UK Berry Harvest Up 6% as Heatwave Hits Cereal Crops
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- British Berry Growers reports this year's berry haul is 6% above last year's crop with two-thirds picked, with blackberries, blueberries and raspberries particularly strong, as polytunnels and drip irrigation insulated most crops from the heat.
- Nick Marston, chair of the BBG, said growers invested millions in water security — reservoirs and computer-controlled drip systems — but noted roughly 40% of berry producers still lack a reservoir or licensed borehole and rely on mains water or river abstraction.
- Late-season strawberries face a slowdown in early autumn as plants become exhausted from heavy cropping during the heatwave, while blackcurrant production is expected to fall 10%.
- UK wheat is running 13% below the five-year average and spring barley is about a quarter below the five-year average — the lowest since comparable records began in 1999 — according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board's Anthony Hopkins, who warned of immense financial pressure on arable businesses.
- Government planning rules on on-farm reservoirs were eased this month, a move Marston praised, but he said river abstraction licensing also needs reform to let farms store more water in winter for drier months.
- Marston argued UK berry growers have an opening to expand as competing winter suppliers in southern Spain and north Africa face worsening water shortages and heat.
Why it matters: Britain's record fifth heatwave is splitting agriculture by crop value: berry farms that could afford reservoirs and drip irrigation are reaping a 6% bumper crop, while wheat is down 13% and spring barley at its lowest since 1999, piling financial pressure on arable farms with fewer adaptation tools. With 40% of berry producers still lacking water storage and river abstraction rules unreformed, the industry's resilience gap is widening between high- and low-value crops.
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