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Record Heat and Drought Wipe £828m From UK Arable Revenues, ECIU Finds

The estimate cites a 20% drop in five staple crops with prices back near average plus delayed green payment relaunches.

Overview

  • Output of wheat, oats, spring and winter barley, and oilseed rape fell about 20% versus the 10-year average.
  • ECIU pegs the revenue shortfall at about £828m using per-hectare yields, current farm-gate prices, and a UK estimate extrapolated from England data.
  • The Met Office says the record 2025 heat and drought made such conditions far more likely due to human-driven climate change.
  • Defra’s provisional figures ranked England’s 2025 harvest second-worst on record, and the department points to an expanded nature-friendly farming budget.
  • Farm groups warn rising input costs and stalled green payments are squeezing viability, with cumulative weather-linked losses since 2020 now above £2bn and a profitability review due before Christmas.