Food & Farming · Saturday, 3 October 2026

01 Briefing what happened

Britain's worst bluetongue season on record: 2,201 farm cases since July, and all of Scotland becomes one restricted zone today

Food & Farming 22 sources

Bluetongue, a midge-borne virus of sheep and cattle, has hit more British farms in three months than in the last three seasons together, and many animals were never vaccinated. World food prices reached their highest since November 2022, and Britain's diesel passed 2 pounds a litre.

2,201

farms in Britain with bluetongue since 1 July

more than the last three seasons together [1]

1,103

of those cases recorded in September alone

Defra counts a whole farm as one case, so more animals are sick [1]

Scottish farms with bluetongue since early September

four were outside the old zone, found by tracing animal moves [2]

The lead story — what happened

Britain has recorded 2,201 cases of bluetongue since its season began on 1 July, Defra, the UK government's farm department, says. [1]
Half of them, 1,103, came in September alone. [1]
Three months in, this season already has more cases than the last three seasons together. [1]
Bluetongue is a virus of sheep and cattle carried by biting midges, not passed from animal to animal. [3]
It often kills sheep, and in cattle it can cut milk and cause failed pregnancies and birth defects. [3] It does not affect people or food safety. [1]
Defra counts a whole farm as one case, so more animals are sick than the number shows. [1] Nearly 1,200 more possible cases were still being checked in late September. [3]
This strain was first found in England in 2023. [1] This summer it reached Scotland for the first time and has been found as far north as Aberdeenshire. [1]
From today the whole of Scotland is one restricted zone, so farmers no longer need a licence to move sheep and cattle inside it. [2]
Scotland has found the virus on 40 farms since early September, and four of them were outside the old zone, found by tracing animal moves. [2]
New cases were confirmed in Oxfordshire and on the Isle of Wight in late September, and Dorset has 50. [3]
Robyn Munt of the National Farmers' Union says the vaccine has been really hard for farmers to get. [1] A vet in Dorset says many animals were never vaccinated. [4]
Immunity takes time to build: one Dorset farmer vaccinated his flock and still had three cases in the 10 days before it took hold. [3]

July and August1,098 cases · 50%
September1,103 cases · 50%

Britain's 2,201 bluetongue cases this season, split by month. September alone brought half of them.

Who is involved

Defra

the UK government's department for farming and the environment; it counts the cases
Jim Fairlie

Scotland's agriculture minister; he says bluetongue is not going away any time soon
Robyn Munt

vice-president of the National Farmers' Union, which speaks for farmers in England and Wales; she says vaccine was hard to get
Ele Brown

the UK's deputy chief vet; she calls vaccination the best tool farmers have

How it unfolded

2023 this strain of bluetongue is first found in England [1]
Early Aug Scotland's first case, in one sheep in Dumfries and Galloway [2]
Early Sep south-west Scotland becomes a restricted zone [2]
September 1,103 new cases in Britain, half the season's total [1]
3 Oct all of Scotland becomes one restricted zone [2]

Where this points

Watch whether cases slow as autumn cools: the virus can only grow inside midges while it stays warm, and much of the UK is still warm enough. [1]

What is pushing on the whole day

The bar and the word are our reading of how hard each one is pushing today. The arrow is where it is heading. The evidence is in the stories below.

Diesel costs High↑

Diesel in Britain passed 2 pounds a litre for the first time on Friday. [7] In the US, independent truckers who carry food now pay more than $1,000 to fill one tank. [8] Australia buys diesel from China, which has stopped most of its fuel exports this month. [11]

Hot weather on farms Building↑

An analyst links Britain's record bluetongue season to milder winters and hotter summers. [1] Hot, dry weather in parts of Europe helped push world wheat prices up, the FAO's report said. [5] A Romanian farmer told an EU meeting she does not know how her farm survived years of drought. [18]

