EXCLUSIVE: Concerned farmers pile pressure on the Government after being hit by the worst wet weather crisis in a generation.

       Farmers fear there are “real problems” with a new funding package to help them deal with the impact of “catastrophic” wet weather.

       England has seen record-breaking rain this year, with 1,695.9mm falling from October 2022 to March 2024, the highest total for any 18-month period since the Met Office began collecting comparable data in 1836.

       The relentless deluge has left fields completely submerged, rendering them futile for planting crops and unviable for raising livestock.

       Writing for the Daily Express today, National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Vice President Rachel Hallos said: “There will be farmers who, for the first time ever, simply won’t have a harvest this year because they can’t get their crops planted.

       “It’s no exaggeration to say many farms are nearing crisis point.”

       READ MORE: 'I'm a farmer – horrendous floods have ruined my crops on worst scale in memory'

       On Tuesday, April 9 the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced farmers would be eligible to claim grants of between ￡500 and ￡25,000 under the Farming Recovery Fund for uninsurable losses from flooding.

       But only those within 150m of main rivers were eligible for the funds under the original scheme, sparking a swift backlash and leading to Defra removing the requirement in a U-turn on Friday.

       Now farmers are issuing an urgent plea for more help after overall food production was drastically reduced in a concerning development that will mean the UK is more reliant on imports.

       Scientists have cited climate change as a key reason Britain is likely to experience more intense periods of rain.

       Joe Stanley, who has been farming in Leicestershire for 15 years, said the impact of climate breakdown was clear.

       The sustainable farming advocate told the Daily Express: “This climate impact for me as a farmer is not new.

       “For me, the climate genuinely dropped off a cliff around 2018.

       “And up to 2018, the climate had remained relatively benign, relatively predictable, as it has been for generations.

       “But since 2018, every season almost every month now is giving us these weather extremes.

       “Whether it is extreme drought or extreme rainfall, they are the two main things we are facing.”

       COMMENT: Our farmers face an unprecedented flooding crisis, says Rachel Hallos

       Mr Stanley’s concerns were echoed by Chris Williamson, who runs a 300-acre farm in North Shropshire where he lives with his young family and St Bernard Dave.

       He said: “The weather has altered significantly in the last two or three years and that is the worrying thing.

       “When they started talking about climate change for the first time I would think that is not going to affect me too much because I will have finished farming by then.

       “But it is noticeable how much the weather patterns have altered. And it is the extremes.

       “It is not as bad as floods in Bangladesh. But it is noticeable and it does have a knock-on effect on your business.

       “It is quite possible it could return to normal next year but it is the unpredictability of it.

       “You cannot guarantee the seasons any more.”

       READ MORE: Farmers warn Rishi Sunak they will desert Tories at election if rural voters ignored

       Mike Wilkins is a fourth-generation farmer based in North Wiltshire, where he lives with his soon-to-be husband, Matt, and their whippet, Todd.

       He works on the family’s 2,000-acre farm which is primarily arable and sits 650ft-700ft above sea level.

       They also run a range of rare breed livestock British White cattle, Oxford Sandy & Black pigs and Wiltshire Horn sheep, plus non-native Boer goats.

       Although his farm is high above sea level Mr Wilkins explained his land’s soil type was a very heavy clay loam, which means it retains water more easily, and the constant rain has meant there has never been an opportunity for any of it to dry.

       Mr Wilkins has already tried and failed to plant winter wheat three times and is now set to be “tens of thousands of pounds” out of pocket as a result.

       He said: “It has been the worst winter we have ever had since my dad started farming here 35 years ago. It has been horrific.

       “We always have an issue with the soil here being very water-retentive.

       “But this year the weight of the rain falling on the soil has crushed the life out of it.

       “There is going to be a delayed harvest.

       “The soil is in such a bad condition where the weight of the rain falling on it creates the worst compaction.

       “Getting any life back into it is going to be very hard.”

       NFU Vice President Rachel Hallos said: “The Farming Recovery Fund was never going to be a silver bullet, nor is it going to allay longer-term concerns over the nation’s food security, but delivered in the right way it could be a lifeline for many farmers and growers who desperately need help right now.

       “The crisis goes beyond the here and now though. Government must recognise the need for long-term plans for food production and help farmers adapt to climate change, via investment in capturing and storing more water on farms and improving farm buildings to shelter livestock more effectively.”

       Farming minister Mark Spencer said: “We want to make sure the Farming Recovery Fund offers the support farmers need to recover from uninsurable damage.

       “It’s why we’ve immediately listened and responded to feedback on the launch of the initial phase of this scheme, fully removing the 150m limit.

       “This means that farmers will be able to receive payments for all land parcels which are flooded contiguous to an eligible river.

       “We’ll continue to listen to farmers and look at how we can expand the scheme and improve support for those affected.”