone
The MP pointed out that North Norfolk’s proximity to the Norwich Research Park makes it an ideal testing ground for advancements in gene editing of crops. He said: “Family farms in Norfolk are the perfect test bed for the latest in gene editing of crops, which can bring about higher yields, smaller carbon footprints and less need for pesticides.”
Mr Aquarone’s speech comes as the UK government progresses secondary legislation to support precision breeding techniques. The PROBITY project, launched in 2024, aims to bring precision-bred cereal varieties onto commercial farms in England for the first time in Europe.
Farmers and other agricultural professionals are encouraged to join the #PROBITYPledge campaign to engage in discussions about precision-bred crops. To take part and learn more visit www.bofin.org.uk/probitypledge
When Arla announced towards the end of November it was to trial Bovaer, a feed additive used to reduce methane emissions from dairy cows, it prompted a maelstrom of concern from consumers and some farmers. This was reportedly fuelled by misleading information designed to debunk the technology.
The question is why? And following on from that, was it a step backwards for advances in farming or were there lessons learned?
An important question – not just for partners in The PROBITY Project but the wider industry too – is whether there will be a similar backlash when precision-bred crops are introduced into commercial field trials for the first time here in England later this year.
BBC Verify has looked into the media storm that followed the announcement of the trial. It has also received coverage in The Guardian, among others.
It will be a matter of personal choice for dairy farmers as to whether they use it. For some, adding a small amount of 3-Nitrooxypropanol to the feed intake of their herd is no different to an arable farmer who applies a small amount of isoflucypram (as in Iblon) to their wheat crop. It’s a simple solution to quite a major problem with clear benefits.
For others this is meddling with nature. It’s a cheat, which introduces an imbalance that is not sustainable. There are other ways for dairy farmers to reduce emissions, as there are other ways to reduce disease pressure on wheat crops.
What lies at the heart of this is the gut microbiome. Like the soil microbiome it is incredibly complex. Science is only just beginning to understand them.
For farmers, we know the two are inextricably linked. Both the soil and gut microbiomes have a massive influence on the performance of farming systems. Use the soil microbiome effectively to grow nutrient-dense food and this will engender a healthy gut microbiome, both for the livestock in our care and for those we feed.
But we actually know precious little about how to do this, nor how to use potentially powerful technologies in our quest to do it better.
Take gene-editing for example.
Bold claims are made by scientists about how plant signalling pathways can be influenced and the extraordinary abilities to interact with the soil microbiome this then confers.
So how should farmers respond? We can choose to take the scientists at their word. They are the experts. We can rely on them to develop commercial products with industry partners. We don’t need to know how they work, just how they add to our profitability.
Or we are better off without this technology. We can work with scientists to gain knowledge about these complex natural systems without creating an imbalance and skewing our view of what’s truly sustainable.
Or we can work with scientists as they introduce these new traits. We can use the technology to understand this complex science better. We can co-develop the products and tailor them to how we’d like them to work in the field.
It’s an important choice. Because until farmers truly understand the living organisms in our care, and that’s all of them – animals, plants, microbes – we will continue to be misunderstood by consumers and misrepresented by our politicians.
And it’s the backlash that we witnessed with Bovaer, and a rational perspective on how a new technology is perceived was lost in a noisy, thrashing sea of misinformation.
There is more information on the Sequence Circle about gene-editing and precision-bred crops. How do we do better with gene-editing and precision-bred crops this than we did with Bovaer?
Join the discussion on The Sequence Circle.
Tom Allen-Stevens is founder of the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN), which leads PROBITY, a £2.2M Defra-funded project bringing precision-bred crops to commercial farms in England for the first time in Europe
Government’s commitment to deliver the secondary legislation required for farmers in England to grow precision-bred crops by the end of March has been welcomed by partners in a major project.
Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed said: “Precision breeding offers huge potential to transform the plant breeding sector in England, enabling innovative products to be commercialised in years, instead of taking decades.”
The legislation would ‘unlock’ precision breeding technology to allow farmers in England to grow crops that are “more nutritious, resistant to pests and disease, resilient to climate change, and that benefit the environment,” he said.
The Genetic Technologies (Precision Breeding) Act was passed in 2023, and the secondary legislation will mean that crops developed using precision breeding techniques such as gene editing will be able to enter the food chain.
Partners in the PROBITY project – which is bringing gene-edited cereal varieties into trials on commercial farms – welcomed the announcement. PROBITY (A Platform to Rate Organisms Bred for Improved Trait and Yield) is a three-year, £2.2m farmer-led project, funded by Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme Small R&D Partnership Round 3.
Prof Nigel Halford, Rothamsted Research and PROBITY project Technical Lead
The project’s Technical Lead Professor Nigel Halford of Rothamsted Research said: “It is great news that the government is moving forward with this.
“Many parts of the world are way ahead of us on precision breeding, and we need to catch up.”
Tom Allen-Stevens is an Oxfordshire farmer and founder of The British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) which leads the PROBITY project.
He explained: “While countries in Asia and the Americas are way ahead of the UK on this, The Genetic Technologies Act created some competitive advantage – for farmers in England at least – within Europe. However, without the necessary secondary legislation it would be meaningless as farmers wouldn’t know if they would be able to sell crops created through precision breeding.
“Our concern now is that the legislation comes into effect in time, to enable us to progress our trials, planned to start this autumn. These trials are essential if farmers are to assess whether this technology will deliver the benefits expected.”
