Prolonged drought could cause shortage of some foods, farmers' union head says
The NFU said wheat and barley yields are already below average as 23 million people in England and Wales face hosepipe bans.
- The National Farmers' Union warned on Monday that punishing drought conditions across England could trigger food shortages and greater reliance on imports, with president Tom Bradshaw citing climate risks.
- Met Office data shows England received just 8% of average rainfall in July, marking the driest month on record and extending dry conditions that farming groups now describe as the 'new normal' for Britain.
- AHDB director Anthony Hopkins reported cereal yields are below the 10-year average, warning that financial pressures are becoming "increasingly acute" for businesses facing successive years of difficult weather and rising costs.
- Gavin Lane of the Country Land and Business Association warned wheat and barley crops are severely affected, calling for investment in resilient farming systems and stating, "If we want them to keep feeding the country, they need proper support."
- Around 23 million people in England and Wales face hosepipe bans as heat alerts persist, with UKHSA consultant Polly Ashmore urging vulnerable residents to stay hydrated amid temperatures exceeding 30°C.
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Long, hot, dry summer hits the UK’s crop harvests hard
The long hot, dry summer across swathes of the country is having a severe impact on farmers, who say yields of staple crops like wheat and oats have plummeted, and they're being forced into an early harvest to salvage what they can.
Farmers complain of high crop losses, even cattle feed is becoming scarce. This brings back memories of the historic 1976 drought. A turnaround could only bring permanent rain. Instead, the water levels are falling.
England and Wales experienced their driest July on record, according to the UK Met Office. "There could be food shortages if this drought continues," said the president of the NFU, Britain's main farmers' union, calling for government action. The livelihoods of wheat, barley, and oat farmers, as well as livestock breeders, are being disrupted by the effects of human-caused climate change.
Hungarian agriculture is struggling with increasingly severe drought damage, which is affecting all sub-sectors, from arable crop production to animal husbandry to vegetable production. While outstanding yields are being achieved on irrigated and better-conditioned fields, in many places in the Great Plain and unirrigated areas - that is, in most of the country - the entire crop has been destroyed. The extreme weather and the drastically rising …
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