Water rules relaxed as farmers battle drought for crops and animals
FARMERS BATTLING to keep crops alive and livestock cool in the hot, dry conditions are set to benefit from relaxed water rules following an emergency drought summit with government officials.
The Environment Agency has pledged to make it easier for water allowances to be traded between farmers in order to maximise supplies, and to help them to capitalise on any extra water that accumulates in rivers after heavy rain.
It has also committed to consider requests from farmers to take additional water on an emergency basis if there is a real or imminent threat to crops and livestock, with cases to be assessed to limit any impact on the environment and other water users.
The agency announced the measures after the National Farmers’ Union hosted a meeting with Government officials in London yesterday to discuss the tinderbox conditions that have stunted grass growth and depleted yields. According to official records, the first half of summer has been the driest in the UK since 1961.
Paul Hickey, head of water resources at the Environment Agency, said farmers are facing considerable pressures in light of drought conditions, and they needed support to safeguard food production and animal welfare.
ENVIRONMENT SECRETARY Michael Gove has promised to give farmers the support they deserve amid “unprecedented” conditions affecting their businesses caused by the driest start to summer for 57 years.
Speaking outside a drought summit held by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Mr Gove emphasised the importance of supporting future food production and taking steps “in order to ensure we can improve and enhance our resilience against the challenge of climate change”.
He also said: “We will make sure farmers have what they need in order to provide us with highquality food and ensure their businesses survive.
“We want to be flexible and we don’t want to allow bureaucracy to get in the way of providing farmers with the support they deserve and the country needs.”
NFU president Minette Batters described recent weather conditions as “unprecedented” and that she hoped lessons will be learned that a future farm policy will account for the severe volatility that the industry is exposed to.
After yesterday’s meeting in London, Ms Batters said: “The impacts of the dry and hot weather have been hugely challenging for many farms across the country, with many not seeing such weather in their lifetimes.
“Today’s summit was a wakeup call to Government and policy makers about the importance of British food production and the critical need to manage the volatility that comes with it.
“As we move towards a new domestic agricultural policy it’s vital that market failure and volatility are treated seriously alongside productivity and delivering for the environment in order that the nation continues to have access to British food which is high quality and produced to world leading standards.”
Following the meeting, the Environment Agency announced measures to help farmers access water supplies with crops and livestock suffering in the heat.
Ms Batters welcomed the move, saying: “We look at field crops, potatoes, all of these people are on contracts to supply so they need to be able to supply and they need to fulfil that requirement.”
Ms Batters also warned that livestock farmers face a lack of fodder, and where there are available supplies, costs are going through the roof.
Feeding dairy herds is going to cost an extra £60,000 per dairy farming business, more than most businesses’ profits, she said.
The NFU is also seeking support to help transport animal fodder across the country to where a lack of grass in parched fields is proving costly on livestock farms.