Rutland Farmers Rethink How They Work as Heatwaves Take Their Toll
Climate change pushing local farms to adapt for the future
Farmers across Rutland say they are being forced to change the way they run their businesses as climate change brings more extreme weather.
Last week, parts of the county saw temperatures soar into the thirties during a UK-wide heatwave.
Joe Stanley from the national farming union, which covers Rutland, says farmers of all kinds are facing new challenges.
“So really whatever type of farming you're into, these extremes of weather that farmers are increasingly facing, especially extreme heat, is a real challenge,” he explains.
“What we're having to start thinking about as farmers is how can we provide more natural shade in our fields going forward."
"Things like having more trees in our fields in order to protect both our crops and our livestock.”
Stanley says adapting means investing in new technologies and techniques like air conditioning.
“We really do have to look at how we can make our domestic food production as resilient as possible so that we're not reliant on trade,” he said.
“Because again, in a world where this is happening everywhere, we can't always assume that we're going to be able to import through from somewhere else.”
He adds that there are practical steps local farms are already considering.
“There are things that farmers can do. We can do things such as retrofit our sheds to perhaps become more adaptable in these hot conditions."
"For livestock, we can do things like concentrate on improving soil health to help make it more resilient to climate change.”
With more hot summers expected, Rutland’s farmers are looking ahead and finding new ways to keep their businesses going—whatever the weather brings.