Why we will all have to foot the bill for summer

It's not just the rain that has hit farmers, says Charlie Brooks When summer finally arrived it was cruelly too late for the arable farmers. "Nice day," I say hesitantly to Tim Pare, the director of Loudham Estates, a farm management firm in the Cotswolds. "Well, it's still nice to see it [the sun]," he muses. "I was beginning to wonder." Examination of the stress lines on Pare's face tell the story of a man whose income from this year's harvest is likely to fall far short of expectations, thanks to our "summer". Pare is predominantly a commercial farmer, rather than a landowner. The core of his business is farming other people's land (Loudham manages seven farms, one of which it owns), running a tight ship and putting food on our plates. He may not be the biggest operator of this type in England, but growing 3,300 acres of... [read full story]