Governments steering farm money Building↑

The US farm department raised a fund for soil-friendly farming from $700 million to $1 billion. [12] The same department has not paid out $12 million Congress set aside for urban farms. [13] A new rule turns its rural energy grants away from solar panels on cropland. [14]

Food firms rethinking supplies Building↑

Chocolate makers are testing chocolate made without cocoa after two years of cocoa shortages. [19] UK food leaders told investors that company boards meet climate risks to supply with quick fixes. [17]

The rest of the day

15 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

02
World food prices hit their highest since 2022

The FAO, the UN's food agency, said on Friday that its world food price index averaged 136.0 points in September, up from 134.0 in August. [5] That is its highest level since November 2022. [5] The index follows the world prices of cereals, vegetable oils, meat, dairy and sugar, and all five went up. [5] The Guardian reported that farmers were hit by hot weather and by trouble moving food. [5] In the FAO report as the Guardian quoted it, wheat rose because Black Sea grain shipping kept being disrupted. [5]

Why it matters — Sugar rose on fears of weak world supply next season, partly because of El Nino, a warming of the Pacific that shifts the world's rain. [5] Heat in Europe also slowed how fast pigs grow, so fewer were ready and pig meat prices rose. [5]
03
Britain's diesel passes 2 pounds a litre

The average price of diesel in Britain rose above 2 pounds a litre for the first time on Friday, reaching 200.01p, the RAC motoring group said. [7] Filling an average family diesel car now costs about 110 pounds, almost 32 pounds more than when the US-Iran war began. [7] More than half the diesel Britain uses is imported, and about 17% of all its supply comes from the US. [7] Mark Means, who has farmed in Norfolk for over 50 years, spent 50,000 pounds on new diesel tanks to be sure of enough fuel to harvest and plant. [7]

Why it matters — Tractors, combine harvesters and delivery lorries all run on diesel. [7] So people who never drive a diesel car still pay through the cost of producing and delivering food. [7]
04
G7 agrees to release 100 million barrels

The G7, a group of seven rich democracies, agreed on Friday to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel from reserves over four months. [6] A large share of the diesel is due in the first 20 days. [6] It came after President Trump threatened to stop US diesel exports unless Europe put more of its own stocks on the market. [6] The members also agreed not to restrict energy exports to each other. [6] US diesel averaged $6.37 a gallon on Friday, after a record $6.52 on 22 September, the motoring club AAA says. [9]

US diesel a year ago$3.71 a gallon
US diesel now$6.39 a gallon
The US national average price of a gallon of diesel, a year apart.

Why it matters — US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued that farmers, truckers and businesses should not be the ones left paying. [6] Independent truckers who haul food now pay more than $1,000 to fill a tank, and some have parked their trucks. [8]
05
Australian households and farmers squeezed

Australia's central bank raised its main interest rate to 4.6% this week, the highest since 2011. [10] Justin Everitt, who grows wheat, canola and barley and raises cattle and sheep in southern New South Wales, says soaring fuel costs already make his work harder. [10] A long-running national survey, called Hilda, found the share of Australians who often cannot afford enough food rose from 13.7% in 2020 to 17.9% in 2024. [10] Those figures were collected before this year's rate and fuel rises. [10] Australia also buys diesel from China, which stopped most fuel exports this month. [11]

Why it matters — Higher interest rates make loans dearer for farmers and families in the same months that fuel goes up. [10] Australia's government said on Friday that its stocks of petrol and jet fuel are within normal levels. [11]
06
US raises its soil-farming fund to $1 billion

The US Department of Agriculture said on 29 September that it will raise its Regenerative Pilot Program from $700 million to $1 billion for the 2027 budget year. [12] The program pays farmers to plan their whole farm around healthier soil and cleaner water, through a single application. [12] Last year its conservation service signed more than 5,100 contracts worth more than $851 million under it. [12] It is also making it easier to qualify for one of the schemes behind the program. [12]

2026 budget year$700m
2027 budget year$1,000m
Money for the US Regenerative Pilot Program, one year to the next.

