Countryfile presenter Adam Henson has issued an emotional appeal after revealing the devastating impact the weather has had on his Gloucestershire farm over the last three years. The broadcaster, who co-owns Cotswold Farm Park in Gloucestershire, has given an insight into this year's harvest and admitted the results have fallen considerably short of expectations.

A farm under pressure

In a video posted on the Cotswold Farm Park YouTube channel, Mr Henson guided viewers around the 650-hectare property as harvest got under way. He described the conditions: "Although I love living on top of the Cotswolds, we're about a thousand foot up here and there's a bit of a breeze and a bit of cloud cover today. But it's been absolutely bone dry for over a month."

The lack of rain has affected both crops and livestock. "Our lambs here are going to need to be fed hard food and we're going to have to get some silage because you can see the grass has just turned brown," he said.

The farm, which grows winter wheat, winter barley and spring barley alongside its livestock and conservation work, has seen the harvest arrive unusually early, with the wheat being cut "probably 2 or 3 weeks earlier than normal". Mr Henson noted: "We usually wouldn't start the wheat until August and unfortunately because of all the hot weather and us being on quite thin stony soil, the yields aren't very good."

According to reports, yields are down about a ton to a ton and a half per hectare. The reduced yields come at a time when global commodity prices for wheat and barley are low, though Mr Henson said they were lifting a little.

Reflecting on a run of tough seasons, Mr Henson said: "Actually arable farming at the moment is hard. Really hard." He described the past three years as difficult, with a big drought last year and 2024 being terribly wet.

Looking ahead, he added: "We could do with a very good 2027, please. All we can do as farmers is just keep our fingers crossed and look forward to a better year in 2027."

A young farmer's perspective

The challenges of modern farming were also highlighted when Mr Henson visited Malham beef and sheep farmer Frank Carr and his father, also Frank, in the Yorkshire Dales. The visit, which aired on Countryfile on Sunday, August 23, saw Mr Henson visibly taken aback by the financial situation facing the family.

More than 1,000 acres of the Carrs' farm are protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its limestone geology and upland habitats. "We are instrumental in maintaining this habitat," said Frank Sr.

However, the unpredictable conditions have taken a toll on the flock during winter, and plans to expand the herd have required the family to take on considerable debt. Frank Jr told Mr Henson that the way forward lies in "finding those niche markets, focusing on our unique selling point - the location, the flowers, the environment".

The costs of production were laid bare when Frank discussed a slurry storage project, which he said was "50% grant-funded, predicted to be around £400,000 - there will be some more on top of that by the end of it I would have thought". He added that diesel prices were always increasing.

When Mr Henson remarked, "Scary isn't it?", Frank agreed but added that the investment would put the farm in good stead for the future, allowing for more targeted use of inputs such as fertiliser. Mr Henson then asked if he thrived on the pressure, to which Frank replied that he did.