Harvest has started ‘worryingly’ early for farmers in Oxfordshire
It's after the UK has had one of the warmest and driest springs in over a century
A farmer in Oxfordshire says harvest has started at least a month earlier than usual due to the unrelenting hot weather this year.
The UK has had one of the warmest and driest springs in over a century, causing a large proportion of crops to fail.
Traditionally, farmers usually begin harvesting their crops towards the end of August and in early September, but this year has seen it starting as early as June.
Jeremy Clarkson says he has started harvesting at his Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire saying, “we're on for a shocking harvest this year."
At his annual Hawkstone VIP Summer Party, he added: “Last year, it was the second worst recorded ever, and we think this year is going to be even worse because it just hasn't rained”, according to Evening Standard.
Anthony Henman is an arable farmer near Islip growing barley and wheat, says “an early harvest is worrying”.
He said: “The alarm bells started ringing months and weeks ago, so we knew it didn't look good. The damage was done some time ago in the crops, and no amount of rain would have helped in recent weeks.”
He Henman added: “I spoke to a farmer nearby whose finished harvest already. He grows winter wheat and combinable peas. I mean, who finishes harvest by mid-July, quite often you don't even start then. So, it's a sign that it's been unusually dry and a difficult year all-round.”
Speaking about the financial impact, Mr Henman says he alongside many other farmers are expecting to make a loss in the tens-of-thousands of pounds.
“Somehow, we keep bouncing back. If this was any other business we would have just packed up and said enough is enough, but that is definitely not on the cards.”