Extreme weather conditions are the biggest threat to the UK farming industry, an expert has warned.

After the UK experienced a period of very warm weather followed by sudden storms and flash flooding in some areas, National Farmers' Union president Peter Kendall told the Guardian that the effects of climate change could affect the country's ability to feed its growing population.

"I sometimes have a pop at those who say climate change is going to help farming in northern Europe," he said. "A gentle increase in temperature is fine but extreme weather events completely stuffs farming: just look at last year. Farming is risky enough as it is."

Richard Means, partner in Strutt & Parker's Cambridge office, said: "Extreme weather brings increased risk to the industry; any industry having to cope with increased risk will expect an increase in premiums achieved to try and counter that.

"As a firm of farm business consultants, our primary concern is for our clients' profitability and bottom line. Extreme weather, particularly of the sort experienced in the past year, challenges that and introduces greater risk so we are always looking at ways to try and mitigate those effects."

From a farm management point of view the UK needs to be careful that it keeps up with the latest techniques for dealing with its changing weather systems, Kendall suggested.

"Another enormous uncertainty is, because we are a part of the rich northern European block, that we actually cut ourselves off from the technology that we need to manage those extreme weather events," he explained.

Kendall referred to risks associated with the banning of pesticides and genetically modified crops and he also argued that land should not be taken out of production to help wildlife.

Pesticides, he believes, played a key role in ensuring that it was at least "a pretty poor harvest" as opposed to a non-existent one last summer.

"When you have rain after rain after rain, the level of disease that grew up within the crop was absolutely out of this world," he added.

He believes it is a major challenge to reconcile the need to produce more food for growing populations while at the same time maintaining and promoting wildlife.

It would be "a pretty good achievement" to have wildlife in the position it is today in 20 years' time but it would be probably be "a crisis" if food production is at today's level 20 years from now, he warned.

Although a survey of UK wildlife in May suggested many species are struggling, Kendall said he rejects the idea that the countryside and environment is going down the pan.

And despite the big difficulties he referred to, he said he is optimistic about the future of UK farming because "we are always going to need food" even if it will be "an incredibly difficult challenge".

With Kendall pointing out that there continues to be younger people entering the profession, it seems there will continue to be plenty of people who are keeping an eye out for farms to buy and are willing to rise to the challenge.

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