Driven By Drought, UK Grain Harvest Begins 2 Weeks Early; Apples Boom But Potatoes, Brassicae In Big Trouble

Harvests are coming two weeks early because of drought, Waitrose has said, as it prepares to stock autumnal fruit in summer. (Ed. - If you're wondering, Waitrose is kind of like the British version of Whole Foods - I had to look it up). Farmers that supply the supermarket are harvesting wheat, oilseed rape, oats and malting barley a fortnight before they generally would, according to the supermarket. A lack of rainfall coupled with the hot weather has caused the crops to race through their growing stages and mature early.

Thomas Adami, the farming operations manager at Leckford Farm, one of the suppliers, said: “The drought conditions meant that the plants were stressed, and in reaction to this they raced through their growth stages to produce their seed before they senesce, hence the earlier harvest.” His team had managed to mitigate some of the worst drought effects as they had been practising regenerative farming, he said, which meant the soil had been kept in better condition and held water for longer.

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Waitrose ssaid it expected apples and berries to be on shelves up to two weeks early. Jessica Street, an apple buyer with the supermarket, said: “We’ve got an early start to the apple season this year, all thanks to ideal spring conditions and a warm temperature throughout the growing season accelerating the ripening process for many fruits, like apples.” But although apples have benefited from the weather, for vegetables that require a lot of water, such as carrots, potatoes and brassicas, the situation is bleak. The Met Office is on track to record one of the warmest summers since 1884, and England had its driest spring on record, with some areas of the country facing an extremely dry summer.

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The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit has said the UK is tracking towards its sixth or seventh worst harvest since records began 40 years ago. This comes after the second worst harvest last year, which was partly due to record-breaking floods, and the worst harvest on record in 2020. This is the sixth consecutive month of below-average rainfall. England is currently in a nationally significant water shortfall, with conditions expected to last until mid autumn. Dry conditions could last well into October, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology has said, which would put higher pressure on water supplies as rivers, reservoirs and aquifers are at very low points.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/21/drought-autumn-harvest-two-weeks-early-waitrose