The fallout from the spring drought has led farmers and other large abstractors to look to the future with an amount of surreptitiousness. The latest Environment Agency (EA) report stated that a dry autumn and winter could have disastrous effects next year. Some in the farming world have therefore made calls for more to be done to cope with drought, which they feel may become an even bigger issue as climate change begins to take hold.

Tim Place, a Norfolk grower and farmer, has made moves to improve water security, enabling him to maintain food production in the face of such uncertainties. Mr Place, who recently won an award for water efficiency, after reducing water for irrigation by 40 per cent on his farm, demanded an answer from Farming Minister Jim Paice as to what was being done to ensure water security for the East. The East of England suffered particularly harsh weather during this spring’s drought.

The Minister, who was visiting the region on a fact finding trip, attempted to clarify how the government's water proposals would help farmers. He said, "We are publishing a White Paper on water later this year. And as part of the lead up to that we’re looking at what the obstacles and problems are for farmers investing in reservoirs with planning and environmental issues so we can remove as much obstacles as possible. Quite clearly investment in winter storage reservoirs is very wise."

Mr Paice also revealed that the government’s approach to water scarcity would probably include a market solution, continued, "We’re also looking at other measures including 'tradability' of abstraction rights to create a market. Water is essential to modern farming. In the slightly longer term, we've got to do a lot more research into how we farm with less water and that means investment in plant breeding and varieties.

He concluded, "It also includes how we can use water we’ve got more efficiently. I think that the days of overhead rain gun irrigation are probably numbered. It is not a very efficient use of water but it is all we’ve got at the moment."

Farmers bale OSR straw in response to shortage

In Norfolk, though some crops were badly affected by the drought, with barley yields reportedly down 20-30 per cent in some areas, the oilseed rape harvest has yielded surprisingly highly. Yields in the region of 3.75 tonnes per hectare have been reported despite farmers' fears for their crops. Due to a prospected shortage of straw for livestock, farmers have been engaging in Top of Form muck-for-straw exchanges with dairy farmers and animal keepers. Although rape straw is usually incorporated to benefit the ground, farmers have been advised that this year rape straw will fetch a good price as other stocks may be down.

A recent European Environment Agency report on water resources across Europe revealed that water stress is growing in parts of northern Europe. Drought remains a feature of the UK's variable climate, with dry spells possible throughout the year. Figures from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) show that 2011 was the driest spring in a century in England; the arid period stunted crop growth and reduced the flow of many rivers to record lows.

Areas of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, parts of Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, and western Norfolk remain in drought, as ground water has not yet fully recharged after the ravages of the hot, dry spring. The government white paper on water, which will dictate new policy on water up until 2020, will now be released in December. It was announced in May that publishing of the paper would be delayed until later in the year.