Brigg farmer's anguish as winter washout leaves 80% of land unusable

• Video report by Amelia Beckett

A farmer from North Lincolnshire says his business is fighting for survival after unprecedented rainfall ruined his crops.

Arable farmer Colin Chappell said his land in Brigg would normally be full of wheat, barley and peas, but he has only been able to drill seeds in eight out of his 50 fields.

He described the situation as "horrendous" after a year's worth of rain fell in the first four months of 2024.

"We haven't had more than five consecutive days without rainfall since 1 October," he said.

"There is a third of my farm which will not grow a crop this year. For six months I have been sat in my office twiddling my thumbs. It has been horrible."

A report has found harvests across the country could be down by a fifth, which means prices for everyday items like, bread, beer and biscuits are being pushed up.

Mr Chappell said he was surviving through government-supported green farming schemes.

He has also been hosting school trips for extra income.

"I'll be open and honest. I don't know how we will get through next year," he said.

He added: "My dad got flooded once in 1981. Since 2000 I have lost count of the amount of times I have been flooded."

The National Farmers Union said the extreme weather was now one of the biggest threats to UK food security.

Rhonda Thompson, the NFU's Lincolnshire representative, said: "We want to be in a position where we are producing good quality food, affordable food for the home market. Our farmers will do everything they can to do that but they can't get on the land."

The Government said it had opened a farming recovery fund and was monitoring the impact of the wet weather on the 2024 harvest.

A spokesperson said: "We have protected over 900,000 acres of agricultural land from the impacts of flooding since 2015, and are investing £5.6 billion to better protect communities from flooding and coastal erosion.

“We have opened the Farming Recovery Fund, which provides grants of up to £25,000 to eligible farmers affected by Storm Henk."

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