According to NRW, Wales received 58% of its expected rainfall during July, although this wasn’t evenly distributed with catchments ranging from 29% for Valleys and the Vale of Glamorgan and 74% in Carmarthenshire.
During the five months from March to July, Wales received 61% of the average rainfall. The only other drier periods in the past 100 years occurred in 1984 and 1976.
The majority of farmers across Wales are being impacted by the prolonged period of dry weather in one way or another. This is in addition to the impacts of the war in Ukraine with many deciding to apply less fertiliser this year as a result.
FUW members who are able to are reverting to mains water supplies for their livestock, crops and other requirements such as parlour washes due to private water sources drying up.
Crops have stopped growing, meaning they will be harvested earlier with lower yields, and a number of farmers have been unable to harvest a second cut of silage and are now grazing those fields or plan to take late silage cuts in the Autumn if weather conditions are suitable.
Livestock are also losing condition due to the hot conditions and prices are falling as more livestock are being sold to relieve the pressure on fodder availability later this year and into 2023.
These impacts are likely to have significant impacts on cash flows and fodder availability across the UK and Europe during the winter when grazing and/or harvesting forage aren’t viable alternatives.
The FUW has been engaging with the Welsh Government and Stakeholders over recent weeks to discuss the impacts of the dry weather and what measures should be taken to mitigate the impacts on agricultural production and animal welfare:
- Grants should be made available to help farmers collect and store rainwater in preparation for prolonged dry weather events
- The Welsh Government must ensure that farmers who seek derogations for Glastir options such as 32/32b to compensate for prolonged periods of dry weather are not penalised
- The Welsh Government should seek to relax Glastir rules to allow farmers to extend their grazing seasons into the autumn on areas covered by contractual agreements when grass will be more readily available
- The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) Regulations should be suspended to avoid increasing red tape for Welsh farmers at a time when they are facing a perfect storm of uncertainty, climatic pressures and the impact of global events
A Temporary Use Ban (TUB) or ‘hosepipe ban’ will come into force in Pembrokeshire and parts of Carmarthenshire on 19th August 2022. Full details can be found here.
Guidance on private water supplies can be found here.
NRW dry weather updates (updated fortnightly) can be found here.
NRW advice for farmers in periods of dry weather can be found here.
Spray irrigation restrictions during dry weather can be found here.