By James Davey

MIDDLE DUNTISBOURNE, England (Reuters) -On David Barton’s beef farm in the picturesque Cotswolds in western England, months of heat and drought have left his 200 head of Salers, Herefords and Sussexes with nothing but parched fields to pick at.

“Look, it’s dust,” he said, kicking the ground. “This is what you would see in the (United) States or in Australia. You don’t see this in England, this is ridiculous.”

It’s the result of England’s driest spring in more than 100 years and the driest January-July period since 1929, according to data from the UK’s Met Office. It says summer 2025 will likely be the UK’s warmest since records began in 1884, moving 2018 off the top spot.

“This year is extraordinary, I have never seen anything like it,” Barton said.

Customers for beef f

See Full Page