Summer drought cost UK arable farmers over £800m, research finds

Arable farmers in the UK are facing an estimated reduction in revenues of over £828m following one of their worst harvests.

Crop production was hit by the hottest spring and summer on record as well as drought conditions which has impacted farm profitability, analysis from the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit has revealed.

The value of UK production for five staple arable crops is estimated to be £3.4bn in 2024, based on estimated production and current ex-farm prices. This is down 20%, or £828m, compared to the 10-year average.

“This has been another torrid year for many farmers in the UK, with the pendulum swinging from too wet to too hot and dry,” said Tom Lancaster, land, food and farming analyst at ECIU. “British farmers have once again been left counting the costs of climate change, with four-fifths now concerned about their ability to make a living due to the fast-changing climate.”

The latest data from Defra is expected next week, however earlier data confirmed it to be the second worst on record for England, with the UK harvest expected to be similarly poor.

Lancaster said there was an “urgent need to ensure farmers are better supported to adapt to these climate shocks and build their resilience”.

He called for the relaunch of sustainable farming schemes and for a more concerted effort from industry and government to transition land use to more resilient methods.

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These calls were echoed by Essex-based arable farmer David Lord who said the schemes were a “vital lifeline”.

“With the schemes closed and no clarity on their future, too many farmers are locked out, unable to access the support they need to adapt whilst facing a wider agriculture policy that does too little to build our resilience and too often works against it,” he added.

The poor harvest in 2025 has been compounded by low farmgate prices for these crops, which have come down from a peak in 2022.

ECIU has estimated the shortfall in revenue is a function of lower production with prices now close to the 10-year average. These low prices reflect that the UK is “too small” to have an influence on global prices which makes UK farmers particularly exposed to climate shocks, the organisation said.

“With costs rising faster than prices, I’m not sure how many more years like this we can take as an industry,” said Lord.

“As a crop farmer, it’s getting to the point with climate change where I can’t take the risk of investing in a new crop of wheat or barley because the return on that investment is just so uncertain.”

The analysis comes ahead of the long-awaited review into farm profitability from former NFU president Minette Batters, which is due to be published before Christmas.