In the heart of England’s countryside, a quiet revolution is underway—one that could reshape the future of British farming, and perhaps even what ends up on dinner plates across the nation. After enduring one of the UK’s driest springs on record and an unprecedentedly hot summer, British farmers are grappling with the realities of a changing climate. Yet, amid these challenges, a groundbreaking experiment is taking root in the Cambridgeshire Fens: rice, a crop long associated with tropical climates, is being grown successfully for the first time in the UK.
According to the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), the dry weather in 2025 has led to “significant reductions” in the yield of traditional crops. The East Midlands, among other regions, remains in official drought status as September draws to a close. Patrick Lynn, whose family has farmed Hockerwood Park near Southwell since 1930, described this year’s harvest as “a bit of a shocker.” “Our spring barley, which we normally sow in March, was about half our normal yield,” Lynn told BBC Nottingham. “We drilled it, we put seed in the ground, and then it just didn’t rain for weeks and weeks and weeks.”
Even crops planted in the previous autumn—typically more resilient—fared poorly, with yields between a quarter and a third below expectations. “It’s left a big hole in our bank account,” Lynn admitted. The financial blow has been compounded by a global grain market oversupply, sending prices to their lowest levels in a decade. “It’s been a real struggle for arable farmers, particularly in the East Midlands,” he added. Lynn’s weather station, a fixture on his farm, recorded less than half the normal rainfall by the end of August. “We aren’t in a wet part of the country either, so it’s been very, very dry,” he said.
The contrast with the previous season couldn’t be starker. In 2024, Storm Babet brought widespread flooding, wiping out autumn crops and leaving fields too sodden for planting through winter and spring. “We lost all our crops we planted that autumn, and then it was wet all the way through the winter and into the spring, and we barely got anything planted, so that was a really bad year,” Lynn recounted. “We thought this last year would be better, then we’ve had a terrible drought.”
Jamie Burrows, Chair of the NFU’s combinable crops board, summed up the situation: “This year’s harvest was extremely challenging, with the unprecedented spell of dry weather during the first half of the year, mixed with sporadic rainfall, creating a hugely varied picture across the UK. Some farms recorded better-than-expected yields, while others experienced significant reductions in both yield and quality, which will hit cashflows and contribute to the already significant financial pressures on arable farming businesses carried over from harvest 2024 and the devastating wet weather.”
Yet, while traditional crops struggle, a bold experiment is blossoming in the Fens. On a farm near Ely, Cambridgeshire, four small paddy fields brim with nine varieties of rice from as far afield as Brazil, Colombia, Italy, and the Philippines—including risotto, basmati, and sushi types. The project is spearheaded by ecologist Nadine Mitschunas, in partnership with local farmers Sarah and Craig Taylor and scientists from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH). “When I tell people what I’m doing here, they think I’m joking,” Mitschunas told BBC. Yet, as she surveyed the lush, bushy rice plants, she couldn’t help but marvel: “I’m actually amazed because they are big, happy, bushy plants.”
The timing couldn’t be better. The Met Office confirmed that the summer of 2025 was the hottest in the UK since records began in 1884, providing ideal conditions for the rice. “Nobody has tried this before, but with climate change, we have crops that, 10 years ago, we wouldn’t have thought would be viable. In 10 years’ time, rice could be a completely perfect crop for us,” Mitschunas said. Farmer Sarah Taylor echoed the sentiment, reflecting on her family’s long connection to the land: “All my ancestors were Fenmen. I love this place, we’ve been here for 500 plus years. Potatoes are an amazing crop. You can’t knock that, but we know things need to change.”
But this isn’t just about adding a new grain to the British menu. The project is part of a larger effort to address the environmental cost of farming on the Fens’ peat soils. These soils, once wetlands, have been drained for agriculture, releasing carbon dioxide and contributing to climate change. The Fens produce crops worth around £1.2 billion annually and supply a third of the UK’s vegetables, but at a significant environmental price. Nationally, peat soils account for 3% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, and up to 12mm of peat is lost every year due to drainage, according to Farmers Guide.
The rice trial, part of the AgZero+ project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), aims to see if crops can be grown on rewetted peat soils, potentially locking in greenhouse gases rather than releasing them. While rice cultivation is known to produce methane—a potent greenhouse gas—early results suggest that the benefits of rewetting peat may balance or even outweigh the emissions from rice itself.
Professor Richard Pywell, the lead scientist from UKCEH, explained the broader goals: “By its very nature, this is an experiment, and so it will be interesting to see how the traditional produce and novel crops like rice perform on the rewetted peat soils alongside other land use options such as biomass production and habitat for nature. We hope to be monitoring the site over the coming years to assess the long-term viability and resilience of these land use options to a changing climate.” Detailed measurements will track greenhouse gas emissions, water use, crop yields, and impacts on local biodiversity, providing crucial data for policymakers and farmers alike.
Sarah-Jane Taylor emphasized the importance of adaptation: “Our Fenland soils are some of the most productive in the country but are very susceptible to the changing climate, and we need to adapt the crops we grow and how we grow them. The trials are critical to understanding the practicalities of how we might go about large-scale rewetting of peat, including its impact on yields and farm income, as well as the potential wider benefits for wildlife and flood prevention.”
The government is watching closely. Officials from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs have visited the site, intrigued by the potential for rice and other wetland crops to help Britain meet its climate targets while safeguarding food security and rural livelihoods. Agriculture currently accounts for 11.7% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, while the food system as a whole contributes to 38%.
It’s still early days for British-grown rice—commercial production is a distant prospect, and the first harvest is expected in October 2025. But the experiment is already prompting farmers and scientists to rethink what’s possible. “We don’t want people thinking we’re the ‘crazy rice farmers’—this is about rethinking the whole system and making it work for everyone,” Craig Taylor said. “Our legacy for our children and hopefully their children is really important to us and I want them to know that we at least try to make a difference,” added Sarah Taylor.
With climate change forcing a rethink of age-old agricultural traditions, the Cambridgeshire rice fields stand as a symbol of resilience and innovation. Whether or not rice becomes a staple of British farming, the lessons learned here may help shape a more sustainable and secure food future for the UK.