MP campaign
The British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) has written to MPs to stress the importance of the secondary legislation to the advancement of precision breeding and invite them to learn more about precision breeding by taking part in its PROBITY Pledge campaign
“We want an informed discussion so that everyone in the industry understands precision breeding and has the opportunity to shape how it comes into UK fields,” the letter says. “Our PROBITY Pledge campaign invites anyone with an interest in agriculture to spend a minimum of one hour learning about precision breeding and what it could mean for sustainable food production and to share their views with our online community The Sequence Circle.”
A campaign launched today invites farmers and others from across the industry to engage in a nationwide discussion on precision bred crops and their potential impact on UK agriculture.
As the Government moves forward with legislation to support precision breeding, the #PROBITYPledge campaign will provide farmers with accurate information and a platform to voice their opinions.
Precision-bred crops can be created through gene editing, a widely used technology that enables scientists to make changes to plant DNA, like those that occur naturally, but introduced in a precise, targeted manner. Gene editing speeds up the process of breeding more productive, nutritional and sustainable crop varieties.
The campaign is being coordinated by the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) which leads the PROBITY project. The three-year multi-partner project, launched in August this year, is bringing precision-bred cereal varieties onto commercial farms for the first time across Europe. An integral part of the project is the creation of an open and transparent forum to discuss the creation, production, processing and use of precision-bred crops.
Learning opportunity
The #PROBITYPledge campaign asks farmers to pledge a minimum of one hour in the next six months, to learn about precision breeding and share views via The Sequence Circle online forum.
Tom Allen-Stevens, Oxfordshire farmer and founder of BOFIN said: “This is a topic which will have an enormous impact on sustainable food and farming, so it’s important to make time to discuss it.
“As farmers we are the gatekeepers of precision-breeding technology and must lead the discussion on how it is introduced to create a trusted pathway for food manufacturers to deliver its potential benefits to consumers.
“The PROBITY Pledge campaign asks farmers to commit at least one hour to equip themselves with knowledge of this technology and how it could impact them and their businesses. We want to hear diverse views – what do you think, what are your hopes and fears are for precision breeding, and what questions do you have about gene editing?
“Our Sequence Circle community hosted on The Farming Forum includes some incredible scientists who are well placed to help answer those questions.”
Open to all
The campaign is not limited to farmers, he added. “Anyone with an interest in the future or food and farming is welcome to make the #PROBITYPledge, sign up and get involved with learning and discussing this technology.”
Gathering and analysing opinions is a key part of the PROBITY project and because contributions to The Sequence Circle hosted on The Farming Forum will be used (anonymously) by researchers, those signing up need to be over 18 years of age.
For more information on the #PROBITYPledge campaign and to get involved click HERE
Researchers are hosting a free workshop for anyone interested in gene editing across food and farming.
The workshop is at the NAEC, Stoneleigh on day one of CropTec (11.30am to 1.30pm on November 27th). It is the first of such workshops to be held as part of the PROBITY project.
PROBITY – A Platform to Rate Organisms Bred for Improved Traits and Yield – is a three-year £2.2m farmer-led project with 11 research and industry partners. Led by the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) it is funded by Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme which is delivered by Innovate UK.
Precision-bred crops are created through gene editing – a widely used technology that allows scientists to make precise changes to specific genes in plants, that could have occurred naturally.
As well as trialling precision-bred crops on farms for the first time, the project is also exploring opinions on their adoption – particularly from farmers but also within the wider industry and amongst consumers.
Oxfordshire farmer and founder of BOFIN Tom Allen-Stevens said: “Scientists believe that precision-bred crops can bring gains for productivity and sustainability, but we need to know how farmers and others in the industry feel about their introduction.
“This first workshop will explore the current perceptions and stumbling blocks. Our Sequence Circle online community will then host further discussions and resources going forward.”
The workshop is part of a two-day programme organised by BOFIN to run alongside CropTec at NAEC, Stoneleigh. As well as the workshop day one will also include a session at 10am to introduce the project and officially launch The Sequence Circle.
On day two (November 28th) BOFIN is hosting sessions to share results and insight from their NCS and TRUTH projects. Visitors are invited to sign up to hear what the project’s farmers have learned from their trials exploring the potential of pulses and soil and root health.
Innovative and influential arable farmers are invited to apply to join a small team of ‘PROBITY Pathfinders’ to help steer the direction of a project exploring precision-bred crops.
The PROBITY project is a three-year £2.2m multi-partner project, funded by Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, which is delivered by Innovate UK. Led by the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) it will see precision-bred crops grown by farmers for the first time in Europe. Three precision-bred cereal varieties will be trialled and scrutinised by farmers, scientists and food manufacturers in an open and transparent forum.
A major part of the project is exploring farmers’ perceptions on precision bred crops and their feelings about growing them, explained Tom Allen-Stevens, founder of BOFIN.
“Scientists believe that precision-bred crops have something to offer sustainable food production, but as yet they have never been trialled in a commercial setting,” he said.
“Farmers won’t invest time and resources to grow something they don’t have confidence in, so it’s important that we discuss all aspects openly. As part of that we need the first recruits of this project – the PROBITY Pathfinders – to encourage and generate discussion.
Tom Allen-Stevens, Founder of BOFIN
“Our Pathfinders will be arable farmers with a passion for innovation and science. They must be open-minded, but we don’t mind if they lean in favour or against the technology, although they should be in favour of on-farm trials of precision-bred crops.”
The Pathfinders will be expected to initiate and take part in online discussions and speak about the project at events and farmer gatherings. They should have effective credible networks and existing platforms with which they engage with other farmers, either on social media or through organisations they are involved with. In return PROBITY Pathfinders will receive a payment plus out-of-pocket expenses.
To apply for this important role please clickHEREand complete the form before 5pm on Friday 15th November 2024.
