Gove pledges support for farmers amid drought concerns

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) met officials in London yesterday to discuss "tinderbox" conditions that have reduced grass growth and "depleted" some yields.

It comes as many farmers are finding it difficult to feed animals and grow crops because of the dry, hot weather.

The UK has seen its driest first half of summer since 1961, with last Thursday and Friday bringing the first rainfall in weeks, and farmers have warned the extreme weather conditions have hit harvests.

Farmers also face uncertainty over the future of the sector after Brexit, with changes to their subsidies and potential impacts of trade deals with the EU and countries such as the US.

Speaking outside yesterday's meeting, Mr Gove emphasised the importance of supporting future food production and taking steps "in order to ensure we can improve and enhance our resilience against the challenge of climate change".

He also said: "We will make sure farmers have what they need in order to provide us with high-quality food and ensure their businesses survive.

"We want to be flexible and we don't want to allow bureaucracy to get in the way of providing farmers with the support they deserve and the country needs."

Before the "drought summit", NFU president Minette Batters said recent weather conditions were "unprecedented".

She said: "I've been farming for 25 years myself and we've never been feeding cattle at this time of the year, and we are at the moment, and that is the case right across the country.

"We haven't had any appreciable rainfall since May, but if you have your office outside you are obviously at the mercy of the weather. This is unusual – we haven't seen anything like this since 1976.

"It's added a lot of costs because it comes on the back of a long, hard winter. I think that's what has made this year so very unusual."

Ms Batters said it is "too early" to say whether consumers will be hit by price hikes, but she warned that crop yields will be affected.

NFU leaders met officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, an array of rural agencies and figures from farming charities for the summit.

The Environment Agency said last month that it has responded to 44 "significant" environmental incidents, including moorland fires, algal blooms and fish rescues, since the end of June.

Speaking after the summit, Ms Batters warned: "I think Brexit adds a whole air of uncertainty in general, which doesn't help and as we go into next year when we leave the EU it certainly does not help matters because as you know it is an uncertain time.

"Farming is a long-term business, farming is all about planning – not just for next year but indeed years ahead and we do not have any sense of certainty at the moment in terms of what the impact of Brexit will have."