Plea to ministers after dry spell

FARM and nature leaders have risen to demand the Government protects the agriculture budget as the countryside struggles with the dry conditions.

- EMILY BEAMENT AND IAN JONES

The call comes as the latest Met Office data show swathes of the country have had a record number of days with little or no rain so far this year.

Though rain is expected today, analysis by the PA news agency found that the North East is one of a number of regions to have had a record number of days with less than 0.1mm of rain since January 1, in records dating back to 1931.

In national records stretching further back, the UK is experiencing the driest spring in more than a century, which has put crops and habitats under pressure and prompted warnings to millions of households they may face water restrictions this summer.

In the face of the dry weather, the heads of major farming organisations and conservation charities have urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to protect the farming budget - which is the biggest spend for nature as well as supporting farmers ~ in her spending review.

Without investment to make agriculture and landscapes resilient to the extremes that climate change is bringing and to protect the environment, food security and legal targets to restore nature will be at risk, they warn.

Farming payments in England have switched from EU-era subsidies to funding for “public goods” such as healthy soil, wildflowers, clean water and hedgerows, and last autumn the Government heralded a “record” £5bn over two years for sustainable farming.