Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Farming Minister Stephen Morgan MP have met farmers in Cornwall affected by one of the driest summers in recent years, as the Labour Government announced new measures to help the farming sector cope with drought and a changing climate.
Morgan highlighted the visit in a post on X, saying farmers needed immediate, practical help as dry conditions continue to put pressure on agricultural businesses.
Sharing photographs from the visit, Morgan said:
“Today, @andyburnham and I met farmers in Cornwall who are dealing with the effects of one of the driest summers in recent years.
“They need practical support now, and we’re responding with measures to back English farming through the challenges ahead.”
The intervention came as the Government announced a £65 million package of additional support for farmers, with Burnham declaring that farmers should not have to carry the risks created by a changing climate alone.
Around three-quarters of England is currently in drought, according to the Government, following exceptionally dry conditions this summer.
The package includes an additional £50 million for the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026, taking its budget to £290 million, alongside up to £15 million to support the construction of on-farm reservoirs and improve resilience to future droughts.
The Government is also introducing greater flexibility within environmental farming schemes to help farmers respond to drought conditions while protecting their payments.
Ministers will take further action to make it easier for farms to build reservoirs and secure access to water during periods of scarcity, including changes intended to remove unnecessary planning barriers.
Speaking during the visit, Burnham said protecting Britain’s ability to produce its own food was a matter of national security.
“The ability to grow our own food is national security, and I will treat it that way. So we are acting now: more money into farm support, help to get reservoirs built, and easier access to water when it is scarce.
“This is the third drought in five years. Farmers are at the sharp end of a changing climate, and they should not be carrying that risk alone.”
The Prime Minister said some farmers were experiencing the earliest harvests of their working lives while simultaneously seeing yields fall, putting additional financial pressure on businesses.
Morgan’s visit with the Prime Minister underlined the Government’s message that its response will combine immediate assistance with longer-term investment to make British agriculture more resilient.
The Government said current conditions were not expected to threaten national food security, but ministers argue that repeated periods of drought demonstrate the importance of strengthening domestic food production and helping farms prepare for increasingly extreme weather.
For Morgan, the message from Cornwall was straightforward: farmers facing difficult conditions need practical government support now, alongside measures that help protect the future of English farming.
