Giant clouds of dust rose from a combine harvester as it moved across a parched field in Suffolk, highlighting the growing challenges facing farmers across England as severe drought conditions continue to affect agricultural production.
For UK farmer John Pawsey, the impact has been particularly severe.
“It suddenly, completely dried out,” Pawsey said, describing how the drought persisted for weeks on his farm in eastern England.
English farmers have been contending with the driest July ever recorded by the Met Office, with the prolonged lack of rainfall contributing to significant reductions in crop yields.
Pawsey said yields of crops including oats, wheat and vetch were between 25 and 30 per cent lower than expected after harvesting began.
“All of our fears were realised when we got our combines into the field and realised that actually the yield was … between 25 and 30 percent down,” he said.
The situation has intensified concerns over Britain’s food security following a series of heatwaves this year.
Pawsey, 62, whose family has farmed in Suffolk for generations, said he was increasingly concerned about the future of farming as weather patterns become more unpredictable.
“I am worried about the coming years,” he said.
However, he believes farmers can adapt by changing the crops they grow and adopting farming methods designed to withstand hotter and drier conditions.
His organic farm has experimented with crops such as fava beans and chickpeas, which are better suited to warmer climates. The farm has also tested methods that involve growing different crops together to improve resilience and make better use of available resources.
Pawsey urged the government to support farmers as they transition towards more climate-resilient farming systems.
Food security expert Timothy Benton also advocated less intensive and more diverse farming practices, arguing that a more circular agricultural system could reduce Britain’s dependence on imported food and agricultural inputs such as fertilisers.
“Climate impacts will become greater,” Benton said, warning that food systems would have to change.
He also argued that more investment was needed in technological innovation to prepare for the growing challenges posed by climate change.
“Food is not just food, it’s what you grow, produce and the products and processes needed to bring it to the general population,” Benton said.
The changing climate could also force Britain to reconsider some of its traditional food choices, according to Nicola Cannon, a professor at the Royal Agricultural College.
Cannon has been growing soya with the aim of encouraging more British farmers to cultivate the crop.
However, staple foods such as peas have also been severely affected by the drought. Cannon said this year’s pea yield was only about half of what was expected because there had been very little moisture since March.
On Pawsey’s farm, an entire quinoa crop failed because of the lack of rainfall.
“We just had no rain,” he said. “The only things that started growing were docks and thistles.”
The National Farmers’ Union president, Tom Bradshaw, warned that continued drought conditions could lead to shortages of some food products.
“We have taken our food supply for granted for far too long,” he said.
Lower crop yields are also putting financial pressure on farmers, potentially leaving them with less money to invest in adapting their operations and experimenting with alternative crops.
Cannon said consumers could support farmers by buying seasonal British produce, which would provide producers with greater market certainty and help them invest in climate adaptation.
Benton argued that greater attention should be given to farming systems rather than focusing predominantly on crop genetics.
“We’ve invested too much in worrying about wheat genetics and not enough about farming systems,” he said.
The UK government has described food security as a national security issue and promised increased investment in water infrastructure, including nine new reservoirs.
However, Benton said adapting Britain’s food system would require greater government intervention and warned that the cost of responding to climate change would increase in the coming decades.
Pawsey said continued deterioration in weather conditions could threaten the survival of some farming businesses.
“It’ll either mean higher prices or the government will have to continue to support farmers,” he said.
