Drought 2025: What Our Tenant Farmers Are Facing and How Nature-Friendly Practices Help

The Environment Agency has warned that drought conditions will persist into autumn, despite recent heavy rain. Five areas of England remain officially in drought. For many farmers, the damage is already done, raising fears for a difficult winter and another dry spring ahead. 

Record low-yields 

After one of the driest periods since 1976, farmers have reported crop failures and record-low yields. 

Arable farmer Tim Scott, of Lark Rise, said his spring crops were down 70 per cent and winter crops down 30 per cent.  

“This year, the yield could barely justify combining the field,” he said. “Usually if you have a bad year, the price will rise because of shortages. But this year prices are still falling. I literally cannot have another bad year.” 

Tim blames a “perfect storm” of weather, with a dry spring, scorching sun, cloud at the critical growth stage, and rain at harvest, and is now switching from spring to winter sowing to reduce risk, despite higher costs. 

For Nicholas Watts, CRT trustee and owner of Vine House Farm in Lincolnshire, while yields were the lowest since 2012, he says grain quality was good and the dry weather reduced costs.  

“There is not any trend towards dry springs but we are definitely experiencing global warming but that doesn’t mean we will be growing different crops because if you go to northern France, they are growing the same crops as we are. Global warming means that snow ploughs will disappear and we will have longer between harvest and planting our autumn crops. 

“This year has been quite an easy year for us as we have been able to do things when we wanted to and it is far nicer to farm in a dry year than a wet year.” 

High feed costs 

Livestock farmers have also been hit by shortages of silage and straw. 

At Brays Farm in Surrey, dairy farmer Matt Elphick said: “It’s definitely the hardest year I have ever had.”  

He has only 25 to 30 bales left, barely a month’s supply, and expects to spend £6,000 to £7,000 on extra feed. “Milk yields have held up because we’ve been feeding them, but the cost is huge,” he said. 

“I am worried I won’t find enough feed and it might be we have to go a long way to get it, which costs more,” he says. 

In Dorset, Jim Strawbridge at Babers Farm, has decided to reduce cattle numbers and sell lambs early rather than buy in expensive feed. “With every farmer buying in food, it is so expensive. We will cut back and hopefully go again in spring,” he said. 

At Pierrepont Farm in Surrey, Kayleigh Robb is worried it will be a difficult winter buying in quality feed. “The weather this year has massively impacted the farm,” she said. “I’m going to have to buy in all my winter cattle feed, which is going to be an expense that wasn’t in the budget, and with prices creeping up and up as we head into winter. The plan was to do a second cut, or third cut on our fields, but due to the sandy soils, it just didn’t grow.”  

Not all farmers have suffered across the county 

At Twyford Farm in West Sussex, tenant farmer Bob Felton was able to buy herbal lays locally, giving him enough standing grass to make silage for the winter. 

However, his hay crop was only 75 per cent of normal. Acorns, which are poisonous to cattle, have created new challenges: “I do not have a single field without an oak tree, so we will get the cattle inside on silage before we sell them.” 

In Norfolk, grazier Izzi Rainey said careful planning helped her cope. She baled straw this harvest and trades muck for straw with neighbours. “Every year there’s a challenge. You just adapt,” she said. 

It is certainly true that we are seeing more extremes of weather due to climate change, and while our tenants are far from immune from the impacts, the inclusion of a variety of nature friendly farming techniques should hopefully help our farms to be more resilient to these extremes, explains Kerriann McLackland, the CRT’s Head of Estates. 

She said: “For example, where soils are healthier, they have better structure for retaining water during dry seasons. 

“If you have less bare soil due to lower stocking rates and a greater abundance of broad-leaved weeds, it reduces evaporation from the soil and also reduces soil erosion. More trees and bushier hedges also helps provide shelter for livestock in high temperatures.  

“Nature-friendly farming also means lower input systems in terms of chemical fertilisers and sprays, which helps reduce farm costs and therefore reduce losses during seasons where there are crop failures,” she added. 

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