Extreme weather has again dominated the agricultural headlines over early summer. The Environment Agency has now declared half of England in drought and both dairy and arable farmers are struggling with record temperatures and dry conditions. Elsewhere, the sector celebrated the women driving farming forward, Red Tractor faced an ongoing battle to regain farmer’s trust and rural crime once again cast a shadow over the countryside.
Drought grips half of England as heatwaves take their toll
The Environment Agency has declared drought across seven regions spanning central, eastern and southern England, with the country now experiencing its third drought in five years (2022, 2025, and 2026). In July there was minimal rainfall across England, with only 3% of the long-term average (LTA) received for the month. Reservoir levels have now fallen to 67.7% full on average, well below the 80.5% typically seen at this time of year. NFU deputy president Paul Tompkins said farmers were experiencing “climate change in action”, warning that without secure water supplies the industry cannot build resilient businesses or protect food security. The union is pushing government for a more responsive water abstraction licensing system and simplified planning rules to allow farmers to build more reservoirs. Farmers in England lost an estimated £800m in 2025 due to hot, dry weather, and experts warn in 2026 there could be shortages of some crops including baking potatoes and onions.
Northamptonshire entrepreneur named ‘Farming Woman of the Year’
Northamptonshire farmer, social entrepreneur and influencer Milly Fyfe was named Farming Woman of the Year at the National Women in Agriculture Awards 2026. As founder of The Countryside Kitchen, she was recognised for developing an education hub that supports children and families while promoting understanding of farming and food production. The same week, Milly also won in the food waste category at the Women in Food and Drink Awards. After scooping the two prestigious awards, Millie said she hoped to “inspire other young girls and women to think about a career in agriculture” and that she was “over the moon” and her phone hadn’t “stopped buzzing with positivity!”
The Farming Woman of the Year event continues to shine a light on the breadth of roles women play across British farming, at a time when the industry is increasingly keen to promote diversity and encourage new entrants into agricultural careers.
Mistrust remains at Red Tractor
New Red Tractor chief executive Paul McLaughlin faced questions about the scheme from lamb producers at a National Sheep Association event. One of those, sheep farmer Bryan Griffiths, who is also a Beef and Lamb Sector Board Technical and Advisory Committee member, said that although he reported real attitudinal change lower down the organisation where he works, mistrust in the leadership remained. Paul McLaughlin insisted Red Tractor had listened following the Farm Assurance Review, denied the body existed purely to fulfil supermarkets’ “wish lists,” and said standards were built on consensus between farmers, NFU, AHDB, retailers and processors – and not decided by whoever “has the biggest say.”
Farming kit and livestock theft still on the rise
Although NFU Mutual reported the cost of rural crime falling in 2025 to £41.5 million, there have been worrying increases across AV and livestock theft (especially quad bikes and ATVs) and crime has remained firmly in the headlines this summer. Police in Cornwall appealed for information after more than 60 sheep were stolen from a single field, with one farmer describing the theft as showing a “lack of respect for countryside and for what we do”. At the Royal Welsh Show – the UK’s biggest agricultural event – several businesses fell victim to a string of thefts and officers appealed for witnesses after two KYMCO quad bikes were stolen from a trade stand at the showground. The run of incidents underlines the continued vulnerability of the sector to theft and the real financial and human cost.
Crop Watch: struggling beet and rising yellow rust
The dry conditions gripping much of the country are taking a visible toll on crops, according to the latest Crop Watch report. Winter crops on light land and spring-drilled crops are suffering, with one agronomist describing sugar beet in the East as having a “torrid time” in some fields. In the South, yellow rust pressure is on the rise, adding a disease headache to the moisture stress already affecting growers. With harvest well underway in some areas earlier than usual, agronomists are urging growers to stay vigilant, balancing the demands of a challenging drought year against emerging disease risk in the weeks ahead.
STOP PRESS
Jeremy Clarkson says farmers can’t make money from growing food
Writing in his column in The Sun newspaper, Jeremy Clarkson says it’s currently ‘impossible’ to make money from growing food. He has warned of the future of farming, having revealed he left 200 acres at his Diddly Squat Farm untouched this year in fear of a guaranteed financial loss. Outlining the reasons behind his decision, he named rising input costs, alternative Incentives such as the Post-Brexit SFI scheme that pays more for environmental work than actual food production, and future land shifts. Here Clarkson predicts desperate farmers may soon replace fields with solar farms, data centres or bioenergy crops. He emphasised the urgent need for government intervention to address the severe financial difficulties faced by the farming sector today.
Sources:
Drought
www.nfuonline.com/news/nfu-responds-to-drought-status-announcement/
National Women in Agriculture
www.fwi.co.uk/news/winners-announced-at-national-women-in-agriculture-awards-2026
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3pnvy0nzyo
Red Tractor
Rural crime
farmersguardian.com/news/4533358/sheep-theft-lack-respect-countryside-farmer
www.farmersguardian.com/news/4533184/police-appeal-information-following-royal-welsh-quad-bike-theft
www.nfuonline.com/news/nfu-mutual-rural-crime-report/
Crop Watch
www.fwi.co.uk/arable/crop-watch/crop-watch-struggling-beet-and-yellow-rust-in-the-south
Jeremy Clarkson
www.farmersguardian.com/news/4533473/clarkson-impossible-money-growing-food
