81% of UK Fresh Produce Grown in Drought-Risk Areas — SkimNews
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- Rebalance Earth found 81% of England's fresh produce is concentrated in parts of the country already experiencing water stress, in its new analysis of UK food-supply vulnerability.
- England's staple crops face widespread drought exposure: 77% of wheat, 75% of barley, 74% of oilseed rape, 70% of sugar beet, and 67% of potatoes grow in areas rated moderate to very high drought risk.
- About a quarter of staple crops face acute drought risk, including 30% of wheat and barley, 28% of oilseed rape, 27% of fresh produce, and 21% of potatoes, the report said.
- East Anglia, long known as England's "breadbasket," and Kent, often called the "garden of England," are among the traditionally most productive areas now facing the greatest drought pressure and prolonged dry weather.
- The AHDB's final 2026 harvest report described England's cereal harvest as disappointing, with wheat, spring barley, and oat volumes below historical UK averages.
- Andrew Blenkiron, who manages the Guinness family's 9,000-hectare Elveden estate in Suffolk, said three of the past five years have brought drought conditions, with crop yields significantly below normal.
- Kirsty Wilman, Rebalance Earth's COO and CFO, warned that drought builds "slowly and quietly" and its impact "runs right through the economy: lower yields, strained supply chains and higher prices in all of our shopping baskets."
Why it matters: Three of the past five years have brought drought conditions to major English farms like the Guinness family's Elveden estate, and the 2026 cereal harvest was already below historical averages per AHDB — with Rebalance Earth warning that drought's drag on yields, supply chains, and food prices runs "right through the economy" as 70%+ of England's staples sit in drought-risk zones.
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