London, United Kingdom – In a wheat field near High Wycombe, Alex Nelms watched his harvest collapse within days. His crop looked promising until an early May heatwave pushed temperatures above 35°C (95°F) at the precise moment his milling wheat entered the grain‑fill phase, the crucial period when kernels fatten.
“It just killed everything stone dead,” he told Al Jazeera. “Everything was finished really early, and when we were full of optimism and hope, it was scuppered almost overnight.”
Nelms farms just over 2,000 acres (809 hectares) of arable land in south Buckinghamshire, a business his grandparents founded in 1955. His uncle, who has worked the farm for more than 40 years, has suffered his worst harvest to date.
Last month, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) reported that nearly three‑quarters of England—71.3%—remained in drought. August rainfall reached only 34% of the normal amount, and reservoir levels were 18.2 percentage points below seasonal norms.
“We’re totally reliant on Mother Nature,” Nelms said, noting that nature fell short this year.
Following an exceptionally dry spring and a series of summer heatwaves, the farm’s yield is roughly 1,000 tonnes below its average, representing a revenue shortfall of about $270,000.
The farm, situated in the Chiltern Hills—a steep ridge of white limestone—lacks irrigation and will never have it.
“That has serious knock‑on effects on our cash flow,” he said. A third consecutive difficult year would force tough discussions with his bank and landlord, leading him to prioritize risk mitigation over maximal output. “Consequently, we’ll probably produce less food.”
Financial Crisis Point
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) warns that farmers are at a “financial crisis point” after the worst drought in 50 years. Low harvests, stunted grass growth, rising fuel and fertiliser costs, and a severe bluetongue disease outbreak in livestock have compounded the challenges.
The NFU estimates a gross production loss of wheat at approximately $499 million and a $45 million cost to replace forage shortages.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said farmers lack “breathing space” and are “increasingly exposed to geopolitical shocks, repeated weather extremes, animal disease and global wars.” He stressed the need for immediate action to secure the future of British farming “and enable the next generation to keep producing the nation’s food.”
To diversify risk, Nelms is planting oilseed rape on about 350 acres (142 hectares) for the first time in 20 years. The crop’s standard neonicotinoid seed treatment is banned, leaving it vulnerable to cabbage stem flea beetle and game birds that “absolutely nibble, eat, and destroy a crop.”
Introducing oilseed rape also disrupts the continuous wheat rotation that has historically suppressed the soil‑borne disease “Take‑all.”
Tax incentives for grain storage and diversified income, along with government‑backed bridging loans modeled on COVID‑era support, could help farms survive a bad year without lasting damage, he said. Such relief is a key demand of the NFU.
The union is pushing for an interest‑free “Keep Britain Growing” loan linked to drought losses, assistance with disposing of livestock lost to bluetongue, expedited planning for on‑farm reservoirs, and clearer rules for water access as soon as levels allow—echoing Nelms’s own plea for storage.
“Drought conditions will continue to worsen until we receive sustained rainfall across the country and we still all have a role to play in conserving precious water supplies,” said Philip Duffy, chief executive of the Environment Agency, in a statement shared by Defra.
The Environment Agency has applied for a drought order to limit water extraction from the River Severn, and ten water companies serving 30 million customers have imposed restrictions.
“A few days or even weeks of wetter weather cannot reverse the impacts of several months of exceptionally dry conditions,” Duffy added.
Defra noted that the first meaningful rains since June have been patchy, leaving reservoirs and groundwater still in decline despite brief flow increases in some rivers.
Despite the setbacks, Nelms is optimistic about collective farmer efforts. He highlighted the Central Chiltern Farmer Cluster, where growers share labor, machinery, and market routes to tackle problems together.
“We’re working together, not competing with each other,” he said.
For farms like Nelms’s, which have no irrigation or water reserves, sporadic rain is insufficient. Parched soil needs prolonged moisture before groundwater can recharge, let alone refill reservoirs that may be critical for future harvests.
“Our climate has changed,” Water Minister Emma Hardy, chair of the National Drought Group, said late last month. “We will continue to take all action necessary.”
