Lincolnshire farmers say yields down two-thirds due to spring drought
It's currently the driest spring on record, with many local farmers having to dip into water supplies early.
We’ve been hearing from Lincolnshire farmers about the impact this spring's drought is having on their crops.
Although rain is now expected over weekend, the damage to yields - the amount of crops produced - is likely already done.
Coningsby farmer Ian Hains grows potatoes and cereal crops: "Yields on lighter ground will probably do a third of what they should have done," he said.
"Crops are very stressed at the moment, looking like they're not going to yield what they should, which obviously is going to have an impact on profits.
"The potato crop, we've started irrigating probably three weeks earlier than what we should have done on a normal year - if there is such a thing nowadays.
Irrigation is the artificial means of supplying water to a farm, for example, by diverting a stream or creating a reservoir.
Many Lincolnshire farmers use irrigation reservoirs, they store water during periods of high rainfall, like the winter months, and then release it when needed, usually during summer.
"We can't plan to have more water available, because we irrigate out of reservoirs. When they're empty, they're empty," said Ian Hains.
"Because we've started earlier, it could potentially impact later on in the season if it doesn't rain.
"We've got winter wheat crops on, clay soil where they should be looking fantastic this time of year.
"They don't drought up because they've got the roots into moisture of the clay soil, but even they're struggling.
"It's very, very disheartening to look - it's a year's work."