Farming leaders call on government to step in as extreme weather forces many to complete harvest weeks early – with reports of unprecedented numbers throwing in the towel and selling up
The government has been urged to take action amid warnings that shoppers face higher food prices and possible shortages because of the prolonged drought.
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union, called on ministers to help support the building of reservoirs on farms as part of wider measures. “Water security is food security and food security is part of our national security,” Mr Bradshaw said.
It came as heat health alerts were issued for most of England as temperatures are forecast to reach the mid-30s centigrade. That followed what has been the driest July on record for England and Wales.
Parched conditions have caused havoc for farmers. Many arable farmers have been forced to bring forward their wheat harvest by several weeks – in some cases the earliest for at least 20 years – because of the extreme weather, with an impact on yields – the amount produced.
Mr Bradshaw also explained that livestock farmers are using their winter feed rations because they cannot grow grass. He said: “It does feel like there is going to be some shortages of (food) products.”
Potato production is another crop heavily impacted as about half of what is produced needs irrigation. “The reservoirs are almost empty,” Mr Bradshaw added.
He went on: “We need to think about the resilience of our food system as a national priority. We need to adapt, we want to adapt, but we also need the government to recognise that this needs to happen urgently and we need their support.
Mr Bradshaw argued tor farmers to be given tax breaks to build water storage systems on their land.
“Those other countries around the world that we currently rely on to produce our food and vegetables, their climates are changing as well,” he said.
Anthony Hopkins, director of cereals and oilseeds at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, said: “Across much of the UK, combine (harvesters) have been rolling earlier than usual this year, with many farmers working through the night to avoid the most extreme daytime temperatures.”
Some farmers, already reeling from soaring fertiliser and other costs, have decided to throw in the towel, with reports from agents of unprecedented numbers of farms being put up for sale.
There are warnings that food prices in shops could rise, adding to the cost of living squeeze on millions of families. New PM Andy Burnham has made tackling living costs a key priority for his new government.
Dr Anna Murgatroyd, a lecturer in hydrology at Newcastle University, said: “One thing I imagine we will start to see is food prices increasing, and we are probably likely to see fewer food products from Britain on our shelves – we might even start to see shortages depending on what happens over the next couple of weeks and months.”
Farmer Andrew Ward, in Lincolnshire, said the last rain it had was on June 11, with 4mm. “You cannot grow crops and produce food without water, it’s as simple as that,” he said, adding that it had finished its wheat harvest a month early and with a lower yield because of the weather. “Across the country we are going to be short of wheat, there is no doubt about it,” he warned.
