Food inflation at risk of rising as Lincolnshire farmers struggle to plant crops on dry land
As dry weather conditions have continued, the land has proven too dry to lay seeds, putting next seasons harvest at risk
Farmers are struggling to plant next seasons crops across Lincolnshire and Newark because of the dry land.
Farmers across Lincolnshire and Newark have found difficulty in planting next seasons crops, as the end of harvest nears, many considerations for next years planting are being made - and met with hurdles as the land is too dry to lay.
In July alone, the county had only a fifth of its average rainfall, and fear the dry conditions will continue, leave farmers concerned that next season's harvest will be delayed.
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Ian, Watson is the Farm Manager at Louth Park Farms Limited, and says it's :
"Our vine and pea operation has been affected by the dry weather, and we've had peas in the ground, some of them have not seen any rain from start, from drilling through. So, that has had an effect on the yield of the vine and pea crop.
"The next, going forward, obviously planting the next seasons crops, the land is very very dry, by now we would have had at least 65 - 70% of oil seed rape in the ground, which we haven't been able to do because it's just been so dry, and so we've had to hold off doing everything really."
The county of Lincolnshire went into drought on Friday the 12th of August, following a long period of dry conditions. Announced by the National Drought Group, chaired by the Environment Agency and local water supplier Anglian Water.
READ MORE: The East is one step away from a drought
With risks of farm fires, flash floods and drought, farmers have been met with a challenging year and fears are rising that will continue into next harvest.