Record rainfall 'is destroying crops and causing a farming crisis'
Farmers are calling for support after suffering extreme rainfall across our region.
As a Met Office yellow weather warning for wind is issued, the National Farmers Union says the extreme wet weather has caused so much damage many are unable to plant crops.
The farming campaign group claims record breaking rainfall recently has lead to a crisis for the West Country's farming industry.
Tom Collins is a farmer in the region who has lost £100,000 of income , saying: "Spring last year was tremendously wet and we had a really bad harvest on the back of that and then we had a really wet Autumn - followed by an amazingly wet Winter and Spring this year and our Autumn planting failed. We lost 10 per cent , just rotting in the ground.
"Pretty devastating really to see all your crops failing and rotting in the ground. It's not what you want to see when you're a farmer."
It comes as The NFU has raised concerns 'over the eligibility criteria after the fund opened earlier this week, with support originally limited to land located within 150 metres of eligible rivers in regions hit hardest by Storm Henk'.
They said in a statement: "After extensive talks with the NFU, Defra has now reversed the 150 metre rule, with farmers now able to receive payments for all land parcels in the named, eligible areas.
"The Farming Recovery Fund was announced in January in the aftermath of Storm Henk to help those affected, with eligible farmers set to access grant support of up to £25,000."
NFU Vice President Rachel Hallos said: “We are pleased the government has listened to our concerns and removed the 150 metre rule which was a barrier to many flooded farms accessing this fund. But we are still working through the complex detail of these changes to ensure the worst affected businesses are eligible.
“There are still many farm businesses in dire need of support as we face into one of the wettest years on record – extremes which could become the norm. There are farmers with fields that have been underwater since October, unable to plant crops or put livestock out to graze, who still cannot access the fund, and the impact of the continuing rain on spring lambing is very distressing.
“There are still many farm businesses in dire need of support as we face into one of the wettest years on record – extremes which could become the norm.”
NFU Vice President Rachel Hallos added: "We continue to talk to government about the details of the scheme and urge them to consider long-term support for farmers to prepare, adapt and recover from the impacts of chronic rainfall and waterlogged ground, which isn’t addressed by the fund.”
Farming Minister Mark Spencer said the government had “immediately listened and responded to feedback on the launch of the initial phase of this scheme, fully removing the 150m limit”.
“This means that farmers will be able to receive payments for all land parcels which are flooded contiguous to an eligible river. We’ll continue to listen to farmers and look at how we can expand the scheme and improve support for those affected,” he added.
Today's yellow weather warning for wind lasts until 10pm and covers large parts of England and Wales.