Farmer Focus: Food security is becoming high risk

Spring 2026 has been a dry one across the UK, more so for some than others. We have been fortunate, with rainfall at critical times, leaving crops looking respectable, but still limited by the lack of water.

Other parts of the country have not been so lucky. With yields now set apart from bushel weight, it looks like it will be yet another tough year.

It has never been more important to get soil carbon levels high for us to store optimum water.

See also: FW to lead with farmer‑driven debate at Cereals

About the author

Tim Parton

Tim Parton manages 300ha in South Staffordshire growing winter wheat, OSR, spring barley, beans, oats, lupins and wild flowers as part of a biological farming system. He grows cover crops and grass for haylage across sandy clay loam soils.

Read more articles by Tim Parton

It always makes me laugh when government is investing money in flood defences, yet they never seem to look at one of the biggest storage facilities we have within our soil.

Just a 1% increase in organic matter could help you store more water – an extra 200,000 litres/ha.

To my mind, as a country, we are going back to a depression like that of 1873 to 1896 (way before my time).

This was caused by steamships bringing in grains from North America and Russia and torrential rainfall in the 1870s, making it a very uncomfortable time for farmers, with many giving up land and few wanting to take it on.

Then with the outbreak of the First World War, farmers were suddenly needed to produce food at home. I feel we are now very vulnerable where food security is concerned.

Western countries have become arrogant, buying what they want from poorer countries at cheap prices to keep food prices low for consumers. Yet such countries are becoming more profitable, with growing economies. 

Are they really going to keep letting other countries pillage their food supplies when their own wealth and population are growing? I think not.

Agriculture is suffering around the world, and unfortunately until there is a food shortage I do not see things changing. Hardship often brings change. Dwindling finances often force the focus on expenditure and inputs.

As I have shown over the past 17 years, with regenerative farming there are many ways to reduce inputs while maintaining high yields – with no use of insecticides, fungicides, growth regulators and reduced or no herbicides and with much-reduced nitrogen.

This can be done while focusing on maintaining balanced nutrition and biology, to keep the plant at full potential.