British beef farmers are struggling to keep their animals fed as a once-in-a-century drought leaves fields barren, forcing them to dip into costly winter supplies months ahead of schedule.
For shoppers, the crisis threatens higher food bills. For farmers, it raises questions about survival. “Look, it’s dust,” said David Barton, a third-generation farmer in the Cotswolds, kicking at a lifeless field. “This is what you see in the United States or Australia. You don’t see this in England. It’s ridiculous.”
The UK’s Met Office says 2025 is on course to be the hottest summer since records began in 1884, after the driest January-to-July since 1929. With grass gone, Barton feeds his 200 Salers, Herefords and Sussex cattle a mix of silage, hay and cereals twice daily. Even so, the hungry herd chases his tractor for more. “This year is extraordinary. I have never seen anything like it,” he said.
The costs are brutal. Barton spends an extra £1,000 ($1,350) a week on feed, money he will never recover as beef prices rarely reflect rising farm costs. Last year, UK beef production was valued at over £4 billion ($5.4 billion). Yet many farmers fear their margins are too thin to survive another extreme season.
Retailers such as Waitrose and restaurant chains like Hawksmoor rely on farms like Barton’s. But with official data showing food prices up 4.9% this year, pressure on consumers may grow. Beef is a key driver of that inflation, and experts warn that Britain’s food security is at risk if climate extremes become the norm.
“Unfortunately, I will have to take that hit,” Barton said, his cattle mooing in the background. For many farmers, the hit could mean the difference between keeping generations-old family farms alive or watching them dry up like their fields.
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