UK farmers struggle to salvage winter crops from rain-soaked fields

The river Evenlode snakes through England's famously picturesque Cotswolds, supplying vital water and nutrients to soil that has been farmland for centuries. But this winter it also proved to be a destructive power. 

In January, following months of heavy rainfall, floodwater spilled into adjacent fields, drowning winter crops. Now the water has receded and only a few sparse green shoots of winter wheat protrude from a thick layer of mud, shoots which will no longer grow sufficiently in time for harvest. 

The extreme weather has left farmer Matthew Izod facing questions about the future of his water-damaged fields. 

"It's really difficult once you've got soil that's full of water," he tells CGTN. "It's a question of waiting for it to dry out. If we've got a huge amount of rain, the soils get saturated. They act just like a sponge - when a sponge is full, that's it."

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‌Incessant wet conditions ruined two thirds of winter crops sown at this second-generation family farm, with estimated losses of more than $60,000. 

"The first week after we planted in October we had two inches [5cm] of rain," says Izod. "The soils were full. It then happened again. It didn't stop until Christmas. 

"Then the water runs off - it runs off the fields, the soil goes with it. That's our asset going down the drain."

‌Poor conditions are also slowing preparations for the new season, keeping farmers off mud-drenched fields, which in turn may delay spring planting and slow the next cycle of crop production. 

"We're budgeting for a 30 to 40 percent reduction in our yields,"says Izod. "We would usually grow eight, nine tonnes a hectare of milling wheat, we're now looking at five or six."

Challenges - and potential solutions

Farmers have had to tackle a series of climate challenges in recent years, losing out to droughts, wildfires, numerous intense storms and rain-soaked harvests. The National Farmers Union (NFU) issued a stark warning to the government after the latest flooding.

"This constant wet weather again highlights the need for government to recognise the strategic importance of domestic food production," said NFU Deputy President Tom Bradshaw, "and urgently deliver solutions to mitigate the impact of flooding of farmland to ensure our farmers and growers can continue producing food for the nation."

‌The UK government Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) says it is acting in response. 

"We are acutely aware of the impact extreme weather can have on the farming community," a DEFRA spokesperson said. "Farmers who have suffered uninsurable damage to their land by exceptional flooding will be able to apply for grants of up to £25,000 [$32,000] through the Farming Recovery Fund towards repair and reinstatement costs." 

DEFRA also says it is working to protect farmland from flooding. "Since 2015, we have protected over 400,000 hectares of agricultural land from the impacts of flooding and are also investing £5.2 billion [$6.6bn] to better protect communities from flooding and coastal erosion, including those who live in rural areas."

‌‌The government has also launched a landscape recovery scheme to help the environment and alleviate flooding. However, back on the banks of the river Evenlode, a collective of Cotswolds farmers is choosing to admit defeat in the fight against flooding, instead permitting the river to carve a new route across arable land, turning into wetland. 

"The river is really cutting a channel into the field and it's making it really difficult to farm, it's unviable," says Izod, who is taking part in the project. "Can we allow water from the river into the flood plain? Also, how will that affect the wildlife? Can we give this field over to nature?" 

"We can use animals to manage the land and it's going back to a more traditional way of farming, allowing nature, and working with nature." 

For Izod and many other farmers affected by recent flooding, crop production may have proved to be too much of a financial risk in the current conditions.

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