Concern over adverse and extreme weather has doubled within a year for agricultural businesses, according to new research.
The UK’s economy has taken a hit this year from extreme weather, having experienced three bouts of the ‘Beast from the East’ and a late spring.
The extreme weather has left small farming businesses in the UK "bewildered", research from Hitatchi highlights.
The research shows the real impact the elements have had on the small business community in such a short space of time and reveals the knock on effect for sectors that rely heavily on the weather.
For the agricultural sector, almost half (46%) said unpredictable weather was holding back their business – a rise from 37% two years ago and 34% last quarter.
The findings also show that the adverse weather conditions have also had a knock on effect regionally. The most prominent impact felt by more than two in five of businesses in Scotland, rising from 5% in Q2 2016.
Similarly, Welsh SMEs have also experienced difficulty with unforeseeable weather - rising from 8% in 2016 to 16% this quarter. Other notable increases came within Yorkshire; the issue of weather more than doubling since 2016, (3% vs. 11% this quarter).
'Worst in living memory'
The weather has hit the agricultural industry particularly hard this year. The amount of livestock killed due to the weather is said to be the "worst in living memory" in some parts of the UK.
A North Yorkshire farmer told of how this spring has been the worst he has ever had after losing forty of his lambs.
Farmers have also become increasingly concerned about the unseasonable cold weather which in turn has put a pressure on fodder supplies.
