A Suffolk farmer has issued an urgent appeal to the Prime Minister and Defra to visit working farms in the county as extreme dry conditions, water restrictions and inflexible regulations threaten crops, livelihoods and Britain’s long-term food security.
At Hall Farm, near Bury St Edmunds, potatoes are ready to harvest. Yet the farm may be unable to lift them because there’s no water left, required in front of the harvester, as the ground is so hard.
Andrew Long, chairman of Long Farms, said: “We have British food sitting in the ground, ready to harvest, and we cannot get it out.
“That surely cannot be right. This is food we have grown here, on British soil, for British consumers.”
Across Suffolk and other parts of the country, prolonged dry conditions are placing enormous pressure on growers.
Land is becoming increasingly dry, yields are being severely reduced, and on-farm water supplies are running dangerously low or out.
George Gittus, representative for Suffolk NFU council, said: "It is incredibly tough. Farmers are incredibly resilient and innovative, and will keep adjusting."
He said the drought has meant most crops have effectively ripened three weeks early.
He said that having lots of heat without much wind has effectively sunburnt fruit at orchards.
"Everything has been under so much stress that the way to manage it has been complex for everybody," Mr Gittus said.
He also said that bluetongue is now a "very serious risk" to cattle and sheep, as the hot weather has brought over midges from the continent.
He said that there "undoubtedly" needs to be more investment in water infrastructure to aid farmers in extreme temperatures.
The problems extend far beyond individual crops. British cucumber production has also been severely affected by high energy costs, highlighting the growing pressures facing domestic food production and Britain’s increasing reliance upon imports.
Andrew Long believes the current situation exposes a much bigger question about the country’s approach to food security.
He said: “How can it make sense for high-quality British food to leave this country while we import cheaper produce to feed our own population?
“It is deeply demoralising for farmers who are working incredibly hard to produce food here. Britain has some of the most highly skilled growers in the world, producing food to exacting standards. We need our own agricultural basket fully stocked with British food for British consumers.”
Farmers argue that the present crisis also demonstrates the urgent need for reform of Britain’s approach to agricultural water.
Those wanting to invest in reservoirs and other water infrastructure can face outdated abstraction rules, uncertainty surrounding rainwater harvesting and a tax and planning environment that can make major, long-term investment difficult to justify.
In some circumstances, even when rivers are in full flow, farmers cannot capture and store water because it falls outside their licensed abstraction window.
Water that could help safeguard crops during future droughts is instead allowed to flow into rivers and the sea.
Mr Long said: “Farmers are prepared to invest. We want to capture water when it is plentiful, store it responsibly and use it when it is desperately needed. We need government policy that enables that investment rather than putting obstacles in its way.”
Mr Long said this is “no longer simply a farming story” but about Britain’s food security and what food will be available to the British public in the years ahead.
Andrew Long's direct appeal to Prime Minister Andy Burnham
Andrew Long is now inviting the Prime Minister, and Defra ministers and officials, to visit Hall Farm and other working farms across Suffolk to see the situation firsthand.
“Prime Minister, thank you for speaking recently about British farming and recognising its importance. I am now asking, indeed, begging you and your Defra team to come to Suffolk and see for yourselves what farmers are facing.
“Come onto our farms. Walk the fields. Feel the soil. See the crops we are struggling to harvest and the land desperately short of water. Talk to the people producing this country’s food and hear about the financial, physical, and emotional pressures.
“We do not need more people speaking on behalf of farmers. We need actual working farmers around the table at 10 Downing Street, helping to create practical, deliverable solutions.
“British farmers are innovative, adaptable and extremely good at solving problems. We are not asking government to solve everything for us. We are asking government to listen, work alongside us and remove the obstacles preventing us from protecting our land and producing Britain’s food.
“Our country’s food security must be at the forefront of government policy. Please come and see what is happening before more crops, more farms and more livelihoods are lost.”
Long Farms is calling for a coherent long-term national food strategy which recognises water as a critical food-production resource, enables investment in reservoirs and infrastructure, supports domestic growers and places Britain’s food security at the centre of agricultural policy.
Mr Long added: “For decades, the emphasis has been on driving down the price of food. Cheap food cannot be the only measure of a successful food system.
“We need to ask where our food will come from in five, 10 and 20 years, who will be growing it and whether we are creating the conditions that allow the next generation of British farmers to continue producing it.
“Food security is national security. Once we lose the farms, the skills, the infrastructure and the ability to grow food here, they will be extraordinarily difficult to replace.”
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