Farmers across Cheshire are warning of a harvest crisis after one of the wettest summers on record left fields waterlogged and crops at risk of rotting in the ground. The county has received more than twice its average July rainfall, and the forecast offers little immediate relief. For many growers, the situation is beginning to resemble the catastrophic summer of 2012, which cost the UK agricultural sector an estimated £400 million.
At Thornton Farm near Malpas, third-generation farmer Geoffrey Thornton walked me through fields of winter wheat that should, by now, be approaching harvest. Instead, the crop stands in standing water, the lower stalks already showing signs of fungal infection. "I've been farming this land for thirty years," he said. "I've never seen it like this two years running." Last summer was also difficult, though not as severe. The cumulative effect on soil structure and drainage has made the current situation worse than the rainfall figures alone would suggest.
The National Farmers' Union has written to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs requesting emergency support, including an extension to the Rural Payments Agency's deadline for claiming Basic Payment Scheme funds. A spokesperson for the NFU's North West region said the organisation was also seeking clarity on whether flood-affected farms would qualify for the government's recently announced agricultural resilience fund, which was primarily designed with drought conditions in mind.
The situation is not uniform across the region. Some farms on higher ground have fared better, and the fruit and vegetable sector has been less severely affected than arable growers. But for those dependent on wheat and barley, the next three weeks will be critical. If the weather breaks and temperatures rise, there may still be time to salvage a partial harvest. If not, some farms face the prospect of writing off the entire crop.