Suffolk’s farmers and growers have been tested by the drought with thoughts on water and climate resilience never too far away.
For many, though, the bigger question is not how farmers cope with the next drought - it is whether our local and national food system is prepared for the challenges ahead.
Food does not begin on supermarket shelves.
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It starts with productive farmland, reliable water supplies, functioning supply chains and businesses willing to invest for the long term.
When any one of those foundations becomes weaker, the resilience of the entire system is reduced.
Across the UK, domestic food production faces increasing pressure from extreme weather, rising costs and uncertainty.
At the same time, food processing capacity has become more concentrated, supply chains have lengthened, and dependence on imported products has grown by 70% in the last 30 years.
These trends may not be immediately visible to shoppers, but they increase the vulnerability of the system that supplies every household.
This is not an argument against trade.
Imports will always play an important role.
However, food security depends on maintaining the ability to produce a meaningful proportion of our own food.
Self-sufficiency in particular staples such as wheat, beef, vegetables, poultry meat, eggs and milk has all declined over the past 30 years.
The challenge for policymakers is therefore clear.
How do we ensure farmers and food businesses have the confidence to invest in infrastructure, water security, processing capacity and environmental improvements that strengthen resilience for the future?
Local government has an important role to play.
Planning policies, flood management strategies, water planning and rural development priorities all influence the long-term viability of food production.
Decisions taken today will shape how well communities cope with future droughts, floods, disease outbreaks or supply chain disruptions.
Equally, resilience planning should not stop at emergency food stocks.
It should include a much deeper understanding of how food is produced, processed, transported and supplied within our region.
Local authorities, water companies, food processors, retailers and farmers all have a role to play in building that resilience.
Decisions made at a local level will be crucial in shaping the future of our industry, so I was very pleased to have the opportunity to make the case for Suffolk’s farmers, along with fellow NFU members, when we welcomed a group of Suffolk county councillors on farm during Back British Farming Day earlier this month.
We discussed current challenges the farming industry is facing and how the council can support farming businesses in Suffolk.
The reality is simple.
Food security underpins economic security, public health, environmental management and community stability.
It affects every resident, every family and every business.
As political parties gather for conference season and policymakers consider the challenges of the coming decade, food resilience deserves a place much higher on the agenda.
Not as a farming issue, but as a public issue.
Every person who eats has a stake in a resilient food system.
The question is not whether we can afford to value and support food security.
The question is whether we can afford not to.
Tim Pratt is the National Farmers' Union (NFU) Suffolk Chair and farm manager at Wantisden Hall Farms near Woodbridge.
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