NFU warns food security starts with water as drought threat grows

Britain’s farmers need urgent support to withstand worsening droughts, floods and water shortages, the NFU has warned, as the UK marks 50 years since the devastating 1976 drought.

The union is calling for stronger government action to help farmers and growers cope with increasingly extreme weather, warning that food production depends on reliable access to water.

It wants planning and regulatory reforms to make it easier for farms to build water storage, alongside investment in water efficiency and more resilient growing systems.

The warning echoes concerns raised by the Climate Change Committee, whose recent report said extreme weather is already affecting yields, incomes and long-term business confidence across UK agriculture.

The committee called for more support for on-farm water storage, soil resilience, crop diversification and climate-proofed food supply chains.

It also warned that difficult weather conditions were increasingly occurring in consecutive seasons and with unprecedented severity, and that some farms could become unviable in the worst years without adaptation.

The NFU’s call comes as scientists and policymakers gather to assess the UK’s water resilience five decades on from one of the country’s most severe droughts.

NFU Deputy President Paul Tompkins said British farming had changed significantly since the 1970s, but the threat posed by extreme weather had intensified.

“British agriculture may look a little different to the 1970s, but extreme weather, such as the 1976 drought, is becoming more frequent and more severe,” he said.

According to the NFU, 78% of farmers and growers say they have seen severe weather events become more frequent over the past decade.

Mr Tompkins said the impact was visible on farms, with fields used to grow wheat for bread flooded one year and left dry and cracked the next.

Livestock businesses are also being hit, as grassland moves from waterlogged conditions to scorching heat with limited growth to feed cattle and sheep.

He said the swings in weather were placing serious financial pressure on farms, with businesses reporting average losses of more than £40,000.

“This volatility is not just challenging, it’s costly,” he said.

He added: “Food security starts with water. To safeguard our domestic food supply, we must build resilience to climate volatility.”

Mr Tompkins said ministers must go further to secure farmers’ and growers’ access to water during periods of shortage, including through reforms to support on-farm water storage and more water-efficient crops and systems.

The NFU said the anniversary of the 1976 drought served as a reminder of the damage prolonged dry weather can cause to food production.

During that year, barley yields fell by up to 50% in some areas, potato shortages disrupted processing factories, and both arable and livestock farmers were warned they could face water rationing.

Michael Sly, a farmer from East Anglia, was eight years old during the drought and remembers its impact on his family farm.

“I remember the drought beginning to set in during 1975 on our family farm, before really taking hold in 1976,” he said.

“Fields that should have been full of life turned brown and brittle, the ground cracking under the heat, it felt endless, like the rain might never come.”

He said the eventual return of rain was a moment he had never forgotten.

“But when it finally did, I can still hear it now, the sound of rain hammering against the parched fields and rattling on the roofs of dusty sheds,” Mr Sly said.

“It was unforgettable, a moment of real relief after months of uncertainty.”

He added that farmers were ready to help the country adapt to a changing climate, but needed greater support.

“With extreme weather like this becoming more common, farmers and growers are ready to be part of the solution in adapting to our changing climate,” he said.

“But we need more support to make that happen.”

The union said improving access to water would be vital to protecting British food production as weather patterns become more unpredictable.