Why it matters — Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins tied the money to Make America Healthy Again, the health campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [12] Kennedy said it would help farmers rely less on costly farm chemicals. [12]
07
US urban farm grants still not paid

Two dozen members of the US House of Representatives, led by Alma Adams of North Carolina, wrote to the US Department of Agriculture on 28 September. [13] Congress set aside $7 million in the 2025 budget year and $5 million in 2026 for grants to farmers in cities and suburbs. [13] None of that money has been made available. [13] Since the grants began under the 2018 farm law, they have paid for urban farm training, school and community gardens and composting. [13]

Set aside by Congress$12m
Made available$0m
Urban farm grant money for the 2025 and 2026 budget years.

Why it matters — The lawmakers want the full $12 million offered before the end of 2026, with 60 days to apply. [13] The department did not answer questions about the delay from the news site Civil Eats. [13]
08
US energy grants turn away from solar on farmland

The US Department of Agriculture published a final rule on 2 October changing its Rural Energy for America Program, which helps farms and rural businesses pay for energy projects. [14] Solar panels and wind turbines on cropland will now be discouraged. [14] A project must be fully built and running before it can apply, and projects spread across several sites can no longer apply at all. [14] Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said many past applicants chose unreliable energy and did not deliver what they promised. [14]

Why it matters — A farm must now pay for the whole project before it knows whether a grant will follow. [14] Under Secretary Glen Smith said the rule keeps good farmland in food production. [14]
09
China's soybean mills are stocked until February

China's private soybean mills have bought most of what they need until the Lunar New Year in early February, from Brazil, Argentina and state stocks, traders told Reuters. [15] Soybeans were left off China's list of US farm goods getting a lower tariff, so US beans still pay an extra 10%. [15] Chinese state companies have bought about 13.7 million tonnes of US soybeans since a trade deal in May. [15] Private mills have taken only South American beans, because weak demand for animal feed means pressing soybeans now loses money. [15]

Why it matters — US farmers are harvesting soybeans now, with few Chinese buyers left this winter. [15] Chicago soybean futures fell 1.5% in the week, and traders expect more falls as the harvest peaks. [15]
10
General Mills names a new chief executive

General Mills, the US maker of Cheerios, Nature Valley and Old El Paso, named Dana McNabb as its next chief executive on Wednesday. [16] She takes over on 1 January 2027 from Jeff Harmening, who has run the company since 2017 and will become its chair. [16] McNabb has worked at General Mills for 27 years and became its chief operating officer only in May. [16] The company is cutting $3 billion of costs over four years to return to growth. [16]

Why it matters — McNabb said in September that the savings will pay for new products. [16] She named stretched shoppers, changing food habits and weight-loss drugs among the pressures on big food brands. [16]
11
UK food bosses warn their own boards

A group of senior UK food industry leaders wrote to investors, in a letter shared by a non-profit group, warning that their companies are failing to plan for risks to supply. [17] They say climate change, the loss of wildlife and worn-out soils are already cutting harvests and food quality. [17] The letter says boards answer with quick fixes, because chief executives want good news and pay is tied to short-term targets. [17] A Lumina Intelligence survey found more than half of food firms call climate resilience very important, but just 6% have built it into their plans. [17]

Why it matters — The leaders say long-term work that helps the whole industry loses out to competition between companies. [17] They warn that shoppers will otherwise see higher prices and less choice. [17]
12
EU tries to speed farm research to market

Scientists, farmers and officials met in Brussels on Thursday and Friday at the European Commission's AgRI 2040 conference. [18] The question was how to turn EU farm research into working businesses while public money is tight. [18] EU farm commissioner Christophe Hansen said entrepreneurs tell him a new product takes about 10 years to reach the market in Europe, against one or two years in the US. [18] A proposed 234 billion euro competitiveness fund and the 175 billion euro Horizon research programme could together put 409 billion euros into innovation, farming included. [18]

