Farmers 'will take whatever rain we get'

Tim Hankins who farms in Aldwincle, Northamptonshire, said the dry weather was bad for the crops themselves, and pasture for livestock

Farmers say they "desperately" need wet weather after the sunniest April on record.

One farmer from Northamptonshire said he would take whatever rain he could get as both his arable crops and his fodder grass were gasping for water.

Many farms suffered a bad harvest last year because of the relatively high rainfall, and are now facing the same pressure thanks to the sun.

A cider maker in the county said the warm weather was making his apples sweeter and making alcohol levels "a bit higher".

Farmers say crops are desperate for rain

The Met Office said provisional figures showed 2025 had had the sunniest April since records began in 1910.

There were 47% more sunshine hours than the long-term meteorological average.

At Pear Tree Farm in Aldwincle near Thrapston in Northamptonshire, Tim Hankins was celebrating a small downpour on Sunday night.

"We'll take whatever we can get. We desperately, desperately need wet weather," he said.

"April showers - where were they?"

A thunderstorm warning has been issued for parts of the East of England for Monday afternoon until 22:00 BST, including Northants.

Tim Hankins needs water for the grass that feeds his animals as well as his arable crops

He added that he needed rain not just for his arable crops but also for the grass he grows to feed his sheep and cattle.

He said his barley and wheat were "very stressed - a bit like I am".

"It's going a bit yellow. We've put some fertiliser on 10 days ago and I should imagine today will be the first day it actually gets into the soil," he said.

"We had a bad harvest last year because of all the wet weather, and now we're heading for a bad harvest again with the dry weather - unless we get some rain now."

Tom Harris in Overstone said his sunflowers liked the sun but still needed rain to get going

At Overstone Grange Farm a few miles from Northampton, Tom Harris reported his fields were "just cake and dust which you wouldn't ordinarily expect this time of year".

"We're at the mercy of the weather unless your farm's set up for irrigation, which, in this part of the world, not many farms are," he said.

"All you can do is hope the weather comes good for you."

He has diversified into growing a plant that should like the sunshine - sunflowers.

"They love the sun and turn their heads turn towards it, but they went in the ground last week and they need moisture to get a bit of a start," he said.

Phi Saxby said cider apples were smaller and sweeter in dry years

At Saxby's Cider in Farndish near Wellingborough, the fruit Phil Saxby and the team rely on is not quite as dependant on good weather.

He said apples had "got deep roots and there's moisture further down so there's not so much of a panic".

"If you have a very dry year, we find that the apples generally are a little bit smaller and they're a little bit sweeter so there's a little bit more sugar in there so the alcohol levels are generally a bit higher," he said.