Farmers need help after extreme heat - The Yorkshire Post says

Yorkshire is not officially in a drought – but a journey across the region’s precious rural plains reveals what an agonising summer it is proving for our farmers.

The worryingly beige and arid fields of the countryside display to the eye what analysis now suggests could be the worst harvest on record.

As we report today, farmers are suffering a “completely brutal” season following an exceptionally dry few months, when the hottest July on record has meant that, astonishingly, less than a millimetre of rain has fallen in parts of the region.

In one example, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) suggests the conditions – “one of the most notable summer months in our historical records,” according to Met Office science manager Dr Amy Doherty – could have cut the country’s cereals and oilseed harvest by 2.5 million tonnes compared to earlier forecasts.

Broccoli and pea yields are down by around 50 per cent, reports the British Growers Association (BGA), with farmers who are unable to irrigate being hit hardest.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson has said “food security is national security”, which is eye-catching but also accurate.

What farmers urgently need, they say, is the Government to streamline the planning system to allow on-farm reservoirs to be built faster.

As John Walgate, the BGA’s CEO, says: “There isn't a shortage of water; there’s a shortage of water management. Just months ago we were talking about flooding. Now crops are failing in the heat because we have nowhere to store the winter rain.”

Clearly, a system which is more suited to the increasingly dramatic weather changes we are now facing in the UK is needed. Intense heat is here to stay, so time is of the essence.