Farmers feeling the impact of ongoing dry weather

The continuing dry weather has caused concern for farmers at Market Drayton livestock market this week.

They are worried about the effect on crops and livestock, and have warned that the nation's milk supplies will be threatened.

Richard Savage, a beef, sheep and arable farmer from Woodhall Farm near Shrewsbury, said: "We just see extremes, everything's extremes nowadays."

The Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said it was "actively considering additional ways to support the sector".

Part of the problem is that last year had a long dry spell of weather too.

Graham Parry, who farms sheep at Tumbledown Hill, Chartley, said: "Brooks [and] rivers never fully recovered from last year."

Savage said: "Spring barley (is) unbelievably poor. It's not seen any rain since it's gone in the ground."

Despite that, the market itself was really busy, with cattle coming through the gates in large numbers, partly because of the lack of grass in the fields to feed them.

Arable and livestock farmers are not the only ones struggling to look after their animals.

Richard Kent, the co founder of Mickley Stud near Prees, said: "As a farmer you love to see green fields and you don't like to see brown dust everywhere."

He said he was having to watch foals with respiratory problems very carefully and was having to spend extra to buy in food.

Farmers told us winter food stocks are now being fed to dairy cows.

With the added heat stress, industry experts say the amount of milk going into tanks is falling dramatically.

Jason Brown, the dairy auctioneer at the livestock market, said: "There are not enough cows around to put enough milk in the tank to feed the country.

"The country is going to be very short of milk very soon, unless there is something we can do about it."

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