Water scarcity is a growing threat across northern and eastern parts of Scotland, with more areas raised to Alert level this week.

However, the majority of farmers look to be coping, with continued grass and crop growth reported across Scotland.

In the latest report published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Wick and Thurso join eastern parts of the country, where businesses that abstract water are being advised to do so more efficiently.

One farmer who is suffering is Patrick Harrison, on his cattle and sheep farm Balliefurth, near Grantown on Spey. He said: “It has been pretty dry here for a month. The grass is definitely checked. This year we are making a single cut of silage and will likely go early due to the dry weather. We have had a bit of rain but what has happened is it has gotten windy and dried everything up. We have had a lot of wind over the last month so every time it rains the wind whips the moisture away. We are forecast rain later this week but I am not sure it will soak in.”

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Further north in Caithness, beef farmer Mark Mackay at Greenvale Farm, Dunnet, beside Thurso, said: “It is pretty dry, no doubt about it, but we are not in drought conditions. There is no grass getting burnt off and the crops are looking as good as it has ever been. It has been a dry summer – there is no water in the rivers or the burns. But it isn’t affecting growing conditions in Caithness this year. I am topping a park of grass today and the grass underneath is green, not brown and burnt.”

SEPA reports that groundwater levels are falling and are very low at some monitoring locations, while river flows also remain low for this time of year.

Jimmy Taylor, a cattle and sheep farmer at Longfaulds, Stirlingshire, said: “May and early June have been drier than normal, resulting in gravelly fields showing some burning issues, although rain last week and 12mm on Tuesday will hopefully resolve some of the deficit. Potatoes are being irrigated quite widely at the moment which suggests there is quite a moisture deficit for arable guys too.”

Meanwhile Tom French, at Nether Balgray Farm, near Crawfordjohn in Lanarkshire, said: “Things are alright here right now – rain the past few days has been very welcome, allowing silage/hay crops to bulk up. Ground conditions have been very dry – up to the past few days we seem to have missed all the worthwhile splashes of rain that was going about. Some boys nearer Lanark have all their first cut done and dusted, but up this way it's all about recouping forage stocks. There was hardly a morsel left in the valley after last year. Grass for grazing has slowed down with a dip in temperatures and lack of fertilizer.”

In the south of Scotland, the Esk, Annan and Dee catchment areas have been raised to SEPA’s Early Warning level. This is due to a combination of dry ground conditions, low rainfall and low river flows. SEPA is monitoring the situation and coordinating steps to manage water resources in line with Scotland's National Water Scarcity Plan.