Expect Shrunken Vegetables and Less Cheese Amid Drought, Warn British Farmers

Estate Director of the Euston Estate farm Andrew Blenkiron stands by a field of forage maize which has largely failed to germinate because of a lack of rain, in Thetford, England, on Aug. 10, 2022. William Edwards/AFP via Getty Images

Farmers and agricultural experts have told consumers to expect strange-looking shrunken vegetables and less cheese as drought conditions ravish farms in Britain.

The National Drought Group, made up of a team of advisers from the Environment Agency (EA), declared a drought in 14 regions of the country including the southwest, parts of southern and central England, and the East of England on Aug. 12.

“Consumers need to have a bit more flexibility because potatoes might be a bit smaller, onions might be a little bit smaller,” Tom Bradshaw, deputy president at the National Farmers Union’s, told The Telegraph.

“And that’s still the case of everyone just needing to pull together a little bit to accept that it’s not been a perfect time,” he added.

Bradshaw said that supermarkets will have to flexible in what they accept and shoppers will just have to go along with it.

“Then you’ve got your broccoli, your cauliflower, they’re all being impacted at the moment by their growing conditions.

“There isn’t anything which is not impacted [by the heatwave] if it’s grown in a field that isn’t irrigated,” Bradshaw said.

“Countryfile” presenter and Cotswold farmer Adam Henson told Times Radio the dry conditions meant he had no feed for his herd of cattle.

“We’ve got none, completely burnt out by the heatwave. We’ve start to feed out winter forage, silage, and hay to our cattle,” Henson said.

Cheese Quota

Henson also warned the heatwave might affect dairy farmers.

“Apparently cows aren’t producing that much milk because they are not eating as much as they should be,” he said.

“Some farmers aren’t managing to meet their quota for producing milk, particularly on cheese contracts.”

Harvey Bradshaw, EA executive director for the environment and chair of the National Drought Group, said in a statement: “The current high temperatures we are experiencing have exacerbated pressures on wildlife and our water environment.

“EA staff is doing an excellent job responding to environmental impacts and working with water companies to make sure they are following their drought plans,” Bradshaw said.

The government has highlighted working with farmers to get the water they need as a special area to address.

“All water companies have reassured us that essential supplies are still safe, and we have made it clear it is their duty to maintain those supplies,” water minister Steve Double said in a press release.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was “working with farmers, businesses and other abstractors to manage water availability and ensure they get the water they need to be resilient while maintaining our protection of the environment.”

Measures taken include “operating water transfer schemes between different areas of the country, to make sure water gets to the areas which are worst affected by prolonged dry weather,” it said.