Poor harvest to cost arable farmers more than £800m in revenue, analysis finds

Arable farmers in the UK are facing a reduction in revenues of more than £800 million following one of the worst ever harvests, analysis suggests.

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) think tank released the estimate on Thursday after crop production was hit this year by the hottest spring and summer on record as well as drought conditions.

To estimate how much farmers may have lost, the researchers examined “per hectare yield” figures for wheat, spring and winter barley, oats and oilseed rape alongside the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board crop area estimates for the UK.

They then compared current farm gate prices to Government figures for the 10-year average for production volumes from 2015-2024.

The analysis found revenues from the five staple crops were