Fenella Eddell, agriculture lawyer and associate at Ashtons Legal, discusses how this year’s dry summer has affected farmers and what some businesses are doing in response to the challenges it has presented.
A wise person once said that life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass – it’s about learning to dance in the rain. This year, though, has been as much about learning to thrive in the lack of rain.
It has been an unprecedented year on a number of fronts, but particularly in the farming world, with an early and swift harvest triggered by the lack of rain. It has been the driest January to June since 1976 and the driest July since 1911.
Farmers can work and plan harder than anyone, and often do, but water is fundamental to it all and the repercussions of a lack of it are substantial and ongoing, starting with crop yields, which have been lower than in previous years as a result.
What is the impact of this on farmers and, more broadly, on us as consumers? The laws of supply and demand dictate that lower grain supply will increase demand and therefore prices, especially with less grain from the Ukraine and elsewhere also coming into the market.
In parallel with rising crop values, however, the cost of the inputs needed to grow the crops, such as fertilisers, pesticides and animal feed, has also gone up significantly, mirroring the cost-of-living crisis across the country. Farmers may not therefore be experiencing the large profit margins that might first seem possible.
Farmers may be considering responding to these challenges in a number of ways, from increased research and investment into drought-resistant crop varieties to irrigation infrastructure, including for crops that would not traditionally be irrigated.
This has been supported by the Environment Agency, which has launched measures to support flexible water abstraction, giving farmers the potential ability to trade water with others – although this will need to be properly documented as the Environment Agency will be under pressure from consumers to increase policing and fines for unauthorised water sharing practices.
The current situation may also encourage farmers to diversify into more stable and emerging income streams, such as biodiversity net gain, carbon capture, renewable energy ventures, events and development. These are processes that many of our clients have already considered and with which we have assisted.
There is everything to suggest that the harvest year to come is going to be just as challenging and so getting the right advice and support is key.
Our dedicated Agriculture and Estates team at Ashtons Legal, many of whom come from a farming background themselves, has many years of expertise in helping farming businesses to become as resilient and forward-looking as possible, and so best able to weather (pun very much intended) the inevitable rollercoaster ride that is farming now in the UK.
For more information on the services offered by Ashtons Legal, please visit www.ashtonslegal.co.uk
You can contact Fenella Eddell, who has many years of experience acting for East Anglian farmers, at fenella.eddell@ashtonslegal.co.uk
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