According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), it was the wettest September on record for some counties, as farmers face the loss of food crops.
A total of seven English counties recorded more than three times their average September rainfall, including Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.
ONS said that for Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire, September 2024 was the wettest calendar month the counties have experienced since records began in 1836.
National Farmers’ Union (NFU) vice president Rachel Hallos said: “Back in May, farmers impacted by the devastating storms at the start of the year were promised help through the expanded Farming Recovery Fund offer, but this has not been forthcoming.
“Months later, farm businesses are still suffering the impact of the relentless rain. Thousands of acres of farmland have been completely saturated and unusable, and we’ve just finished an incredibly difficult harvest with huge variations in yield and quality. We urgently need details of when the Fund will be available to help these farms recover.
“With further heavy rain leaving more fields waterlogged, arable farmers are once again concerned about getting crops in the ground for next season. We cannot keep getting stuck in this cycle – we simply must invest in our water management systems. The Farming Recovery Fund is one part, but we need a long-term plan for how we protect our towns and countryside from what is becoming more regular, and expensive, flooding events.”
