Skip to content

GRG Newsletter – 3rd Edition

Welcome to the Glyphosate Renewal Group (GRG) Newsletter

With the GRG newsletters, we will regularly share relevant information and updates, keeping you informed on the regulatory processes in Great Britain (GB), milestones on the glyphosate re-authorisation, and providing information regarding the GRG efforts.

The GRG is committed to transparency and to fostering an open and constructive dialogue relating to authorisation renewal of the active substance glyphosate in GB.

In this third edition of the GB newsletter, we focus on the launch of a new report on conservation and regenerative agriculture, and the role glyphosate plays in supporting productive, resilient and environmentally sustainable farming systems. We invite you to visit our website for further information, and to contact us should you have any questions.

In this issue

  • Launch of new report on Conservation and Regenerative Agriculture in Parliament
  • Conservation and Regenerative Agriculture
  • The role of glyphosate in supporting UK food security, soil health and climate objectives

Launch of new report on Conservation and Regenerative Agriculture in Parliament

On 19 May, the Glyphosate Renewal Group supported the launch in Parliament of a new report, “Seeding the Future through Conservation and Regenerative Agriculture to Meet the UK’s Agricultural and Climate Challenges”. The report was produced by the European Conservation Agriculture Federation (ECAF) and the University of Gloucestershire.

The event was hosted in the House of Commons by Alistair Carmichael MP, Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, and brought together representatives from across the farming and policy community. Speakers included NFU President Tom Bradshaw, Professor Gottlieb Basch, and Dave Bell, Chair of the Voluntary Initiative.

The report highlights the importance of conservation and regenerative agriculture practices for the future of UK farming. It sets out how these approaches can support food production, strengthen rural communities, improve soil health, and contribute to climate and environmental objectives.

A key theme throughout the discussion was that conservation agriculture depends on farmers having access to a reliable and effective toolbox to manage these systems successfully. Herbicides are an essential part of that toolbox, enabling farmers to control weeds and terminate cover crops without repeated mechanical cultivation. Without herbicides, conservation agriculture and no-till systems become significantly more difficult to implement effectively.

By reducing the need for ploughing and intensive tillage, herbicide-supported systems help protect soil structure, reduce erosion and nutrient runoff, conserve soil moisture, and improve water infiltration. They also help reduce fuel consumption, labour requirements, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with repeated tractor passes and mechanical soil disturbance.

Glyphosate in particular plays an important role in reduced tillage and no-tillage farming systems, supporting farmers in applying the three core principles of conservation and regenerative agriculture: minimising soil disturbance, maintaining permanent soil cover, and improving crop diversification.

The full report is available on the Glyphosate.uk website or through this link.

What is Conservation Agriculture and Regenerative Agriculture?

Conservation and regenerative agriculture (CA-RA) are approaches to farming that seek to protect and restore soil health while maintaining productive and resilient cropping systems. These practices can help farmers reduce erosion, improve soil structure, support biodiversity, and lower emissions associated with repeated cultivation.

The three core principles of conservation and regenerative agriculture are:

  1. Reducing soil disturbance

A core principle of Conservation and Regenerative Agriculture is minimum soil disturbance, primarily through no-tillage practices. In these systems, crops are sown directly into the remains of the previous crop, without mechanical seedbed preparation or soil disturbance prior to sowing. This approach helps preserve soil structure and supports the biological processes taking place above and below the ground surface, contributing to more efficient use of water and nutrients and helping sustain crop production over time.

  1. Increasing permanent soil cover

CA-RA also promotes the maintenance of permanent soil cover, using crop residues, live mulches or cover crops to protect the soil. Cover cropping can be used in both arable and permanent crops, with the aim of protecting the soil between crop rows. This cover may be seeded, inert or spontaneous, and helps protect soils from erosion, improve water management and support the long-term conservation and efficient use of natural resources.

  1. Improving crop diversification

The third principle is species diversification, delivered through varied crop rotations, crop sequences, associations or intercropping. In arable systems, using different crop sequences creates different demands on soil nutrients, which can help increase overall soil nutrients, yields and fertility in the long term. Diversification can also reduce pest pressure and improve the resilience of farming systems, supporting both productivity and environmental outcomes.

In no-tillage systems, soil is not mechanically disturbed to prepare the seedbed or control weeds. This makes effective weed management essential, as uncontrolled weeds compete with crops for nutrients, water and light, and can affect crop productivity and health. The report highlights that herbicides play a key role in CA-RA because they allow farmers to manage weeds while maintaining the benefits of reduced cultivation.

In this context, glyphosate is an important enabling tool, helping farmers prepare the seedbed, control unwanted vegetation and reduce reliance on repeated mechanical soil disturbance. This supports the wider objectives of CA-RA by helping farmers protect soil structure while maintaining productive and resilient cropping systems.

The role of glyphosate in supporting UK food security, soil health and climate objectives

For over fifty years, glyphosate has played an important role in agriculture, supporting farmers to protect crops, manage weeds and maintain productivity. Today, glyphosate-based products are registered in around 150 countries and account for 44% of total herbicide use in Great Britain.

Glyphosate makes significant contributions to the UK agricultural economy:

  • Approximately 5.8% of UK crop production, equivalent to around £679–680 million annually, is directly attributable to glyphosate use.
  • 40–80% of wheat and oilseed rape are treated with glyphosate during production.
  • Glyphosate contributes around £448 million to UK agriculture, representing 3.3% of UK agricultural GDP.

These figures underline glyphosate’s importance not only to individual farm businesses, but also to wider food supply chains and rural communities.

The report highlights the role of glyphosate in supporting wider UK policy objectives. CA-RA practices enabled by glyphosate can help farmers meet productivity and environmental goals at the same time.

By reducing reliance on repeated cultivations, glyphosate-enabled systems can help lower fuel use, reduce machinery requirements and cut labour costs. They also contribute to improved environmental outcomes, including lower soil erosion and increased soil organic carbon.

The report identifies several important environmental benefits associated with greater adoption of conservation and regenerative agriculture:

  • Around 70% reduction in soil erosion under no-tillage systems compared with conventional practices.
  • A 0.78% increase in UK agricultural GDP for each 1% increase in adoption of conservation and regenerative agriculture.
  • Around 55kt CO2 reduction in annual emissions for each 1% increase in adoption.
  • Around 9% increase in soil organic carbon over ten years.
  • Conservation tillage enabled by glyphosate is associated with approximately 45.3 billion kg CO2e sequestered annually in GB soils.

These outcomes are particularly important at a time when UK food security remains under pressure. UK food self-sufficiency has fallen by around 12% since 2000, while the UK imports around three times more cereals than it exports. In this context, maintaining access to effective crop protection tools supports domestic production and helps reduce exposure to external supply shocks.