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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of the resilience of agricultural water supplies during prolonged dry weather.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of the resilience of agricultural water supplies during prolonged dry weather.
The Environment Agency (EA) and Defra are holding monthly National Drought Group meetings gathering intelligence from the agriculture sector on water resilience. Supplies in irrigation reservoirs have rapidly declined following a dry spring and many are now at less than 50% capacity. Conditions on abstraction licences to protect the environment also reduce water availability where river flows are low.
The EA has downgraded its spray irrigation prospects forecast for farmers following the dry weather and deterioration in the water resources position. The EA’s irrigation prospect report includes support packages available for farmers to increase their resilience.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support is available to farmers facing financial hardship due to (a) extreme weather events and (b) market volatility.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support is available to farmers facing financial hardship due to (a) extreme weather events and (b) market volatility.
For farm businesses to stay viable in an increasingly uncertain world, they must be able to profit from other activities.
The Government is offering a New Deal for Farmers to help address this. We have allocated a record £11.8bn to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament, protected farmers in trade deals and unlocked new markets for British produce, and extended the Season Worker Visa Scheme for 5 years. We have started to make the supply chain fairer, and we want our farmers to be primed to bid for a fair share of the £5 billion pounds a year spent on public-sector food and catering contracts.
That this House recognises the severe impact of extreme weather on farming communities across the UK, including in Newbury, where farmers have reported some of the worst harvests in decades; notes with concern that Government figures show a 14% decrease in the English barley harvest and a 23% fall in spring barley yields compared to the previous year, with other cereal crops also experiencing significant reductions despite increased planting; acknowledges the financial and emotional strain this places on farmers, many of whom are facing mounting pressures from crop failure, rising costs, and market uncertainty; further notes that some farmers are being forced to sell land or exit the industry altogether, risking long-term damage to the rural economy and national food security; highlights expert warnings that such extreme weather patterns may become the norm, and that urgent adaptation and resilience measures are needed; urges the Government to recognise the seriousness of this crisis and its implications for farming livelihoods, food production, and mental health and community wellbeing; and calls on the Government to support profitable, sustainable and nature-friendly farming by increasing the farming budget by an additional £1 billion a year.
That this House recognises the severe impact of extreme weather on farming communities across the UK, including in Newbury, where farmers have reported some of the worst harvests in decades; notes with concern that Government figures show a 14% decrease in the English barley harvest and a 23% fall in...
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help improve the resilience of farming infrastructure in extreme weather.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help improve the resilience of farming infrastructure in extreme weather.
We are providing farmers and land managers with the support needed to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security and build resilience to climate change. There are currently record numbers of farmers taking part in farming schemes such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive. As of April 2025, these schemes supported 885,000 hectares of arable land being farmed without insecticides; 330,000 hectares of low input grassland being managed sustainably; and 85,000 kilometres of hedgerows being protected and restored.
In the recent spending review, we allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history.
This means:
- Funding for the Environmental Land Management Schemes paid to farmers will increase by 150% from £800 million in 2023/24 to £2 billion by 2028/29.
- Overall farmers and land managers will benefit from an average of £2.3 billion a year through the Farming and Countryside Programme.
- And up to £400 million from additional nature schemes, including those for tree planting and peatland restoration.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of extreme heat and drought on harvest forecasts for summer 2025.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of extreme heat and drought on harvest forecasts for summer 2025.
Defra does not forecast harvest yields. However, the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group monitors, alongside other issues, the impact of heat and drought on agricultural markets across the UK, while continuing to develop our understanding and analysis of the longer term impacts of extreme weather and climate change on farming.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers in Wiltshire to (a) retain soil moisture and (b) protect (i) crops and (ii) livestock from high temperatures.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers in Wiltshire to (a) retain soil moisture and (b) protect (i) crops and (ii) livestock from high temperatures.
Defra is aware of current concerns around ongoing dry conditions, including in Wiltshire, and continues to closely monitor the situation.
Defra has provided support through the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), where many farmers are carrying out actions that support soil management including cover cropping, companion cropping, and planting herbal leys which can help protect the soil surface and help improve soil structure and resilience to drought. We are now considering options for a reformed SFI scheme.
Defra’s Farming Equipment and Technology Fund provides grants for commercial livestock farmers towards the cost of a list of items that deliver improvements in animal health and welfare. The latest round launched in May 2025 with a budget of £16.7m and includes kit intended to specifically target heat stress such as cooling systems and fans.
The Environment Agency has produced an updated irrigation prospects report for summer 2025 to inform the agriculture sector of the current water resources situation, to help farmers plan their water needs for summer and improve their water resilience in the longer term.
This POSTnote describes regenerative agriculture, the evidence for beneficial outcomes, and outlines the challenges and opportunities for its wider adoption.
This POSTnote describes regenerative agriculture, the evidence for beneficial outcomes, and outlines the challenges and opportunities for its wider adoption.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support farmers in the light of dry conditions this spring.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support farmers in the light of dry conditions this spring.
The UK has a resilient food supply chain that has frequently demonstrated its ability to adapt when required.
The Met Office’s 3-month weather outlook for May, June, and July indicates near average rainfall is most likely for the UK but with a slightly higher than normal chance of wet weather. Defra is aware of the current concerns around the ongoing dry conditions. However, it is too early to understand the impact of this period of dry weather on livestock, horticulture and crop plantings, and the subsequent impact this may have on yield and quality later in the year at harvest time.
We continue to engage and work closely with the industry and to monitor the weather impacts on domestic food production, through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), which was established by Defra and the Devolved Administrations to monitor the UK market across all key agricultural commodities.
