AS THE sun heads over the horizon from yet another fantastic week of weather (for most, at least), there is every reason to believe that all in the world is as rosy as those sunsets. It is not.

Because also heading over the horizon will be grain, potato, vegetable, milk and beef yields. That might not be a problem now, but in the coming months it will be as the parched earth fails to nurture growing crops and livestock. It has also failed to produce enough fodder to see the industry through what could, again, be a very long winter ... and we're not just talking about the weather.

The prospects are dire, should a break in the drought not materialise within a month. There is every chance that supermarket shelves will go unfilled by the very basics of life and amongst those will be milk, bread and potatoes.

Milk, especially, could be in short supply before Christmas unless prices rise enough to encourage dairy farmers to lay in feed for their herds in the coming weeks and months. Without that, the fear is that many will dry off their cows after October and hunker down with minimal dry cow rations for the winter – or pension off their cows to Burger King.

Unless the fairies at the bottom of the garden find previously unknown sources of lush, unmown grass, then that is the prospect facing the nation. At the risk of being seen to 'cry wolf', this is a distinct possibility. Could it be 40p per litre by Christmas?

Similarly, potato yields must be under threat and non-irrigated ware crops will be the size of Ayrshire earlies if they are not soon fed by rain. Already, we hear of winter barley being between 10 and 20% down and for spring-sown crops, which should really still be putting on weight, early senescence is already happening.

As if to add fuel to the fire – if you pardon the pun – we are seeing many thousands of tonnes of rye and other crops being chopped for the bio-digester market. Livestock farmers must look on in envy at the largesse passing their doors in massive trailers and would that they wish to get their hands on that crop, but for the AD contract?

Now here's a rub. Just as the wind power companies get paid to compensate for their being no wind, what about paying AD plant owners not to produce power, but instead allow them to sell their ensiled rye/grass/wheat/beet crops onto the market?

On top of all this, we hear that Government is considering stockpiling food in case of a no-deal-Brexit. That'll be interesting, because there might be no surplus food to stockpile, let alone satisfy the market. Maybe the fairies at the bottom of the garden will find that hidden in the lush pastures thereof.