It’s hard to find the words to describe the last few months if you’re a farmer. Most of these words would probably be expletives and not suitable for a blog post. Combine that with some some heart wrenching sadness, genuine concerns for their livelihoods and a marked frustration about the lack of government and media attention.
What am I talking about? Well you may have noticed that it’s been extremely wet this year so far. Whilst this may be irritating for most people, for autumn sown crops it’s caused huge damage to crops, with whole fields remaining underwater and being lost entirely. For spring sown crops it’s meant that drilling (planting seeds) has been severely delayed or abandoned.
The effects of this will be felt this summer, when it comes to harvest. Some farmers will have nothing to harvest at all. For others it will mean a loss of income and the fact that it will be even harder to produce crops that meet the quality threshold for human consumption. The UK is also likely to have to import significantly more grain that usual. Weather related worries in farming are nothing new, but the scale of this year’s disruption is relatively unprecedented.
Unsurprisingly, the role of climate change in this extreme and disruptive weather pattern has not escaped discussion and there is clear evidence that points to the increasing likelihood of extreme weather as the climate warms. At a basic level, warm air holds more moisture than cold air.
Farming and food production two important roles here. Firstly, sustainable farming systems provide a unique opportunity to maintain and enhance the ecosystem services we rely on and to remove and lock up carbon from the atmosphere in soils, trees and hedges. Therefore, expansion of carefully-managed farming systems can actively tackle the climate change that is causing these weather patterns in the first place.
Secondly, an increase in well-managed, diverse and resilient farming systems can also help safeguard our food supply. Healthy, uncompacted, robust soils can better withstand very wet or dry conditions, improving drainage in the wet and holding onto moisture in the dry. Growing a diversity of crops that are planted and harvested at different times, along with different susceptibility to extreme conditions, helps spread the risk and safeguard food supplies.
At the moment though, there are limited markets for these diverse crops, with the majority of farms simply producing the same crops and varieties, with little variation. Businesses like Hodmedod's and their farmer group who supply many of the ingredients that go into my muesli and muesli bars are vital here, in directly supporting sustainable farming systems and the diversity that comes with them.
For me, these last few months have show just how vital it is that we transition to these sustainable farming systems without any delay. Consumer demand plays a huge role in this and every time you buy my muesli or muesli bars, you’re also helping to support this change.