Why it matters — Iulia Blagu, who runs a 920-hectare family farm in Romania, said new solutions reach her farm too late and too expensive. [18] Hansen wants research money linked to the EU's main farm subsidy budget for 2028 to 2034, which is still being negotiated. [18]
13
Chocolate makers look at cocoa-free chocolate

Chocolate makers are taking cocoa-free alternatives seriously after two years of cocoa shortages and record price swings, the trade site FoodNavigator reports. [19] Mark Golder, chief executive of Win-Win, a company that makes chocolate without cocoa, says demand keeps rising while cocoa harvests struggle to keep up. [19] Cocoa prices have eased from their 2025 highs, but makers want a second source that does not depend on the same farms and weather. [19] Some brands are testing hybrid bars that mix cocoa with an alternative. [19]

Why it matters — Millions of farmers live from growing cocoa. [19] Golder says the alternatives should sit beside cocoa rather than replace it. [19]
14
Sugary food during antibiotics harms gut bacteria

A study in the journal Nature tracked 9,419 meals eaten by 173 hospital patients having a stem-cell transplant, a treatment for blood cancers. [20] In the 158 patients with repeated gut samples, eating sweets and sugars while on antibiotics predicted worse damage to their gut bacteria. [20] The variety of bacteria shrank, and Enterococcus, a gut bacterium that can turn harmful, spread further. [20] In mice, adding table sugar made that spread bigger and longer. [20]

Why it matters — The authors suggest that a diet low in simple sugars during antibiotics may limit the damage. [20] They say other groups of patients must be studied before the finding can be applied more widely. [20]
15
Food firms plan for people leaving weight-loss drugs

Food companies are developing products for people who stop taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and then put weight back on, FoodNavigator reports. [21] Between 36% and 65% of users stop within a year, says James Watson of the consultancy Argon & Co, more often those without diabetes. [21] Nestle, the world's biggest food company, has developed ingredient mixes meant to curb appetite for people coming off the drugs. [21] New pill versions of the drugs may keep more people on them for good. [21]
0%50%100%
1. 1Low end36%
2. 2High end65%
The typical share of people who stop weight-loss drugs within a year, low and high ends of the range.
Why it matters — If pills make long-term use easier, fewer people would need the food products built for life after the drugs. [21]
16
Hershey hires a new international chief

Hershey, the US chocolate maker, named Amanda Almond its international president from 12 October. [22] Almond, who is British, has more than 30 years of experience at PepsiCo, Bacardi and the drinks company Vinarchy. [22] She replaces Rohit Grover, who has led Hershey's business outside the US since 2019. [22]

Why it matters — Hershey's chief executive Kirk Tanner says she is there to speed up its growth outside the US. [22]

02 Lesson why it matters

Why a jab that protects the farm next door gets bought too rarely

A sheep farmer pays the whole price of a bluetongue jab, but part of what it buys protects his neighbours, so fewer farmers buy it than the area needs.

The twist

A farmer buys a vaccine to protect his own animals. Part of what he pays for also protects the farm next door, which pays nothing, so fewer farmers buy it than the area needs.

How it works

A farmer pays for a bluetongue jab for his own sheep
The jab protects his flock, and makes it less likely midges carry the virus on to the next farm
He pays the whole price but keeps only part of the benefit
So fewer farmers vaccinate than the whole area needs
The gap stays open unless someone else pays for the part that helps the neighbours

The same force, elsewhere today

Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

UK food bosses warn their own boards

Work that makes supplies safer for every food company loses out, because each board pays for it alone while its rivals gain too.
US raises its soil-farming fund to $1 billion

Healthier soil and cleaner water help people beyond the farm who pay the farmer nothing, so the US government pays part of the cost instead.

