A farmer of 45 years today told how this winter had been the worst he had ever experienced and how it had destroyed much of his crop <br /><br />George Munns, 62, said it is a miracle any of his sugar beet crop survived after a difficult winter season left his fields under water.<br /><br />George lost up to 400 tonnes of sugar beet after the wet winter left a field under two feet of water for nearly five months.<br /><br />The farmer of 45 years had expected a yield of 700 tonnes from the worst waterlogged field and said there has "never been a year like the one we just had".<br /><br />He said that the loss of around 350 tonnes of sugar beet will cost him £14,000 - <br />and estimates he could lose £50,000 from his other crops he hasn't been able to plant.<br /><br />Recent record-breaking rain has left crops under water with the National Farmers' Union (NFU) calling on the government to do more to compensate flooded farmers.<br /><br />Mr Munns, from Chatteris, Cambs, said: "The wet weather set in in the middle of October and carried on throughout the winter, only stopping just a few weeks ago. <br /><br />"We had to leave 12 hectares of last year's sugar beet crop in the ground over winter due to the conditions and lifted them out two days ago.<br /><br />"Out of that final field, we lost about 50 per cent of it - between 300 and 400 tonnes of sugar beet. <br /><br />"We’d normally expect 70 tonnes a hectare but it went rotten and there was nothing there. <br /><br />"One of the fields was under two foot of water. It was a miracle that any of the crop survived. <br /><br />"It is what it is - it’s a funny old job farming and you shouldn’t let it get you down."<br /><br />The NFU has warned of "substantially reduced output" and "potential hits" to the quality of crops due to weeks of rain since the autumn months.<br /><br />This week, the government launched its Farm Recovery Fund, offering grants of between £500 and £25,000 to farmers in England who have suffered uninsurable flooding damage.<br /><br />Mr Munns said the idea of compensation was a "contentious" issue.<br /><br />The owner of Westmoor Farm said: "I can’t speak for all farmers and some have suffered much worse than I have. <br /><br />"With the degree of interruption on our farm, I don’t think it would be suitable for us to ask for money. <br /><br />"I'd much rather row my own boat. When money becomes involved, people start telling you what to do. <br /><br />"There is nothing that could ever stop me from wanting to farm. <br /><br />"I love my way of life and if it was easy, there would be a lot of competition. Warts and all, I've have it all again in a heartbeat."
