Drought will push up price of food, farmers warn.
Growers may cancel seed orders for potatoes, carrots, onions and lettuce due to lack of water.
Farmers in drought-stricken areas of the country are facing crucial decisions in the next few days and weeks over what to grow this year – and their plans could mean rising food prices for hard-pressed consumers this summer.
Most of the south-east of England was officially declared to be in drought last week, and large swaths of the Midlands and south of England were confirmed as "at risk", with hosepipe bans and other restrictions likely to be introduced soon.
Farmers are particularly at risk as the spring growing period approaches. Soil moisture in the key agricultural region of East Anglia has reached a record low, and many farmers have had their licences to take water from rivers and underground sources curbed. Some key crops – such as potatoes, carrots, onions and lettuce – require much more water than alternatives, and farmers must sow the seeds for many of these staples within days or weeks.
The National Farmers' Union said the potato crop was likely to be one of the worst affected. When potatoes do not receive enough water at crucial points of their growth, they tend to contain too much sugar, which can give them a dark appearance when cooked, rendering them less palatable to chip and crisp makers – often they can be sold only for animal feed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/26/drought-push-up-price-food
Glad I got my seed spuds chitting. I've got my carrot and pea seeds in stock, just need to get my onion sets in and I'm ready to go. Setting up my five water butts this week to get as much water in store as possible.
DT_Xtremez_42: