Ukraine War Sows More Turmoil for UK Farms

Hungry cows at Westons' Farm jostle for position at the feeding trough, blissfully unaware that Ukraine's war has sowed more turmoil for UK farms ploughing through Covid and Brexit fallout.

Westons -- based in the picturesque village of Itchingfield in southern England -- uses excrement from the farm's cattle, chickens, pigs and sheep to fertilise arable crops like carrots, pumpkins, spinach and wheat.

The agriculture sector, like large swathes of the UK economy, is grappling with sky-high energy prices following pandemic lockdowns and labour shortages in the wake of Britain's exit from the European Union.

Now, Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has fuelled rocketing prices for fertiliser because Russia is a major producer.

Farms like Westons have therefore become more and more reliant on animal slurry to grow crops and cut costs.

"The thing that's really concerning us as farmers are the multiple issues that are coming our way all at once," the farm's owner David Exwood told AFP as he fed the cattle.

There is the "high fertiliser price, we have a high fuel price, we've got a shortage of labour, and we've got regulatory change", said Exwood, who is also vice-president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU).

Fertiliser prices in the UK have soared almost fourfold over the past year, sector data show.

The nutrient-rich material was already in short supply after surging gas prices forced leading UK manufacturer, CF Fertilisers, to pause production in September.

Six months later, the Ukraine war sent fertiliser prices hurtling even higher.

Wheat hit recent record peaks because sanctions-hit Russia and is a key producer alongside Ukraine.