Wiltshire farmer says prolonged wet weather has left crops 'rotting in the ground'
Farmer Tom Collins tells ITV News recent wet conditions have been the 'worst he's ever experienced'
A Wiltshire farmer says the prolonged wet weather has destroyed many of his crops.
Tom Collins said that the conditions this winter on his Malmesbury farm have been the worst he has ever witnessed and that it could take months for the land to recover.
Earlier this month, the government announced farmers would be eligible for grants of up to £25,000 to help restore land damaged by flooding.
The issue of flooding is hitting both arable and livestock farming, with crops either rotting or not able to be planted, while grass and feed for animals is underwater.
Mr Collins said: “It has just been awful, it started raining in October and hasn’t stopped since.
“We’ve had flooding across the farm, all our grassland has been under the water for long periods of time and that brings rubbish down, we’ve had to go litter-picking and it’s ripped through all the fencing, that’s pretty bad.
“Then on the arable side we’ve got crops that are just missing, the ground has set wet all winter and the crops have just rotted away in the ground.”
It has prompted warnings that some farms may not have a harvest for the first time since the Second World War.
Fields have been left underwater following record amounts of rainfall and 11 named storms since September.
Wheat yields are expected to drop by 15% and winter barley down 22%, prompting a warning from the National Farmers Union that it will lead to price rises for consumers.
Farming Minister Mark Spencer said: “We want to make sure the Farming Recovery Fund offers the support farmers need to recover from uninsurable damage.
“It’s why we’ve immediately listened and responded to feedback on the launch of the initial phase of the scheme.
"This means that farmers will be able to receive payments for all land parcels which are flooded contiguous to an eligible river.
“We’ll continue to listen to farmers and look at how we can expand the scheme and improve support for those affected.”
Climate change expert Professor Nicola Cannon from Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester said: "Crops have got relatively poor root systems because they have sat in wet soil all winder so they haven’t had to scavenge for water, so if it turns dry they are likely to become moisture stressed very quickly.”
And Professor Cannon fears this is going to be an ongoing trend because of climate change.
“This time last year we were talking about a wet spring impacting crop establishment and we are back here again just a year later", she added.