Climate change has made Britain wetter, and farmers have paid the value.
Winter 2023 was one among them. wettest on record. The results were clear for all to see through the first half of 2024: soil washed away of its nutrients, crops stuck in waterlogged fields, and livestock sickened by waterborne diseases.
Adverse conditions meant farmers needed to delay planting and harvesting. Production of probably the most common British crops – wheat (bread), barley (malt for brewing), oats and oilseed rape (vegetable oil) – is ready. 21 percent less in 2024 2015-2023 average. To meet demand, food manufacturers will import from abroad and pass on their additional costs to consumers. It is severe weather. Estimated have already added £361 to the typical UK food bill over the past two years.
My work with UK farmers And farmers have seen how they’re adapting to the results of climate change, and the way it’s affecting their work and lifestyle. The results are startling. The issues facing farmers go to the very heart of UK agriculture, and are sometimes things they feel they will do little or nothing about.
John Wheaton
A hidden mental health crisis
Farmers told me they were apprehensive about post-Brexit farming policies and trade deals with other countries reminiscent of Australia and New Zealand, flooding the country. Cheap imports which reduces domestic producers.
Market forces determine or reduce the value farmers receive for his or her produce. Meanwhile seasonal employees, reminiscent of fruit pickers, are harder or expensive to draw now the UK is outside the EU. In addition, there are all the issues arising from climate change.
According to British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy, male farm employees are 3 times more more likely to take their very own lives than the national average. Every week, three people die by suicide within the UK farming industry.
John Wheaton
The Farm Safety Foundation (FSF) runs an annual campaign, Take care of your head, which asks agricultural employees to think about the basis causes of their stress, anxiety and poor mental health. A recent survey of farmers by the FSF found that 95% of under-40s listed mental health issues as one among their biggest challenges. The reasons for this became apparent during my research.
Farmers are all too accustomed to extreme weather – standing knee-deep in muddy water while attempting to harvest crops illustrates climate change. Farmers talked about how extreme weather is making harvest times increasingly unpredictable, affecting the growing season of crops. A farmer in West Lancashire told me:
I feel more like an expert gambler than a farmer. What will the weather be like next spring, and what should I plant? Who knows!
The way forward for a farm, and plenty of generations of family businesses, is determined by a stable income. Unpredictable weather as a consequence of climate change makes these regular financial returns elusive.
Commercial pressure
Farmers and ranchers I interviewed told me that supermarkets even have a powerful influence on the agricultural sector. This puts downward pressure on farmers' prices of their produce.
That farmers are unable to set their very own prices is one among several aspects limiting agribusiness profitability and stopping long-term planning – including how you can take care of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture 11% of UK total.
Farmers were keen to indicate that they still receive the identical financial reward for a lot of their products as they did years ago, despite the trend of inflation and rising food prices. Farmers are frustrated that their relationship with markets and buyers prevents them from adding value to the product, with one saying:
[Farming] That ought to be the one industry where you’ll be able to't determine the value of your end product. I’m losing a penny a liter on milk.
Nomadic Spirit / Shutterstock
Many farmers are struggling or giving up farming altogether. Other jobs are common amongst farming families. Some farmers are overcoming these problems by collaborating with neighbors and sharing farm supplies. One farmer said: “You don't go into farming to get rich… it's a way of life”.
One selected the family that it could not be in anyone's interest for the son to turn into the farm manager. The son had a well-paid and successful profession in engineering and retired at age 55, while his father continued to administer the farm into his eighties.
My research paints an image of the lone farmer, struggling to fulfill the immediate needs of his business while the escalating effects of climate change loom large. As one farmer put it: “There [were] There have been five people – but now there's only me.” The heritage and way forward for British farming hangs within the balance.
