Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential productivity of the arable industry over the next six months.

2018 has been a challenging year for the UK farming sector. The year started with a prolonged cold spell which in some parts of the country necessitated the prolonged feeding of stock. In addition spring planting of crops was delayed in many parts of the country. The cold spell was followed by hot and dry weather during June and July that facilitated the early and quick harvest of winter crops, but impeded grass growth causing farmers to start feeding first cut silage and raising concerns about the availability of supplies of winter fodder.

Among crop farmers, the picture is mixed; overall there are reductions expected in 2018 crop yield and there may be concerns over quality, especially in relation to spring planted crops and oilseed rape. The situation, however, is highly variable depending on local soil conditions and rain deficit and for some the decrease in yield and quality is expected to be offset by an increase in price and by lower costs, for example, of grain drying.

The main impact of the recent drought conditions is likely to be felt by the grazing livestock sector facing a shortage of fodder. The full extent, however, of the impacts will not be realised until later in the year and it will also be the case that such impacts are likely to be specific to the individual circumstances of farmers in terms the level of stock and feed on-farm and the impact of the drought on local feed supply relative to previous years.

We have prioritised practical solutions to help farmers increase access to fodder and bedding through flexibilities in scheme rules both now and in the coming months. These actions will help farmers to limit the impact of extra feed costs by allocating land to forage growth and grazing. We will keep the situation under review for both arable and livestock sectors.