England and Wales recorded their driest July since records began in 1836, with almost three-quarters of land in England currently in drought following record-low rainfall and unusually high temperatures, as the country's fifth heatwave of the summer arrived. For arable farmers, the drought comes as the third in five years and the second in consecutive years, compounding losses from fuel and fertiliser price rises that followed disruptions to global energy markets earlier in 2025.
UK farmers face third drought in five years as July records driest month since 1836
England and Wales recorded their driest July since records began in 1836, with almost three-quarters of land in England currently in drought following record-low rainfall and unusually high temperatures, as the country's fifth heatwave of the summer arrived. For arable farmers, the drought comes as the third in five years and the second in consecutive years, compounding losses from fuel and fertiliser price rises that followed disruptions to global energy markets earlier in 2025.
Tom Pearson, who farms Manor Farm in Caxton, near Cambridge, has spent 11 years applying regenerative methods — including no-till farming and reduced chemical inputs — and this year planted small plots of ancient grain varieties such as einkorn and emmer, sourced from seed banks in the United States, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the John Innes Centre in Norwich. Those varieties evolved under water-limited conditions and predate modern fertilisers by thousands of years, he said, calling this year 'probably the perfect year for them.' Despite those measures, his wheat yields were down roughly 40 percent this season, and overall yields have fallen for a third consecutive year.
Jamie Burrows, chair of the National Farmers' Union's Combinable Crops Board, said the fact that more than half of the winter wheat crop had been harvested before the end of July 'reflects the challenging growing season many arable farmers have experienced.' He said the industry urgently needs government investment in drought- and disease-resistant crop varieties and a planning system that makes on-farm water storage easier to build.
Helen Wakeham, chair of the National Drought Group, described the pattern as 'an exceptionally serious situation' with 'long-lasting impacts.' Farmers entered this growing season already exposed after fuel and fertiliser prices surged following United States and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, which closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping and disrupted global energy and fertiliser markets, according to the source.
A study published in May 2025 by the European Investment Bank and European Commission, led by insurance risk specialist Rowan Douglas, former head of Howden's Climate Risk and Resilience team, modelled agricultural climate risk across the European Union. It found that extreme-weather losses already average 28 billion euros ($32bn) a year across the bloc, a figure projected to rise to 40 billion euros ($46bn) by 2050. In a severe year, losses could reach 60 billion euros ($70bn) now or 100 billion euros ($115bn) by mid-century, with yields down by a fifth across the EU. Approximately 80 percent of that risk is currently uninsured and borne directly by farmers. The UK, which is outside the EU, was not included in the study and has no comprehensive national crop-insurance scheme.
- The source does not state the precise yield figures for UK arable crops as a whole this season, only that Pearson's wheat yields were down approximately 40 percent and that yields have fallen for three consecutive years on his farm.
- The source does not state whether the UK government has responded to or been asked about the calls for crop-variety investment, planning reform, or national risk quantification.
- The source does not state the current status or reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following the strikes described, nor independently verify the claim that those strikes caused the fuel and fertiliser price rises.
- The source does not state the size of Pearson's farm or the total acreage given over to ancient grain varieties.
- The source does not state whether the May 2025 European Investment Bank and European Commission study has been peer-reviewed or its specific methodology beyond that it modelled agricultural climate risk across the EU.
- The source does not state what level of rainfall England and Wales received in July 2025, only that large stretches saw barely a tenth of average monthly rainfall and that it was the driest July since records began in 1836.
Read the original at Al Jazeera English