Farmers lose more than £800m after hottest spring and summer on record, study finds

British arable farmers are facing a revenue loss of more than £800 million after enduring one of the worst harvest seasons on record, new analysis shows.

According to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), crop production has been severely affected by the hottest spring and summer ever recorded, combined with periods of drought. These extreme weather conditions have resulted in an estimated 20% decline in revenue for farmers this year.

The ECIU estimates a total loss of £828 million, based on “per-hectare yield” data for key crops—wheat, spring and winter barley, oats, and oilseed rape—alongside UK crop area figures. Researchers compared current farm gate prices with the 10-year average production volumes from 2015 to 2024, revealing sharp reductions across major staples.

Revenue drops include:

• 38.4% decline for oilseed rape

• 21.5% decline for milling oats

• 19.6% decline for milling wheat

• 16.1% decline for feed wheat

Provisional figures released by Defra in October already indicate that 2025 is the second-worst harvest year on record for England, with similarly poor outcomes expected across the UK.

This year’s disappointing harvest follows another severely affected season in 2024, when extreme rainfall throughout the autumn and winter disrupted planting and growth.

‘Another torrid year for farmers’

Tom Lancaster, ECIU land, food and farming analyst, said farmers have once again endured extreme and unpredictable weather conditions.

“From too wet to too hot and dry, this has been another torrid year for farmers,” he said. “Confidence in the sector is at rock bottom. Farmers urgently need more support to cope with climate shocks and strengthen their resilience—the foundation of the UK’s food security.”

Lancaster added that delays to the relaunch of green farming support schemes, such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive, are worsening uncertainty in the sector.

David Lord, an arable farmer from Essex and member of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said recent years of extreme rainfall, heat, and drought have made green farming schemes a “vital lifeline.”

“But with the schemes closed and no clarity on their future, too many farmers are locked out of much-needed support while facing agricultural policies that fail to build resilience,” he warned.