Food price rises loom as drought-hit farmers cut back on thirsty veg

England could produce fewer potatoes, onions and carrots as farmers cut planting because of fears they will not have enough water to grow them. It is the latest sign that drought is disrupting food supplies and could lead to higher prices, or smaller vegetables, at supermarket checkouts next year. Most commented 1 Where’s Marie Curie? GCSE science ‘fails to credit women’ Science 228 comments 2 US withdraws diplomats from Saudi Arabia amid deadly Houthi attacks US news 200 comments 3 MI5 spied on NHS founder Nye Bevan for decades History 87 comments 4 Alan Thornett obituary: union leader nicknamed ‘the Mole’ Obituaries 94 comments 5 Times letters: Failure to protect the elderly in care homes Letters to the Editor 60 comments “It’s nerve-racking,” said Ellie Hay, 36, whose land near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, produces potatoes, onions and cereals. She is considering planting a smaller area than usual because water is so scarce. Environment newsletter The latest climate, energy and nature news and analysis, plus reasons to be hopeful. Sign up with one click You’ve successfully signed up to the Environment newsletter Explore our newsletters An error occurred. Please use the link below. Environment newsletter Explore our newsletters Hay already sacrificed her wheat and sugar beet this year, choosing not to irrigate them from her farm’s three reservoirs to conserve water and grow more financially valuable vegetables next year. Only one reservoir has significant reserves; the other two stand empty. Top stories 1 Tripsnacking? Finally a travel trend I can get on board with Advice Her experience is not unique. The Environment Agency has said some farmers are considering planting smaller crop areas because of “growing concerns” they will not be able to refill reservoirs this winter. Advertisement Despite scattered rain, most of England remains dry. Six counties fell into severe drought last week for the first time on record . Top stories 1 High street banks are on borrowed time Saving & Investing 2 Belgium’s most stylish autumn weekend break — and it’s not Bruges Belgium The problem is acute in East Anglia, the Midlands and Yorkshire. Parts of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire are of particular concern as they are home to large areas of potato, vegetable and salad production, the National Farmers’ Union said. Shoppers already faced having to buy smaller potatoes after a hot and dry summer exacerbated by climate change, but could now be forced to pay more for vegetables or settle for poorer quality. Tim Pratt, a 46-year-old vegetable farmer located on the Suffolk coast, said he would cut back potato and onion acreage by 10 to 15 per cent over water shortage fears. The farmer said he had been irrigating from the end of March to germinate seeded crops such as onions. “Pretty much we didn’t stop all season,” he said. His two existing reservoirs — he is building a third, which he hopes will be ready next winter — are both “pretty low … We haven’t really had any meaningful rain.” Advertisement Potatoes, sugar beet, carrots, onions and cabbages are among the most water-hungry crops, relying on irrigation for good yields, the Country Land and Business Association said. Carrots will be affected Getty IMAGES Frans de Boer, 56, a mixed livestock and arable farmer in West Sussex, said his soil was “eight inches of dust”. He is holding off until the spring to decide how much land to plant. “As it stands, it is quite possible less fresh produce is produced than we would like, either through reduced yields or reduced areas of potatoes planted,” said Adrian Howell, 66, who manages Westacre Farm in Norfolk. Adrian Howell on Westacre Farm Terry harris FOR THE TIMES Howell, whose land produces crops ranging from cereals and sugar beet to blueberries and fast-growing paulownia trees, said he had warned his tenant potato farmer that he may not be able to provide him with enough water. “Then it’s really up to him whether he plants the full area of potatoes and accepts the fact that there won’t be as much water available, or whether he produces a reduced area,” Howell said. Advertisement The blueberries and paulownia are being prioritised for what little water remains. “They have to have water or they will die,” he said. Howell’s reservoir water level is lower than usual TERRY HARRIS FOR THE TIMES Howell, who is in a water co-operative that draws from the River Nar, said agriculture was far more dependent on watering crops than in 1976, which was infamously hot and dry. “What’s changed since then is people’s reliance on irrigation. There is far more irrigation infrastructure,” Howell said. He said supermarkets may need to drop their quality standards to allow smaller veg into packs. This could take the form of “shrinkflation”, he suggested, such as 2.5kg potato bags being swapped for 2kg at the same price. The Met Office has said there is a 50 per cent chance of average rainfall this winter. The good news for farmers is the chance of it being wetter than usual is 40 per cent, double the usual likelihood for winter.