'Worried' farmers call for water resilience plan

THE heatwave is piling more pressure on farmers who were already struggling to produce food in the face of the very dry conditions.

- EMILY BEAMENT Environment reporter

Much of the country is sweltering in a heatwave, with temperatures set to climb above 30C this weekend and an “amber” heat-health alert issued warning of “significant” impacts for health services.

For farmers, the heatwave threatens to worsen the outlook for food production already struggling off the back of a record-hot and the driest spring in decades that has left north west England and Yorkshire in drought and other regions in prolonged dry conditions.

The hot, dry spring came after a record wet spell which left many farmers struggling to sow crops last autumn, and led to warnings earlier this month of potentially the worst harvest on record for major arable crops if conditions did not improve.