Drought: Impacts on Farming & Agriculture
Summer 2026 has been one of the hottest and driest on record in the UK, and Scilly has not escaped from the challenges associated with this. This blog post is one of a series exploring the various impacts that the drought has had so far across the islands.
The farming and growing community all over the UK have faced significant challenges, with the lack of rainfall having a large impact from the ground up.
Soil health is the key to farming and growing, and can impact livelihoods, being a large part of Scillonian economy. On the Isles of Scilly, the soils are sandier than those in other areas of the UK. Being sandy means having lower organic matter, the primary functions of which is used to binds soil particles together. This is how water is retained in soils. Most organic matter originates from plant tissues, which on average hold approximately 70% water.
On a normal year, ‘soils are regularly in drought during the summer months – probably in around 70% of years’ , Ben Julian, Chair of Farmers & Growers initiative. This year, where rainfall has been minimal, water retention in soil is very challenging. Soils have an impact on the productivity of crop and plant growth, as they require water to be successful. This has an impact especially on vegetables, flowers and summer crops. In contrast, ‘bulb crops are well suited to higher soil temperatures and have a better success in drier periods’, explains Ben Julian.
A key indicator of this drought period has been grasses, which are no longer fresh and green but crisp and golden brown. Being shallow rooted and with limited rainfall, grasses stopped growing in June as they were unable to continue to grow. This has a knock-on effect for our cattle farmers, as grasses provide the basis of the natural grazing diet. With different species of grass having better nutritional value than others. Grasses provide many of the key proteins, fibres, minerals and vitamins needed to maintain overall cattle health.
Due to the shortage of grazing areas, and poor forage, winter feed stock is being relied upon much earlier than usual. This creates added pressure and concern for farmers as they head towards winter. Winter supply reduction, can add to an increase in running costs. St Agnes farmer, Tim Hicks at Troytown Farm, confirmed this:
‘This year, with little to no significant rain since April, I only harvested about two thirds of my normal crop. Since then, there has been no regrowth, so I have been feeding haylage since June. All of last years has been used and I’m now using this year’s supply. I foresee this continuing for several weeks and so my winter stock will be severely depleted’. Tim Hicks, Troytown Farm
It’s not just cattle feed, but farmers are struggling with sourcing all livestock supplies on the islands too. This has led to purchasing from the mainland, bring with it a larger cost. Jess, at Seaways Farm, noted that goat supplies have been really tricky on the island.
‘We have had an issue with sourcing enough hay on the islands the last year or so - because of the lack of grass, farmers are using their hay/silage to feed animals over the summer, and therefore have less hay to sell on. We had to buy a pallet in from the mainland earlier in the year for the goats, which obviously costs a lot more!’ Jess, Seaways Farm
However, luckily some farmers are managing to keep cattle fed on grasses; ‘Grazing is far from ideal too but with our smaller cattle herd size we’re managing to move them to new fields often enough for them to have their fill!’ - Jack Armstrong, Hillside Farm
For farmers and growers, water supplies are crucial to not only crop, forage production but animal welfare too. Jack Armstrong, explains:
‘We’ve found this dry period very challenging for our market garden side of the farm and have had to take the difficult decision to stop watering it completely as it takes such a large amount and we’ve needed to prioritise our animals welfare and the needs of the wider island.’
Whilst water stocks on the islands remains a key concern to many on the islands.
‘Water consumption is currently the largest concern, so we are now using bowsers instead of drinking troughs as these have been turned off just in case the cattle damage a trough and they start to leak, resulting in the islands already stretched supply running out. We are looking at vastly increasing our rainwater harvesting in the next 12 months, and planting more drought tolerant herbal leys for the cattle’’ Graham Eggins, Tresco.
This year has been challenging for farmers and growers but has proven how adaptable and resilient the community are. Looking forward, it’s evident that modifying methods to ensure water sources are available all year round is key.
