Insights from the BSSS ECR Conference: Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Agri-Food Systems

Insights from the BSSS ECR Conference Panel Discussion on AMR in agri-food systems are now available for public access on Zenodo.

On 2 December 2025, at the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS) Early Career Researchers (ECR) Conference in Manchester, experts gathered to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in modern agriculture: the management and transmission of AMR.

Moderated by Prof. Ruben Sakrabani of Cranfield University, the session brought together diverse perspectives from livestock, poultry, crop science, regenerative farming, and veterinary medicine.

The panel highlighted several critical areas where research and policy should align to mitigate the spread of resistance:

• The Role of Soil and Environment: Soils may act as significant reservoirs and bioreactors for AMR genes. They receive inputs from various sources, including veterinary antimicrobials, manure, slurry, and sewage sludge, all of which may potentially enrich the soil microbiome with antibiotic resistance genes
• The Complexity of Management: While management changes are necessary, they can have unintended consequences. For example, techniques like slurry injection can alter how veterinary medicines behave in the soil, and certain substances like oxytetracycline can persist long enough to impact soil organisms like earthworms, potentially affecting the birds that feed on them
• Regenerative Farming: There is growing interest in whether regenerative farming, which builds biologically diverse soil systems, can improve resilience and reduce the pressure of pathogens. The panel noted that more research is required to confirm if this translates to a lower reliance on antimicrobial interventions
• The Need for Surveillance: A key consensus from the discussion was that reducing antibiotic use does not automatically result in reduced resistance. To truly understand the landscape, there is a critical need for long-term, government-funded environmental surveillance, particularly regarding organic amendments

Moving Forward

The panel concluded that effective policy must be evidence-based, farmer-led, and internationally coordinated to be successful.

Note: The views expressed in the panel discussion represent the personal opinions of the panellists and not necessarily those of their affiliated institutions.