'We've probably lost 20% of this year's harvest,' says Suffolk farmer
The Met Office says 2026 has so far been warmer and drier than average, with just 42% of the UK's typical summer rainfall.
A Suffolk farmer says repeated heatwaves are taking a growing toll on food production, with this year's dry conditions leading to earlier harvests, lower yields and increasing concerns over water supplies.
Glenn Buckingham, Farm Manager at Helmingham Estate Farms and former NFU Suffolk County Chair, said arable farmers had seen harvests begin between 10 days and three weeks earlier than normal following an exceptionally dry spring and summer. He estimates yields are down by around 20%, despite crops being harvested in good condition.
Mr Buckingham's comments come as the UK experiences another spell of hot, dry weather. The Met Office says 2026 has so far been warmer and drier than average, with just 42% of the UK's typical summer rainfall having fallen by the halfway point of the season
Mr Buckingham said the early harvest had brought some short-term benefits, including lower grain drying costs and good crop quality, but said those gains were outweighed by reduced production.
He said: "Harvest has actually been very fast, very early for most people. The crops are ripe, the straw is easy to handle and the quality is great.
"But the ground's cracked right out, it's very dry. We were between 10 days and three weeks early compared to normal, and that tells us everything about how critical water is to maintaining production."
Farmers 'stuck waiting for rain'
With fields now too dry to cultivate, Mr Buckingham said many farmers have little option but to wait for wetter weather before preparing land for autumn crops.
He said prolonged dry conditions have left soils with a significant moisture deficit, preventing normal cultivation and delaying planting decisions.
"We just have to sit and wait," he said.
"There's actually nothing you can do. Hopefully by mid-September we'll have had enough rain to allow autumn cultivations to get underway, but we're starting from a very dry point with a forecast that we're still in for another two weeks of dry weather."
He added that while there should be enough seed available for next season's crops, supplies of some new cereal varieties could become more limited because of lower yields this year.
Harvests down 'around 20%'
Mr Buckingham said the biggest financial impact for many arable farms would come from lower yields rather than increased harvesting efficiency.
"So now I think the main effect is that the early harvest has probably lowered most people's harvests by 20% on average," he said.
"Even though you might have saved a bit of money on drying grain, it really is not the same as earning more money or having greater yield. So it will have a financial impact for sure."
He added that higher diesel prices had also increased pressure on farm businesses.
Calls for more water storage
Mr Buckingham said adapting to future summers would require greater investment in water storage, including more reservoirs and increased rainwater harvesting.
He argued that more winter rainfall should be captured for use during dry periods, particularly by farms that rely on irrigation.
"For those that irrigate, there's absolutely no doubt that the need for more storage is vital," he said.
"There needs to be the ability to catch winter water. We really should be storing that for food production. If this is a taste of the future, it will definitely become the norm."
He also called for faster local decision-making on reservoir projects involving organisations including the Environment Agency, planning authorities and Natural England.
'We're behind on adapting'
Mr Buckingham said the recent run of hot summers suggested the effects of climate change were arriving sooner than many had expected.
He believes farmers, policymakers and wider society now need to adapt more quickly to changing weather patterns.
"We're probably 30 years behind in thinking about the impacts of climate change as a society," he said.
"I don't think we actually accept what we have to do and the level of adaptation we probably have to think about.
"I thought we had another 15, 20 or 30 years before we'd see successive summers of these temperatures. We've now had three or four in the last five years.
"I think we're further into climate change than we thought, and we now have to adapt and decarbonise simultaneously, at speed."
Mr Buckingham also said future development should place greater emphasis on rainwater harvesting and designing homes to cope with overheating, arguing that better water management would help both drought resilience and flood prevention