British arable farmers are reeling from a catastrophic financial blow, with a new analysis revealing revenue losses exceeding £828 million following one of the worst harvests on record.
Record Heat and Drought Decimate Crop Yields
The staggering financial impact is a direct result of the hottest spring and summer on record, which parched fields and created drought conditions across the UK. Research by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) thinktank estimates that crop production plummeted, leaving farmers with an average of 20% less revenue this year.
The ECIU's calculations, based on per-hectare yield and crop area data, compared current farm gate prices against the 10-year average for production volumes of five key crops from 2015 to 2024. The findings expose a sharp and worrying decline:
- Oilseed rape revenues fell by 38.4%.
- Milling oat revenues dropped by 21.5%.
- Milling wheat revenues declined by 19.6%.
- Feed wheat revenues were down 16.1%.
A Second Consecutive Year of Crisis
This disastrous harvest in 2025 compounds an already dire situation for the agricultural sector. Provisional figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in October indicated this year is the second-worst on record for England, with similarly poor results expected UK-wide.
It follows another severely compromised harvest in 2024, which was caused by extreme autumn and winter rainfall. This rapid swing from waterlogged fields to baked earth illustrates the volatile climate pressures now facing farmers.
"This has been another torrid year for many farmers in the UK, with the pendulum swinging from too wet to too hot and dry," said Tom Lancaster, ECIU's land, food and farming analyst. "With confidence in the sector at rock bottom, there is an urgent need to ensure farmers are better supported to adapt to these climate shocks and build their resilience as the bedrock of our food security."
Calls for Reliable Green Farming Support
Lancaster highlighted that delays to the relaunch of crucial government support schemes, such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive, are exacerbating the crisis. This sentiment is echoed by those on the front line.
David Lord, an arable farmer from Essex and a member of the Nature Friendly Farming Network steering group, stated that with near-constant extreme weather in recent years, green farming schemes represent a vital lifeline.
"But with the schemes closed and no clarity on their future, too many farmers are locked out, unable to access the support they need to adapt whilst facing a wider agriculture policy that does too little to build our resilience and too often works against it," he added.
In response, a Defra spokesperson acknowledged the challenges and weather extremes affecting harvests. "We are backing our farmers in the face of a changing climate with the largest nature-friendly farming budget in history to grow their businesses and get more British food on our plates," they said.
The combined losses of two consecutive ruinous harvests underscore a deepening crisis in UK food production, raising urgent questions about long-term resilience and policy support in an era of climate instability.
