I remember the heatwaves and drought of 1975 and 76; how ironic that now, we are suffering from the worst drought in 50 years.

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I was in Oxfordshire back in the 70s, and I remember seeing the deep cracks in the heavy clay soils, cracks big enough to put your foot in. But the fundamental difference between then and now is that this drought is being felt despite having just had one of our wettest winters. These days, we’re dealing with pure extremes - and as a farmer, dealing with extremes is the hardest thing.

Beef farmers wouldn’t normally bring out feed stocks if there’s grass in the fields, but farmers are already beginning to use their winter supplies. This will put pressure on prices for us and for the consumer.

When it comes to vegetables, we’re not seeing that quality and size in the supermarkets. You’re seeing much smaller potatoes, when it would normally be big healthy tubers. That’s a direct reflection of the extreme weather, because crops like potatoes rely on........

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