Farmers 2608

Farmers in and around Henley have warned of limited winter feed for their livestock and inflated food prices after a dry summer cut crop yields by up to two thirds.

The Met Office is on track to record one of the warmest summers since 1884, following hot spells in May, June and July.

Last month it reported a mean temperature of 16.8°C — 1.5°C above the long-term average and the fifth warmest on record.

Meanwhile, the Southeast saw just 58.7mm of rainfall, compared to a national average of 74.2mm.

As a consequence, farmers have seen the harvest come early as a lack of rainfall accelerated the arrival of autumn, bringing crops to maturity sooner than usual.

Supermarket chain Waitrose reported last week a farm it owns had harvested wheat, oilseed rape, oats and malting barley two weeks early.

Local farmers have described this year’s harvest as “grim” and told the Henley Standard that the lack of rainfall has impacted grass growth and made grazing difficult for cattle, with farmers having to step in and feed winter rations early.

David Dawes, a livestock farmer of Woodside Farm in Remenham Hill, said the next few months will be crucial.

Mr Dawes said: “It all depends on how the next few months go. If we get a decent amount of rain, grass quite possibly could come back but if we don’t get too much, it’s going to impact an awful lot on the price of hay.

“If you get a decent amount of rain, you could leave your cattle out all November and December, otherwise you have to bring them in and feed them indoors.”

He said he had heard of some farmers bringing hay down from the north of England.

“Some of the yields were okay, but there is definitely a lack of straw in this area.”

David Passmore, who has owned 500 acres of land in Ewelme since 1959, said farmers have suffered a “double whammy” of a wet autumn and a dry summer. He said: “Rain stopped at the end of February, although we’ve had smaller amounts, stopping it from being an absolute disaster.”

The mixed farmer said they had only seen a quarter to a third of what they would usually yield this harvest.

A similar reduction was observed by Andrew Ovey, who runs Hernes Estate, a 400-acre farm off Greys Road, who said his hay-making fields yielded a third of their usual harvest.

However, Mr Passmore said there were benefits of an “easy, early harvest” that finished in early August, and the quality of the yield had been “good”, despite there being “not very much of it”.

He said the prices crops were fetching are having a bigger impact on farmers than the lower yield.

Mr Passmore said while food costs are inflated, farmers are not making additional money, with crops selling at lower prices than usual.

“We’re seeing drastically lower prices,” he said, “We’re selling at early 1990s levels. There won’t be many arable farmers making any money this year.

“So if you see a farmer in the pub, buy him a pint, because he’s not having a very good time at the moment.”

Greenfield Farm owner Andrew Ingram, who also owns the Tree Barn, a Christmas tree farm in Christmas Common, described this year’s harvest as “pretty awful”.

He said they only yielded a couple of tonnes of wheat to the acre “at best”, compared to their usual three tonnes to the acre. “We had a very wet autumn last year, so crops never really established well.”

Much of Mr Ingram’s income comes from farming Christmas trees, which he said had also been impacted by the dry weather.

He said: “The little trees are suffering very badly. The established trees are fine but we have had to water the smaller trees eight or 10 times.

“We just about kept them alive but probably lost 10 to 15 per cent at least. The others are fine, and we can probably replace the ones that have died.

“It’s been pretty grim really. This particular area of the country has been very bad with reduced rainfall for weeks now. We had about a third of an inch of rain in the early part of July.

“It’s been pretty desperate.”

A spokesman for the National Farmers’ Union crops board said: “Feedback from farmers and growers paints a hugely varied picture.

“Some are seeing better-than-expected yields, while others are facing significant drops which will have substantial financial implications on their businesses.

“While some rain has fallen in parts of the country, and farmers are no strangers to unpredictable weather, the extremes this year have been unprecedented.

“The challenge is these weather extremes of drought and flood are becoming more pronounced and more regular.

“Last year’s harvest was marked by heavy rain and this year by its extreme dryness.”

He added: “Looking ahead, farmers growing crops need investment in climate adaptation and resilient crop varieties to safeguard our ability to feed the nation, weather market volatility and adapt to a changing climate.

“Across the wider farming industry we need investment in water infrastructure and changes to our planning system so we’re better able to capture rain in times of plenty for use when it’s need.”