"Realities of climate change" are hitting UK’s harvest

Defra says it has allocated £11.8 billion towards sustainable farming and food production, and is working with farmers to boost resilience to climate change  

The UK is set for its fifth-worst harvest since detailed record-taking began in 1984, according to a report from the non-profit Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).

The ECIU says that the UK’s dry spring affected the development of arable crops such as wheat, oats and barley. Growers of field vegetables, such as broccoli and cauliflower, have also reported low levels of production this year, while livestock farmers have struggled to grow enough grass for their cattle and sheep, according to the ECIU.  

This follows last year's rain-affected growing season, which made 2024 the third-worst UK harvest on record since 1984. 

Tom Lancaster, Land, Food and Farming Analyst at the ECIU, said: “This is what farming in a changing climate looks like, with huge implications for our farmers, food production and UK food security.  

“Farmers need more and better support to adapt to these extremes. There’s a real urgency to ensure that support to invest in healthier soils and other green farming measures that can boost resilience is once again made available.

“The only real insurance against these climate impacts wrecking future harvests is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to net zero. This should now be viewed as a priority for our long-term food security.”  

“The realities of climate change are starting to hit home: droughts, fire, storms and other extremes will increase in frequency and intensity…” 

Tim Benson, Professor of Population Ecology at the University of Leeds, said: “The realities of climate change are starting to hit home: droughts, fire, storms and other extremes will increase in frequency and intensity, disrupting agriculture and its supply chains. 

“There is an urgent need to build farming resilience to adapt to the new conditions. Adaptation can take many forms – changing what is produced, where it is produced, how it is produced, diversifying and working more with nature, rather than against nature. 

“Ultimately, if we do not tackle the underlying drivers of climate change, we make the target harder to achieve, as the disruptive conditions will just get worse.”

Dr Emma Wilkins, Research Fellow in Nutrition and Lifestyle Analytics at the University of Leeds, added: “The global food system contributes a third of greenhouse gas emissions, so we will need substantial changes to the food system to meet these targets. 

“This means changes along all stages, from adopting lower-emissions farming and manufacturing technologies, to reformulation of products and changes to our purchasing behaviours (e.g. a shift toward more plant-based and fewer animal-based products). We will all need to move swiftly and boldly to achieve the scale of change necessary.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “Our commitment to farming and food security is steadfast, and we have allocated a record £11.8 billion towards sustainable farming and food production, and we will outline updates to our reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer later this summer.

“We are also working with farmers to build greater resilience to climate change including through the National Drought Group.” 

Compounding the ongoing climate challenges, Arla Foods warned recently that worsening labour shortages in farming and manufacturing are also putting Britain’s food security at risk.

Arla’s fifth annual farmer survey of 1,900 British producers revealed a chronic shortage of skilled workers. As a result, six per cent of farmers have cut output, while 13 per cent say they will leave farming within the next year if the situation does not improve.