From farm crime and drought to new tenancies, bluetongue, and the extraordinary cost of feeding cattle through a summer without grass, we round up the stories affecting agriculture locally
Bluetongue reaches 12 Dorset farms
Bluetongue has continued its rapid spread through the South West. By midnight on 30th August, 12 Dorset properties were confirmed with Bluetongue Virus Serotype-3 (BTV-3). Three new Dorset premises were added to the official figures on 29 August alone. Across Britain, 754 premises have now been confirmed during the 2026/27 season.
Earlier in the month, Dorset farmer Trevor Cliggs told the BBC that three sheep on his farm had contracted the disease, describing the combination of bluetongue, drought and financial pressure as a ‘perfect storm’. Defra is urging livestock keepers to remain alert to symptoms and to discuss vaccination with their vet.
Drought is adding hundreds of pounds a day to dairy costs
The financial costs of this summer’s drought are becoming all too clear. The NFU says one Dorset dairy farmer is spending an additional £500 a day on fodder simply to keep cows fed as poor grass growth forces farms into winter feed stocks months early.
Elsewhere, the pressure is even greater. Leicestershire dairy farmer Wil Armitage told the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers that drought had added £1,300 a day to his costs through extra feed, labour, machinery and water. Another dairy farmer reported milk yields falling by around five litres per cow per day during the heatwaves.
RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution) has now launched a £2 million Emergency Drought Grant programme, offering eligible farmers £2,000 towards personal and household costs. The NFU is among farming organisations calling for government-backed interest-free loans and further emergency support.
Police step up the fight against poaching
Dedicated patrols targeting poaching and hare coursing have returned to Dorset under Operation Galileo.
The first deployment of the season took place on 7th August, concentrating on rural areas of East and North Dorset where reports are most common.
Dorset Police’s Rural Crime Team worked alongside Wiltshire Police, stopping a number of vehicles during the operation. Two were suspected of carrying cloned number plates.
For farmers, poaching is rarely simply about the illegal taking of game. Vehicles driven across crops, damaged gates and fences, intimidated landowners and associated organised crime can leave substantial costs behind.
Police say intelligence from farmers and rural communities is central to identifying patterns and targeting patrols effectively.
Drought rules relaxed for farming agreements
Dorset farmers with Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship or Higher Level Stewardship agreements have been given temporary flexibility because of the extreme dry conditions.
Defra introduced adjustments from 15th August allowing qualifying farmers greater freedom over issues including grazing, cutting fodder and bedding, establishing seed mixes and creating firebreaks.
The measures apply where land lies in a county officially classed as being in drought or prolonged dry weather, which includes Dorset.
Some of the changes recognise a basic reality of this summer: farmers cannot always meet environmental scheme prescriptions written for normal growing conditions when grass has stopped growing or winter feed is already being used in August. The temporary arrangements will generally remain until the relevant area returns to normal drought status.
First-generation farmer secures a Dorset tenancy
At a time when getting a first foot on the farming ladder can seem almost impossible, one first-generation dairy farmer has secured a farm tenancy in Dorset after taking part in the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers’ Dairy Entrepreneurs programme.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) highlighted Kayleigh Robb’s story this month as an example of how training, business development and industry contacts can help ambitious new entrants progress without coming from a farm-owning background.
Access to land remains one of the biggest barriers facing new farmers, making this Dorset tenancy particularly noteworthy. County and private tenancies are increasingly important routes into an industry where the capital required to buy a viable farm is beyond the reach of most young entrants.
Arson suspected after 2,000 hay bales destroyed
A Dorset farm suffered a devastating loss in August when fire destroyed a barn containing around 2,000 bales of hay at East Lulworth.
Around 60 firefighters were involved after crews were called shortly after 3am on 15th August. A neighbouring derelict outbuilding was also destroyed, while firefighters worked to prevent the blaze spreading into surrounding trees, farmland and property.
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was believed to have been started deliberately, with an investigation launched.
The loss came during a summer when fodder has become particularly valuable. With drought already forcing livestock farmers to use winter feed early, the destruction of such a large quantity of hay carries consequences well beyond the physical loss of the barn.
Farm safety campaign focuses on overhead power lines
Dorset farmers and contractors were among almost 350 people reached through this summer’s joint SSEN and NFU “Look out, look up, look after yourself” farm-safety programme.
The campaign focuses particularly on machinery working near overhead electricity lines, a familiar risk during harvest when combines, telehandlers, trailers and other large machines are working long hours under pressure.
SSEN says incidents across its central southern England network are reducing, but it wants farmers to continue checking cable locations, line heights and risks before beginning work. Dorset was one of six counties included in this summer’s face-to-face safety programme. It is not a glamorous subject, but an important one: contact between agricultural machinery and power lines can be fatal, and harvest pressure is precisely when familiar risks are easiest to overlook.
Consultation on Dorset farmer collaboration funding
Dorset farmers are being asked to help shape how a new national Farmer Collaboration Fund could work locally.
Dorset National Landscape, FWAG South West and Dorset Council are exploring a county-wide partnership bid aimed at supporting farmer clusters, peer learning and collaborative projects. They are now seeking views from existing clusters, informal farming groups and individual farmers interested in working with others.
The consultation remains open until 18th September.
Environment Agency flags watercourse and maize concerns in Dorset
Following inspections earlier this year, the Environment Agency has raised concerns about farming practices in the Poole Harbour catchment.
According to an update shared with Dorset NFU members, officers have seen increased livestock access to watercourses and are reminding farmers that direct access should be minimised under the Farming Rules for Water.
The EA has also highlighted maize grown on higher-risk slopes or close to watercourses, where soil run-off can become a particular problem after harvest.
Those fields may be monitored during the autumn, and farmers are encouraged to consider measures including wider uncultivated margins and sediment traps to reduce soil loss.
