The environment secretary, Michael Gove, has promised support for farmers hit by the impact of the dry weather.

Following a drought summit with the National Farmers' Union and other Industry bodies, he said the government would do "whatever it takes" to maintain food supplies.

The NFU had requested relief from the "crippling impact" of the heatwave, including the relaxation of rules over accessing additional water supplies.

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Mr Gove promised to remove bureaucracy where it was hindering farmers.

"We will make sure farmers have what they need in order to provide us with high-quality food and ensure their businesses survive," he said.

The record summer heatwave has put huge pressure on farmers.

Meat and milk producers, salad, fruit and vegetable growers, have said harvests and yields are being severely affected by some of the driest months since 1961.

Heavy rain in recent days has given farmers some relief, but the NFU is still "seeking urgent action" at the summit to help farmers.

Before the meeting the Environment Agency announced that it is supporting farmers around the country who are dealing with the pressures of the hot, dry weather by allowing a more flexible approach to water abstraction.

The arrangements will allow farmers to trade water allowances - as set out in their abstraction licence - on a short-term basis, without the need to change their licence. The EA will fast-track the process to enable farmers to act quickly and arrangements will be agreed locally where the EA is satisfied that there will not be any adverse effects on the environment or the rights of other lawful water users. The EA also monitors river flow and will maximise access to water when it is available, such as following heavy rain.

In severe cases where there is a real or imminent threat to crops and livestock, the EA may temporarily allow additional, emergency abstraction.  Each case will be assessed to minimise impacts to the environment or the rights of other water users.

Paul Hickey, head of water resources, Environment Agency said:

“We know that farmers are facing considerable pressures in responding to drought conditions and we want to support them by allowing them to flex their abstraction licences in the most serious cases to safeguard food production and animal welfare.

“We must also balance farmers’ needs with those of wildlife and other water users so we will only allow these arrangements where we are satisfied there won’t be any adverse effects on the environment.

“As the hot, dry weather is set to continue we urge everyone to use water wisely to protect the environment and help prevent the need for water restrictions.”

The Environment Agency will continue to carry out compliance checks on *abstraction licences to ensure that abstractors keep to their licences and any agreed flexible arrangements.

The temporary arrangements do not apply to water companies as they are able to use a variety of drought measures defined in law to manage droughts and public water supply. The Environment Agency works closely with water companies to ensure they are following drought plans and implementing actions to conserve water in a timely way.

At Wednesday's meeting, NFU president Minette Batters said she would seek more flexibility for farmers who want to take water from rivers, or have increased access to the public supply water when there is spare capacity in the system.

She said: “We were pleased to hear after the meeting, the Secretary of State said he would do ‘whatever it takes in order to make sure farmers can continue to run successful businesses and that food supplies can continue to be healthy.’

 "I've been farming for 25 years myself and we've never been feeding cattle at this time of the year, and we are at the moment, and that is the case right across the country.

"We haven't had any appreciable rainfall since May."

CLA President Tim Breitmeyer said: “Our members are very concerned by the current extreme weather conditions which are having serious consequences across most farming sectors and affecting food production.

“It is vital to relax the rules and allow farmers and land managers flexibility to abstract water without penalties and to consider early payments from the RPA to assist with cash-flow issues during this heatwave.

“One solution to ease this drought situation which could potentially increase year-on-year due to climate change, is to focus on long-term water management. We need investment now to secure future water supplies so that the impact of such extreme weather does not have a detrimental effect on food production and the environment over the next 50 years and more.”

*It is up to abstractors to ensure that they use water wisely, efficiently and have sufficient water for their needs.

Any flexible arrangements will be one-off, limited to this event. If any abstraction outside a licence is likely to need to re-occur, licence holders must apply to vary the licence at the earliest opportunity. 

It is important that water abstraction licence holders check their licence details - licence holders can now view and manage water abstraction licences online.