Natural England advises farmers hit by dry weather

To help farmers and growers cope with the current intense spell of dry weather, Natural England is ensuring that appropriate Environmental Stewardship derogations are made available to farmers who are in agri-environment schemes (AES) and has issued advice on how they can apply for them.

Despite rainfall in some areas over the Bank Holiday weekend, southern, central and eastern England is still suffering one of the driest springs on record. The area has had just a third of its average rainfall in recent months and forecasts show the dry spell looks likely to continue in June. Natural England is monitoring the situation carefully and is expecting to receive requests for amendments to ES agreements that will assist farmers during this difficult period.

Higher Level Stewardship agreements

As each HLS agreement is tailored to individual circumstances, HLS agreement holders should make contact with their local Natural England advisor if they need assistance with an HLS derogation relating to farming activity. For example, this could include a need to carry out early hay cutting or to provide supplementary feeding for livestock due to poor grass growth – activities that might typically be seasonally restricted under ES agreements.