'The cost can be devastating' - Call for huge effort to highlight wildfire dangers for farms
Farming leaders are calling for a concerted effort by public sector bodies to boost “prevention, education and response” to the increasing risk of wildfires on agricultural land.
NFU Vice-president and Ripponden dairy farmer Rachel Hallos said farms were in tinderbox conditions and underlined the speed that fires could spread, putting both people and animals at risk and destroying valuable crops, grassland and infrastructure.
She said: “As farmers, we are doing what we can, but this isn’t an issue we can tackle alone.
"It’s vital that government, fire services and local authorities work with us on prevention, education and response, and for everyone enjoying the countryside this summer to be fire-aware so these shared spaces remain safe for all.
“Protecting our farmland means protecting our food, our environment and our rural communities.”
It comes just days after West Yorkshire fire bosses warned a rise in outdoor fires was probable due to dry weather, with one councillor saying it was a matter of “when, not if” the area saw a moorland blaze.
With a long dry summer forecast, councillors were told the coming months could be a “challenging time” for firefighters.
Just hours later fire crews were called to battle a fire on Marsden Moor.
Earlier this month a fire the "size of a football pitch" narrowly avoided destroying a farmer's crops in Barnsley.
The NFU has pointed towards Met Office warnings that temperature extremes are becoming the norm.
It said not only does this put livestock and crops at risk, but people’s safety, their homes, and those of their neighbours.
The National Fire Chiefs Council has reported more than 500 wildfires in 2023, while data from the NFU Mutual shows the increasing cost of farm fires reaching £110 million in 2023 – an increase of 37 per cent from 2022.
The NFU is calling for fire services to invest in a newly developed adapter to enable fire engines to access on-farm water bowsers and tanks and a legal requirement or combine harvester manufacturers to equip them with fire suppression mechanisms at the point of sale.
The union also wants councils to start issuing public space protection orders on activities that risk wildfires, such as lighting barbeques and setting off sky lanterns and the abandonment of planned changes in land management policies, particularly in the uplands.
Ms Hallos added: “Farmers are ingenious people. The fact that one of our members worked with his local fire service to develop an adapter specifically for rural areas, then managed to secure funding for all 48 fire engines in Lincolnshire to be equipped with it, shows what can be achieved when we work together and put our minds to it.
“These adapters have been instrumental in minimising the impact of farm fires on livelihoods, and I believe it should be a non-negotiable for all fire engines across the country to invest in.
"They aren’t expensive, yet the cost of a farm fire can be devastating.
"There are solutions out there, and what we’re asking for today will help tackle some of the key causes and risks of wildfires.”