UK inflation rose to a near 18-month high in June as food prices surged for the third month running, according to official figures.
On Thriplow Farms in Hertfordshire, the harvest has started early.
Farmer David Walston says his hand has been forced by the extreme weather.
The wheat, oats, and barley grown here go into bread, breakfast cereals, beer, and animal feed – staples of the British diet.
But with little rain and intense heat, the crops have withered.
In June, UK inflation was higher than in Italy, Germany, France or the United States – and well above the Bank of England’s 2% target.
Price growth has picked up modestly in recent months, but economists do not expect anything like the surge of 2022, when inflation peaked above 11%.
Roughly half the food we eat is produced in the UK, with most of the rest imported from the EU – which is also suffering from extreme weather.
The British Retail Consortium says government policy is also playing a role.
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