British farms are on course for a second year of poor harvests, as the sector grapples with dry weather, low wholesale prices and reduced government support since Brexit.
The yield on British wheat is estimated to be 7.3 tonnes per hectare this season, 9 per cent below the 10-year average, according to preliminary estimates from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, an industry group.
After long dry spells in the spring, most farmers have completed their wheat harvest two weeks or more earlier than in a typical year. Complete figures have yet to be published, but yields of the UK’s most cultivated crop have been hit by a lack of soil moisture during the key growing season.