Scotland has had 40.2mm of rain this April, compared with 103.9mm last year, and Wales saw 13.6mm this month, compared with 89.7mm in 2016.
Growing concern
Andrew Blenkiron, who farms on light, sandy land in Suffolk is used to dry conditions, but concerns are growing for unirrigated crops.
“We have 1,400 acres of irrigated crops and we have plenty of water for them because we have two reservoirs,” he said.
However, Mr Blenkiron’s farm has seen only 125mm of rain in five months and he worries that his unirrigated crops will face a 20% penalty if there isn’t significant rain soon.
Anthony Redsell, who farms wheat, onions and hops in Kent, is also worried about the dry weather, “It is still early, we’ve still got time. It's only the beginning of May yet, but if we were talking at the end of May it would be a different story. I am cautiously optimistic,” said Mr Redsell.
source: fwi.co.uk