Water key to unlocking growth, says NFU Deputy President
Paul Tompkins
NFU Deputy President
NFU Deputy President Paul Tompkins reflects on how the NFU has driven collaboration and obtained government support, the progress needed on water to unlock growth in the farming sector and the importance of the National Drought Group as a lobbying platform.
The long run of dry, hot weather through the summer months has thankfully come to an end with recent rains reaching most of the country. Restrictions on abstraction since then have more than halved – going from more than 1,400 to around 600 as river levels have risen.
However, 71% of the country remains officially in drought status and more than 30 million people are still under Temporary Use Bans from water companies to preserve supplies.
River levels are dependent on further rainfall, and the challenge will be building back stocks of water over the winter.
“There is a huge opportunity for us to be more self-sufficient in home-grown produce and to unlock the growth that a stable platform for food production can bring.”
NFU Deputy President Paul Tompkins
NFU drives collaboration
There have been steps in the right direction this year, certainly in communications, with collaboration driven by the NFU between the EA, water abstractor groups and the IBD (internal drainage board) in the South Level of the Fens to keep growers informed on water and to make their voices and food production needs heard.
More areas have been looking to develop this level of collaboration by setting up new water abstractor groups and by recognising the role IDBs can take in water level management. Where this has begun, we don’t want to see the momentum lost as the rain starts to fall, but there needs to be pro-active engagement before droughts set in, and more long-term thinking if we are to improve resilience.
Another example of collaboration to build resilience is the work that Water UK is embarking on with the NFU to better support vulnerable businesses that depend on mains water, especially where livestock welfare is concerned.
‘Huge opportunity’ to unlock growth
We need to look beyond this drought and crisis management to secure sustainable water for food. That will mean more storage of water on farm, but it will also require more dynamic abstraction that allows growers to access water whenever it is available to fill that storage while protecting the environment and other water users.
If we can, there is a huge opportunity for us to be more self-sufficient in home-grown produce and to unlock the growth that a stable platform for food production can bring.
As the Prime Minister said on Back British Farming Day, food security is national security.
Impacts must be mitigated
The worst drought we have had in 50 years will not disappear overnight and its impact will be felt as we go into 2027. Not least by farming businesses that have suffered from reduced yields, impacts on forage and water supply issues as heatwave after heatwave saw demand skyrocket while river levels dwindled.
The rainfall we have received has not fallen evenly across the country and some areas have seen very little, while others have been subject to flood alerts, all indicative of the new reality of water availability that we are trying to navigate.
That is why the NFU is spearheading a new campaign calling on short-term financial support for farmers and it is why the NFU continues to raise these issues at all levels of government.
NFU presence where it counts
Following the emergency COBR (Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms) meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, the National Drought Group has been meeting on a weekly basis to be a focus of updates.
The NFU attends every one of these meetings, representing our members and making the case for farming.
Latest meeting update
Following sustained NFU lobbying, we helped secure a £65 million drought support package from government which was the focus of the latest meeting, with Water Minister Emma Hardy discussing elements of the package.
Alongside an extra £50m for the second window of SFI 2026, the package contained options for sensible, adaptive easements to agri-environment schemes to support livestock farmers facing forage shortages, to make it easier to stop wildfires and to allow for the late establishment of some scheme actions.
It was also welcome to see the announcement of £15 million for a third round of the water management grant to be launched this autumn, together with support that should help to enable planning barriers to be overcome.
We are keen that we get information as soon as possible on the details of this grant funding round to growers, so they can progress plans for additional water storage and be better prepared as soon as possible for future droughts.
Building a reservoir, however, is pointless unless there is the water to fill it and we are in conversation with the EA (Environment Agency) about addressing a licensing system that needs to be more attuned both to long term investment on-farm and responsive to flood and drought.
