- Farmers are facing severe challenges due to prolonged dry weather and back-to-back heatwaves in the UK, with drought declared in parts of Wales on Thursday.
- Ben Andrews, who runs Broadward Hall Farm in Herefordshire, told The Independent: “Our veg is seriously struggling this year. At this point, we’re really having to sit down and consider whether we’re even going to plant vegetables next year.”
- The National Farmers’ Union deputy president, Paul Tompkins, warned “this could be another difficult and expensive harvest” and urged the government to improve long-term resilience against climate change by overhauling licensing and easing planning rules to make building on-farm water reservoirs easier.
- Retailers are closely monitoring the situation, with Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium (BRC), saying: "Extreme weather, including drought, can affect crop yields and place upward pressure on prices.”
- Forecasters offer little immediate relief, with the Met Office predicting continued low rainfall in the driest southern regions, while the Environment Agency urges public water conservation.
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