Persistent wet weather taking its toll on UK farmers

Farmers and landowners across the UK are being told to expect further flooding of land, with Storm Henk set to bring more heavy rain.

Persistent wet weather over the Christmas period has caused further damage to crops and farmland, following devastation caused by Storms Babet and Ciaran in the autumn.

The Environment Agency has issued 129 flood warnings (flooding is expected) and 294 flood alerts (flooding is possible) for England, Natural Resources Wales has issued 10 flood warning and 37 flood alerts for Wales and there are two flood alerts and one flood warning in place in Scotland.

See also: Flood Action Week: Farmers demand Environment Agency raises game

The Met Office said Storm Henk will bring a spell of very strong winds and heavy rain to parts of southern Wales and England on Tuesday 2 January, with gusts of up to 80mph possible.

Its chief meteorologist, Paul Gundersen, said the UK Is forecast to remain unsettled throughout the week, but there are early signs of high pressure developing, which will bring a spell of more settled weather and lower temperatures next week.

‘Wettest start to new year’

Yorkshire tenant farmer Paul Temple, who farms at Wold Farm, between Driffield and Langtoft, told Farmers Weekly he had never seen the area so wet going into a new year.

“We’re not so bad up on the Wolds, but the lower ground is horrendously wet. There is standing water in areas where we have never seen before,” said Mr Temple.

Many arable farmers in the area who had delayed drilling winter cereals in the autumn to reduce the effects of blackgrass were now finding the land was too wet to drill any crop, he added. Those who have drilled crops are facing losses and major leaching of nitrogen.

Mr Temple said the wet conditions were forcing him to spend more time than usual cleaning out sheds and ensuring straw bedding is dry enough for cattle.

“It’s proving to be a tough, expensive and genuinely depressing winter up to now,” he added.

Wheat shortage fears

Arable farmer Phil Rowbottom, who farms 135ha and runs a 27-hole golf course near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, said the area has suffered relentless rainfall since September.

More than 1,100mm of rain was recorded at the farm in 2023 – almost double the annual average of 600-650mm.

“It’s siling down here and we have never seen the golf course so wet,” said Mr Rowbottom. “There is going to be such a shortage of wheat coming in in 2024.”

Scottish farms ‘saturated’

NFU Scotland vice-president Andrew Connon said continuous, extreme wet weather was having a tremendous impact on Scottish farms and crofts.

“We had a huge storm last Wednesday (Storm Gerrit) following on from the devastating autumn storms. The ground is saturated and farmers cannot get on to the ground to get muck spreading or ploughing done.

“Yes, we can do the work in the spring when it dries up, but it will take a long time to dry.”

Has your farm been badly affected by heavy rain and flooding this winter? Email your photos and stories to philip.case@markallengroup.com.