17 Aug 2026
Farmers in England are to receive £65 million in new drought support following the driest July on record in England and Wales.
The Government has announced the package designed to ease immediate pressures on farms while strengthening their resilience to future droughts.
Around three-quarters of England is currently in drought, with farmers facing reduced crop yields, limited grass growth and growing difficulties securing sufficient water. Some livestock businesses are already using winter feed stocks, while irrigation restrictions have affected hundreds of farms.
The new measures include:
- An additional £50 million for the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026, increasing its total budget to £290 million.
- Up to £15 million to support the construction of on-farm reservoirs.
- Greater flexibility within environmental schemes, allowing farmers to take steps such as grazing or cutting land for livestock feed without losing payments, subject to safeguards.
- Measures to simplify water-access arrangements during drought conditions.
- Changes intended to make it easier for farmers to secure permission to build water-storage infrastructure.
Announcing the package, Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the ability to produce food domestically as a matter of national security. He said farmers were “at the sharp end of a changing climate” and should not be expected to carry that risk alone.
The National Farmers’ Union welcomed the new drought support for farmers as an important step but said more detail was needed about how the measures would work in practice.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw also warned that farmers across different sectors continue to face an immediate crisis of cash flow and confidence, alongside the longer-term challenge of adapting food production to increasingly frequent extreme weather.
With England experiencing three droughts in five years, the package highlights the growing importance of water storage and climate resilience for farming. Ensuring that funding is accessible and that planning and licensing processes work effectively will be particularly important for rural businesses seeking to invest in their future.
