The government is making an additional £65 million available to help farmers in England cope with drought after the driest July on record in England and Wales, combining immediate relief with measures aimed at longer-term resilience. The package, announced after Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a COBR meeting on extreme heat, wildfires and drought, adds £50 million to the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026, taking that budget to £290 million, offers up to £15 million for on-farm reservoirs, improves access to water during droughts and gives farmers more flexibility in environmental schemes so they can keep payments while protecting crops, livestock and land. The measures apply only to England, where around three-quarters of the country is in drought, and ministers said the dry weather is not expected to threaten national food security even as yields are under pressure. The announcement comes as analysis published earlier this month showed Britain's cereal harvest is on track to be the worst since comparable records began in 1984.