Wet weather cost £1bn in lost arable farm incomes

UK farmers lost £1.19 billion in income from arable crops last year following the extreme wet and stormy weather, official figures show.

- EMILY BEAMENT

The Environment Department's (Defra) farmer income figures, released on Thursday, showed that while the overall UK farm income was up from £6.1 billion to £7.7 billion between 2023 and 2024, income from the main arable crops fell by £1.19 million.

This was driven by significant drop from barley, wheat, barley and oilseed rape, albeit slightly offset by gains from potatoes, according to an analysis of the figures by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) think tank.

The falling incomes can be attributed to the third-worst harvest on record last year, caused by wet weather in key planting periods, as well as the ongoing fall in cereal and oilseed prices following the peaks of 2022. It comes amid warnings that farmers could be facing another terrible harvest this year following the hottest spring on record and the driest conditions in decades.