The Government is also engaged with research on climate change and adaptation measures through our work with the Met Office Hadley Centre Food Farming and Natural Environment (FFNE) service.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farm businesses to adapt to adverse weather conditions.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farm businesses to adapt to adverse weather conditions.
The Government inherited flood assets in their worst condition on record following years of underinvestment by the previous Government – only 92% of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 high consequence assets are currently at required condition.
To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences. The Government also announced an additional £50 million of investment into internal drainage boards, supporting farmers and rural communities from the impacts of flooding.
The new Flood Resilience Taskforce provides oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season.
Additionally, Defra’s farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for environmental land management schemes. This funding will deliver improvements to cover a range of objectives including support to improve resilience to flooding.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the financial resilience of farms in the wake of increasing extreme weather.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the financial resilience of farms in the wake of increasing extreme weather.
The Government’s commitment to British farmers, including family farms, remains steadfast. We will always champion British farming to boost rural economic growth, strengthen food security and improve the environment.
Defra’s farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8bn for environmental land management schemes. This funding will deliver improvements to food security, biodiversity, carbon emissions, water quality, air quality and flood resilience.
Additionally, across England, we will invest £2.4 billion over the next two years to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. We are prioritising investment in repairing and restoring critical assets, including investing an additional £36 million into maintaining key strategic assets in 2024-25 and £72 million in 2025-26.
All this funding enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector. We will work with the sector to continue to roll out, improve and evolve these schemes, to make them work for farming and nature.
I congratulate the hon. Member for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe (David Chadwick) on such an impassioned maiden speech, and I wish him the best of luck in his naming battles, as they develop.
I have become very fond of saying that I am the MP for the largest constituency in...
I congratulate the hon. Member for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe (David Chadwick) on such an impassioned maiden speech, and I wish him the best of luck in his naming battles, as they develop.
I have become very fond of saying that I am the MP for the largest constituency in...
While the Secretary of State explains to the House what he is doing and what he will do, will he spare a thought for the farmers of Northern Ireland? Our agrifood industry is shaped and controlled not by the laws that this House makes, not by the laws that the...
While the Secretary of State explains to the House what he is doing and what he will do, will he spare a thought for the farmers of Northern Ireland? Our agrifood industry is shaped and controlled not by the laws that this House makes, not by the laws that the...
Madam Deputy Speaker, it is a genuine honour to address you and the House today. It is a privilege not just to represent the Derbyshire Dales, but even to be there, because it is truly an area of outstanding natural beauty—known to many hon. Members, I am sure, because it...
Madam Deputy Speaker, it is a genuine honour to address you and the House today. It is a privilege not just to represent the Derbyshire Dales, but even to be there, because it is truly an area of outstanding natural beauty—known to many hon. Members, I am sure, because it...
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak to the House. I also thank my hon. Friends for their contributions to this important debate on food and farming.
It is an absolute honour to address the Chamber as the newly elected Member of Parliament for South Cotswolds. It is...
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak to the House. I also thank my hon. Friends for their contributions to this important debate on food and farming.
It is an absolute honour to address the Chamber as the newly elected Member of Parliament for South Cotswolds. It is...
I stand here as the first ever MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe. It is the largest constituency in England and Wales, and I therefore have a foot in two worlds—one in rural mid-Wales and the other in the Swansea valley. I wish to pay tribute to my predecessors,...
I stand here as the first ever MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe. It is the largest constituency in England and Wales, and I therefore have a foot in two worlds—one in rural mid-Wales and the other in the Swansea valley. I wish to pay tribute to my predecessors,...
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. It is a pleasure to follow the fine speeches from my hon. Friend the Member for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe (David Chadwick), whose recollection of the three newspapers in his constituency is incredibly impressive—I encourage him to tell us...
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. It is a pleasure to follow the fine speeches from my hon. Friend the Member for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe (David Chadwick), whose recollection of the three newspapers in his constituency is incredibly impressive—I encourage him to tell us...
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention.
I finish by saying that food security is national security, biosecurity is national security, and we must protect both.
6.40 pm
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention.
I finish by saying that food security is national security, biosecurity is national security, and we must protect both.
6.40 pm
I rise to proudly voice my support for the 27,000 farming families across Northern Ireland who, day in and day out, work tirelessly to help feed our nation. I also stand for the 100,000 people employed in the agrifood sector directly or indirectly, and the 10 million people across the...
I rise to proudly voice my support for the 27,000 farming families across Northern Ireland who, day in and day out, work tirelessly to help feed our nation. I also stand for the 100,000 people employed in the agrifood sector directly or indirectly, and the 10 million people across the...
My right hon. Friend makes an excellent point about both the funding arrangements and the tax changes that have been speculated about in the press.
Farmers are in the dark about what comes next. There may be budget cuts and there may be financial pain, but they do not really know....
My right hon. Friend makes an excellent point about both the funding arrangements and the tax changes that have been speculated about in the press.
Farmers are in the dark about what comes next. There may be budget cuts and there may be financial pain, but they do not really know....
I would add one thing to what the shadow Secretary of State is brilliantly saying: this is a matter for farmers in Herefordshire as much as for those elsewhere. Ross-on-Wye, a rural town, was under water as a result of the floods. Does he share my view that the whole...
I would add one thing to what the shadow Secretary of State is brilliantly saying: this is a matter for farmers in Herefordshire as much as for those elsewhere. Ross-on-Wye, a rural town, was under water as a result of the floods. Does he share my view that the whole...