News
Falling demand signals shift in Scotland’s rural land market
Scotland’s rural land market is showing signs of cooling, with falling demand in key sectors such as commercial forestry and natural capital investment.
New analysis from the Scottish Land Commission and Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) reveals how economic and political uncertainty have reshaped rural land market activity over the past year.
Source: Business Insider
Artificial intelligence supports pig welfare
A combination of tracking technology and social mapping that reveals how pigs build relationships over time could inform welfare strategies. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been combined with techniques to map animals’ interactions, to gain insights into pigs’ social relationships. Scientists at the Roslin Institute, in collaboration with industrial partners PIC and an international research team, examined how pigs associated with one another over time by using technology to analyse their proximity during social interactions.
Farmers call for gene editing to be allowed in Scotland's crops
Farmers have called for gene editing to be allowed for Scotland’s crops as legislation in England moves a step closer.
With an ever changing climate, some are arguing that editing the genes of crops could be a way to mitigate against extreme weather and help bolster food security in a changing climate.
Source: STV
Rhizocore Leads Innovative Project to Tackle Agricultural Pollution with Fungi Bio-Filters
Rhizocore Technologies Ltd has secured a £1 million Defra grant to advance a fungi-based bio-filtration system designed to mitigate agricultural water pollution.
In collaboration with The James Hutton Institute, Harper Adams University, and Cheshire Wildlife Trust, this initiative aims to deliver scalable, nature-based solutions for improving water quality.
New vertical farm a first for Scottish education
SRUC has stepped up its commitment to global and local food production and security by becoming the first higher education institution in Scotland to open a commercial-sized vertical farm.
Jim Fairlie MSP, Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, officially opened the £1.8 million SRUC Vertical Farming Innovation Centre – which has received £200,000 from the Scottish Government – at the Edinburgh Campus of Scotland’s Rural College.
Veterinary diagnostics company opens new US lab
MI:RNA is accelerating its growth plans with the opening of a new laboratory in the United States.
The veterinary diagnostics company using cutting-edge technology and science to transform animal health diagnosis, and which originally spun out of SRUC, has secured $4 million in Series A funding.
Source: Business Insider
Swinney gives ‘cast-iron’ guarantee to return £46 million to farmers
The First Minister has given farmers a “cast-iron” guarantee to return £46m taken from the agriculture budget to combat the cost-of-living crisis.
The cash was taken in 2022 and 2023 as the country grappled with soaring costs and energy bills.
Source: Business Insider
Hutton hunts for soil ambassadors across Scotland to help dig deep
Scientists at The James Hutton Institute are leading a nationwide soil sampling campaign to help major European project, ECHO, to collect a total of 16,500 samples across Europe.
This call to participate in a citizen science project may be of interest to individuals in Midlothian Science Zone.
If you’d like to become involved as a soil ambassador, find out how you can participate here > https://echosoil.eu/become-an-echo-ambassador
Source: The James Hutton Institute
World’s first sustainability index for plants launched
AbacusBio has launched the world’s first Sustainability Index for plants, helping reduce the environmental impact of growing crops. This innovative tool enables breeding companies to create plant varieties that use less water, lower emissions, and optimize yield, health, and disease resistance.
New Agri research space for Roslin Innovation Centre
With a consistent demand for agriculture research space at Roslin Innovation Centre (RIC), and with a steady growth of existing tenant companies ‘in residence’, the RIC team explored options for additional space.