‘It’s a critical time’: European farmers struggle through driest spring in a century

Farmers across north-western Europe are waiting for fresh rains with a small respite expected this weekend. Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

When drought descended on Hendrik Jan ten Cate’s farm in 2018, slashing his onion yield to just 10% of a regular year, he slogged through days of heavy labour to draw water from canals and pump it to his crops. One day, overworked and anxious to extract as much as he could, Ten Cate fell into the canal and broke his arm.

This year, with plants already growing but a severe dearth of rain to nourish young crops, the Dutch farmer is once again watching the weather forecast with worry.