U.K. Joins Spain in Drought as Crop Emerge After Winter
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U.K. farmers, Europe’s third-largest wheat producers, are facing the worst drought in two decades, joining Spanish growers contending with the driest conditions since 1947 as crops emerge from winter dormancy.
Parts of the U.K. had the least rain since 1992 in the six months through March, the U.K. national weather service said. Spain had its driest December-to-February period in 65 years, the Agriculture Ministry estimates. The west part of France, the region’s top wheat grower, had as little as 42 percent of normal rain this year, European Union data show. There is also lower-than-average precipitation in Germany, where a February cold snap damaged crops, farm lobby Deutscher Bauernverband said.