Farmers warn 'if the rain doesn't come we're really in trouble'

Image source, Shaun Whitmore/BBC

According to the Met Office, the period between January and June this year was the driest in England in 36 years.

Some farmers say they are losing large swathes of crops because of the dry conditions.

They were asked how they are handling the weather.

Ed Youngman is the owner of Red House Farm in Charsfield, Suffolk.

The earliest we've ever started harvesting is this one.

He says the currents have looked good all year despite the dry weather.

The famer says that the heatwave cooked some of the varieties on the bushes so they wouldn't rot.

He estimated that he lost 25% to 50% of some varieties.

The heatwave confused some of the later varieties and made them ready early, it's been a lot of stress.

According to Mr Youngman, fruit farmers in Norfolk and Essex have lost 75% of their fruit due to the weather.

"We'll look at this over the winter and see if we change the varieties we grow and reduce the risk, it seems to be something that's going to carry on," he says.

Tom Martin is milling wheat which will be used to make bread.

He says that there is not a drop of water for the plants.

There's no hope of rain in the forecast and we've seen dry times before.

There's a lot of things I can control on the farm, but I can't control the rain.

"We don't have any irrigation on the farm so I'm just relying on the natural rain and if it doesn't come we're in trouble."

"Spring sown crops have been looking for rain, we could really do with some in the next few weeks."

The crops need half an inch of rain every day for a week, according to him.

Arable farmer Will Faulds, who has crops of winter wheat, winter barley and oilseed rape, says it is brick dry.

One field is going to be planted in the next two weeks.

He says that even if a root goes down it won't find anything.

I am going to be postponing sowing seeds until we get some rain or at least some signs of it on the forecast.

"It's been perfect drying conditions, we've just run out of water", said Mr. Faulds.

We don't know when it's going to rain again and that's why the water company should impose restrictions.

“Just a little bit of moisture… it’d be enough to get us going”

.@bbcnickrobinson talks to Will Folds, an arable farmer in East Anglia, about how difficult it is to farm during an exceptionally dry year of heatwaves and record temperatures. #R4Today pic.twitter.com/w5trpmh1WX