LONDON — Jeremy Clarkson, the television personality and farmer, said Sunday that the harvest at his Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire was "f*****" as Britain prepared for its fifth heatwave of the year. He posted a screenshot of the BBC weather forecast for Chipping Norton, near his farm, showing a high of 29C for the day.
The Oxfordshire village is forecast to reach 33C this week. Regions in East Anglia and the South East could see highs of 36C, deepening drought conditions that have cut agricultural yields nationwide.
The National Farmers' Union warned the British government last week that the prolonged dry spell could lead to food shortages, following a season already battered by adverse weather.
Tom Bradshaw, the NFU's president, said low rainfall and consecutive heatwaves have dried soil across the country, a combination he said could leave fewer products on supermarket shelves in the coming months.
Bradshaw urged the prime minister to offer tax breaks for farmers investing in water storage systems, arguing such measures would help the industry weather future dry periods and reduce supply risks.
British farmers have faced compounding difficulties this season. Winter flooding disrupted planting schedules, and prolonged drought followed.
England and Wales recorded their driest July on record, according to the Met Office. Some counties received 1 millimeter or less of rainfall for the entire month.
Wheat farmers have reported crops at half their normal height. Farmers across England are undertaking their earliest-ever harvest in an attempt to salvage what they can from diminished yields.
A barley farmer on Hayling Island, Hampshire, lost two fields to a wildfire last month. Aerial images showed large portions of the fields blackened by the blaze.
Clarkson's 1,000-acre Diddly Squat Farm typically grows wheat, barley, rapeseed, potatoes, mustard and clover.
The Amazon Prime series "Clarkson's Farm," currently filming its sixth season, regularly documents the hard realities of British farming.
