The CLA (Country Land and Business) has commented on a new Environment Agency report warning of a widespread drought in England next year unless we have sustained rainfall this winter.
Access the report via: www.gov.uk/government/news/report-warns-of-widespread-drought-in-2026-without-a-wet-winter
CLA President Victoria Vyvyan said:
“The Environment Agency needs to grant farmers more flexibility on abstraction licences to capture available water during high-flow conditions, not only when flood warnings are in place, and better resource its abstraction licensing unit.
“Defra must re-open SFI, and the revised scheme should place greater emphasis on improving soil health which is essential to coping with drier weather. Longer-term, government departments need to work together to make it easier and cheaper for farmers to build small on-farm reservoirs.
“The unprecedented dry conditions that parts of the country have experienced this year are proving extremely challenging for farmers. Urgent action is needed to minimise the impact of future drought on food production and nature recovery. Most farmers have already committed to next year’s cropping, and have limited opportunity to adapt this.”
