Tom Bradshaw, president of the NFU, said production of oats this year has been ‘very, very poor’, and that wheat has been suffering similarly due to the prolonged drought
Farmers battling to salvage their crops during the extreme heat have warned the prolonged drought could cause food shortages in the UK – as Brits face yet another weeks of sky-high temperatures.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has demanded farmers receive tax breaks on critical water shortage systems, as it warned the country could face shortages of certain foods. The water shortages were caused by a punishing drought, which the Government says has now hit half of England. Eight English regions have been placed under heat health alerts for this week, with temperatures expected to surge back to 34C.
Farmers working with specific crops said the oppressive heat is stunting the growth of their crops, and were now racing to save what they could from their annual produce.
Some parts of the country have not seen rain for more than a month, and the lack of rain stunted crop growth, especially wheat, which they say has reached half its usual height. Tom Bradshaw, president of the NFU, added that production of oats this year had also been “very, very poor”.
The stunting comes from the repeated heatwaves, which have hit multiple times since early summer and dried out the soil and cause rapid water loss in growing plants.
Mr Bradshaw urged the Prime Minister to take urgent action, and suggested farmers should receive tax breaks so they can build water storage systems. He told BBC Radio 4: “We have taken our food supply for granted for far too long. Those other countries around the world that we currently rely on to produce our food and vegetables, their climates are changing as well.
“It does feel like there is going be some shortages of [food] products.” The NFU president added: “We have to recognise that water security is a critical part of our food security and food security is our national security.”
In addition to tax breaks for farmers, Mr Bradshaw urged the Government to invest more in reservoirs, saying it could help preserve water supplies after they grow over the winter. He said: “Let’s draw a line in the sand and make sure we prioritise domestic food production to deliver growth across the UK.”
According to the Met Office, drought-hit England has seen just 5.6mm of rainfall up to July 30, a vanishing proportion – just eight percent – of its long-term meteorological average for the month.
The figure is also less than half of a previous record set well over 100 years ago in 1911, when authorities recorded a similarly vanishing 13.4mm that July. Wales, which is not yet in drought, reported just 7.9mm of rainfall, again eight percent of the home nation’s long-term average for the month.
The hot weather is also creating issues for dairy farmers, whose livestock tend to eat less – and ultimately produce less – when temperatures rise.
Sophie Gregory, a dairy farmer from Dorset, said when the UK recorded some of its hottest ever temperatures in June that it is a “challenge” to keep cows cool. She said: “We’ve got 600 dairy cows on our farm and keeping them – and us – cool in this heat is a challenge.
“Their milk yields drop in hot weather because they tend to eat less, so this is both a matter of animal welfare and food production that we take very seriously.
“Climate change is making it harder and harder to farm, but we’ve been planning ahead for several years now and doing all we can to keep our cows cool; We make the most of shade from trees, get jobs done early in the morning and later in the evening, don’t rush the cows, and have a misting system and fans on full blast in the milking parlour.
“We also make sure lots of drinking water is available as the cows will drink several litres more on hot days. Farmers like us are on the front line of climate change though, and the only way to stop heat waves like this getting worse is reducing global and national emissions’.”