Drought puts UK cereal harvest at record low

LONDON, Aug 5 — Britain’s cereal harvest is on track to be the worst since comparable records began in 1984 after drought and heat damaged crops, Daily Maverick reported.

England recorded its warmest June on record and the UK its second warmest, while England and Wales had their driest July on record, according to Met Office data cited in the report. The article said crops were withering after one of the driest and hottest spring-summer periods on record.

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said the growing conditions may have cut Britain’s cereal and oilseed harvest by as much as 2.5 million metric tons compared with earlier forecasts. It said the loss could cost UK arable farmers up to £390 million, or $524 million, in lost revenue, using an exchange rate of $1 to 0.7441 pounds.

The ECIU cited provisional yield estimates from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board showing wheat, spring barley and oat yields all down. It said the estimated wheat yield was 6.8 tons per hectare, well below the 10-year average, and noted that 54% of the wheat crop had been harvested.

If current average yields hold, the UK cereal and oilseeds harvest would be 19.5 million tons, the ECIU said. That would surpass 2020 as the worst harvest on record since detailed records began in 1984, even after accounting for good yields forecast for oilseed rape.

“Even if yields are revised up, 2026 is now likely to be one of the five worst harvests since 1984, which would mean that four out of five of the worst harvests on record had occurred this decade after periods of extreme weather made worse by climate change,” the ECIU said. The National Farmers’ Union warned earlier in the week that Britain could face shortages of some foods because of the drought and called for tax breaks to improve water storage, while more than 100 organisations urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to make food a national priority alongside defence and energy.