Hampshire farmers say harvest is "absolutely soul-destroying"
It comes as new analysis finds this year's harvest could be the worst on record
Last updated 6 hours ago
Analysis suggests this year's harvest could be the worst on record - as Hampshire farmers say it's "absolutely soul-destroying".
New research is finding the hot, dry spring and summer could have cut cereals and oilseed harvest by 2.5 million tonnes compared to earlier forecasts.
Tom Peters, NFU County Advisor for the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, says more support is needed.
He said: "I've only been speaking to members this morning and the two words they said were that this harvest is 'absolutely soul-destroying'.
"The unprecedented harvest has just been absolutely decimating for them.
"Financially, on the back of a fairly mediocre harvest last year, and the drought again last year, it's really starting to be a worrying time for farmers, not only across Hampshire, but across the country."
The shortfall from the harvest could be costing UK farmers as much as £390 million.
Forecasts in March and April from European and US agricultural bodies suggested that UK yields were on course to be at or above 10-year averages in 2026.
But the latest harvest data from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) suggests wheat, barley and oat yields will all be down, with wheat, around half of which has been harvested, averaging 6.8 tonnes per hectare, well below the 10-year average.
Mr Peters told us what he'd like to see.
He said: "It would be welcome to see some sort of drought help maybe from government.
"Probably with livestock, it would be nice to see some sort of forage aid or something like that where there would be some help.
"But I think more of the central ask from government would be to understand that we're not self-sufficient in our food.
"We need to understand where this food is going to come from because there is drought pressure across Europe and also into North America.
"So global food supply could really come under a huge amount of pressure over the next 12 to 18 months, which is a real worry.
"We need to be able to feed ourselves, and if we can't?
"That's a big problem."