Britain could face shortages of certain foods after parts of England have faced a punishing drought, the president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has said.
Farms across the country were affected by floods over the winter, making planting extremely difficult, and now in many areas they do not have access to water as irrigation is being restricted due to drought.
It is the third drought in five years and farming groups say this is the new normal for agriculture in Britain. Wheat farmers say their crop is half its normal height, and England is seeing its earliest ever harvest as farmers battle to salvage what they can of their produce.
In some areas it hasn’t rained for over a month, while multiple record-breaking heatwaves have hit the country since early summer, drying out the soil.
Tom Bradshaw, the NFU president, said this could lead to food shortages and he had asked the prime minister to take action.
He told BBC Radio ۴ that farmers should be given tax breaks to build water storage systems on their land to prepare for the years ahead.
“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. “It does feel like there is going be some shortages of [food] products.”
Climate breakdown is exacerbating extreme weather conditions such as droughts. This summer the Met Office has reported that England had just ۸% of its average rainfall for July and it is likely to be confirmed as the driest July on record.
About ۲۳ million people across England and Wales are under a hosepipe ban. The dry weather has fuelled devastating wildfires across the country, most recently in Suffolk.
The heatwave is to continue into this week and the UK Health Security Agency has issued heat health alerts for eight regions of England. These amber alerts will be in place for the East Midlands, the east of England, the south-east, and London regions from ۹am on Monday to ۹am on Wednesday. The north-west, Yorkshire and The Humber, West Midlands and the south-west regions will be under a yellow alert during the same period.
Bradshaw said: “Let’s draw a line in the sand and make sure we prioritise domestic food production to deliver growth across the UK.”
Cereals such as wheat and barley have been particularly affected, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) said.
Its first harvest report of ۲۰۲۶ said the hot weather had resulted in the earliest harvest since records began in ۲۰۰۶, with many farmers across the south and east of England completing harvest two to three weeks ahead of the long-term average.
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Anthony Hopkins, the AHDB’s director of cereals and oilseeds, said: “Across much of the UK, combines have been rolling earlier than usual this year, with many farmers working through the night to avoid the most extreme daytime temperatures. Cereal yields have generally been below the ۱۰-year average so far, with some farms experiencing significant reductions. Following successive years of difficult weather and rising costs, the financial pressures are becoming increasingly acute for those businesses hardest hit.”
Anthony Speight, a senior analyst at the AHDB, said: “At this stage, the emerging picture points to disappointing cereal yields in many areas, but we’ll gain a clearer understanding as harvest continues.”
Farming is becoming unprofitable as the government removes the EU-derived subsidies that once kept the industry afloat and the climate crisis causes extreme weather that can wipe out any profits from crops. A recent report found a third of British farmers were making a loss or only breaking even.
Gavin Lane, the president of the Country, Land and Business Association, warned that for many farmers this could be their last harvest.
He said: “Farmers are telling us this is the worst harvest in years. A sodden winter followed by drought has left wheat at half its usual height and some crops not worth harvesting.
“This is the third drought in five years. What was once extraordinary is becoming part of farming in Britain, and government must start planning for it. We know that proper government investment in resilient farming systems, from reservoirs to wildfire prevention, could help farmers cope with these new extremes.
“Farmers have shown again and again that they can adapt and deliver solutions, but resilience has limits. If we want them to keep feeding the country, they need proper support. Otherwise, this harvest could be their last.”
