Vol. 75/No. 26      July 18, 2011

The situation threatens to ruin small farmers, whose livelihoods have become increasingly precarious as the capitalist crisis deepens. Large agricultural companies have little problem weathering the drought.

“The drought is having a very bad effect on winter crops, they are just germinating now. They won’t grow much from there, so yield will be seriously affected,” said Simon Steel, a vegetable farmer with 55 acres.

“Irrigation costs are very high,” he added. “You need a license from DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to draw water, but fuel costs for the pumps are also very high. The license costs are less if you have a reservoir, but my operation is too small for such a thing.”

“They tell you to build a reservoir, but the outlay needed starts at £100,000,” said James Winter, who owns a ranch with 50 cattle in Huntingdon (£1=US$1.60).

Martin Downs, a tenant grain farmer who works 65 acres in Lincolnshire, said his landlord, Castle Cement, doubled his rent a few years ago. “We used to have land with a reservoir on it,” he said, “but that part was taken over for a quarry owned by Castle Cement.”

Most farmers have already sold their crops on forward contracts, based on predictions of the future price. If they don’t have enough harvest to deliver on the agreement, they have to buy from elsewhere to cover it. The only way out of the contract is to pay large fines, which few can afford.

The drought adds to a tightening squeeze on working farmers. Youleite Parkes, who farms in Reigate, Surrey, says she and her husband receive 23-24 pence per liter, but the costs of production are 30 pence. James Winter said he knew fellow pig farmers who were losing £22 for every animal they breed.

The National Farmers Union, dominated by large wealthy farmers, has done little to challenge the government’s indifference to the impact on small farmers. “The government is talking about what it can do to help. But short of doing a rain dance, there’s not much that can be done,” Jenny Bashford, the group’s water policy advisor, told the press.

Paul Davies contributed to this article.  
 
 
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