Where you've seen this

Flu jabs

your jab also protects the people you would otherwise have passed the flu to

Lighthouses

every passing ship uses the light, but no single ship would pay to build one

Shared paths in snow

everyone walks on the cleared path, so each neighbour waits for another to clear it

The catch

Paying farmers to vaccinate only helps when there is vaccine to buy, and British farmers said this year that it was hard to get.

And the whole of it

A farmer in Dorset decides about his own flock, and the midges carry that decision to farms he will never visit. The people who buy the lamb, the cheese and the milk are inside that decision too, and none of them was asked.

03 Truth what's really going on

What is really going on

Britain's worst bluetongue season on record has reached 2,201 farms since July, and farmers say vaccine was hard to get while a vet says many animals were never vaccinated. [1][4] Away from the farm gate, hot weather and dear diesel pushed world food prices in September to their highest since November 2022. [5][7]

Who gains

Soybean exporters in Brazil and Argentina — China's private mills bought their beans through to February, while US beans still pay an extra 10% tariff. [15]
Makers of cocoa-free chocolate, such as Win-Win — Two years of cocoa shortages sent chocolate makers looking for a second source they now take seriously. [19]
US farmers in the soil-farming program — The fund rises by $300 million, from $700 million to $1 billion, and one of its schemes becomes easier to qualify for. [12]
Food firms selling to people who stop weight-loss drugs — Between 36% and 65% of users stop within a year, and many then regain weight, which creates buyers for appetite products like Nestle's. [21]

Who pays

Sheep and cattle farmers in Britain — Bluetongue kills sheep and harms cattle fertility, and it arrived in a year already costly for farms because of drought. [1][4]
Independent truckers in the US — With diesel near $6.40 a gallon and freight rates flat, a single fill-up now costs more than $1,000. [8]
Australians who struggle to afford food — Their share rose from 13.7% in 2020 to 17.9% in 2024, and the survey was taken before this year's rate and fuel rises hit households. [10]
Farms that planned solar panels on cropland — The new US rule discourages solar on cropland and makes a project be fully built before it can apply for a grant. [14]
Urban farmers in the US — Congress set aside $12 million for their grants over two years, and none of it has been made available. [13]

What nobody knows yet

Open questions from across today’s stories — ours included.

01

How many sheep and cattle in Britain actually have bluetongue.

Defra counts a whole farm as one case, and nearly 1,200 more possible cases were still being checked in late September. [1][3]
02

How many British sheep and cattle have been vaccinated.

A Dorset vet says many animals were not, and the farmers' union says vaccine was hard to get, but no figure for how many were vaccinated was in anything we read. [1][4]
03

How much each food group rose in September.

The Guardian's live blog quoted the FAO's group-by-group figures but labelled each rise as an August one, including an 11.9% jump in sugar. We could not read the FAO's own release, so we print only the overall index. [5]
04

Whether El Nino actually leaves the world short of sugar.

The FAO's report, as the Guardian quoted it, describes fears for next season's supply, not harvests that have already failed. [5]
05

Whether the G7's diesel release brings down what farmers pay for fuel.

The release runs over four months, and Trump announced Europe's part without saying which countries would release how much. [6][9]
06

When the US will pay out the $12 million meant for urban farms.

The Department of Agriculture did not answer questions about the delay, and the lawmakers have only asked for it by the end of 2026. [13]
07

Whether eating less sugar during antibiotics helps patients outside this study.

The study followed transplant patients in hospital, and its authors say other groups must be studied first. [20]

04 Hope carry this

The US Department of Agriculture raised its fund for farmers who rebuild their soil from $700 million to $1 billion for next year. Last year it signed more than 5,100 contracts with farmers and ranchers under it.

Also true today

From today farmers anywhere in Scotland can move sheep and cattle without a bluetongue licence, because the whole country now shares one disease status.
The G7 countries agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel over four months, and agreed not to block energy exports to one another.
In a study that tracked 9,419 hospital meals, patients who ate fewer sweets while on antibiotics kept more variety in their gut bacteria.